Abstract
3D CAD and extended reality technologies have become increasingly integrated into fashion design practice in both higher education and the fashion industry, yet their application remains focused on the visualisation and promotion of physical products, rather than being embraced as creative mediums for exploration. This paper suggests a shift in this mindset, exploring the potential of procedural generation as a means to engage in experimental material-driven design processes in a digital context. Commonly used in digital-native disciplines, such as digital games and film for generating complex visuals, procedural generation remains largely unexplored within fashion design. This paper investigates the expressive potential of the method within fashion, proposing methods for surface and texture ideation and experimentation as part of an evolving digital fashion practice. Rooted in experimental and artistic practice-based design, the study follows a material-driven design process, engaging with procedural generation through Adobe Substance Designer applied to 3D tailoring via CLO3D. Rather than mimicking physical materials, the research approaches digital materiality through an experimental lens, proposing alternative material expressions that move beyond the familiar. The results present seven design outcomes that illustrate a form of digital material authorship, encouraging designers to engage with texture as a conceptual and creative tool, positioning procedural generation as a valuable method in contemporary fashion design practice, where designers take the lead in shaping the future of the field.
Keywords
Procedural generation; Fashion design; Digital fashion; Material authorship
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.674
Citation
Koohnavar, S.(2025) Authoring Fashion Materials: Procedural Generation as Design Method for Fashion Design, in Chang, C.-Y., and Hsu, Y. (eds.), IASDR 2025: Design Next, 02-05 December, Taiwan. https://doi.org/10.21606/iasdr.2025.674
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Conference Track
Track 3 - Design, Art & Technology
Authoring Fashion Materials: Procedural Generation as Design Method for Fashion Design
3D CAD and extended reality technologies have become increasingly integrated into fashion design practice in both higher education and the fashion industry, yet their application remains focused on the visualisation and promotion of physical products, rather than being embraced as creative mediums for exploration. This paper suggests a shift in this mindset, exploring the potential of procedural generation as a means to engage in experimental material-driven design processes in a digital context. Commonly used in digital-native disciplines, such as digital games and film for generating complex visuals, procedural generation remains largely unexplored within fashion design. This paper investigates the expressive potential of the method within fashion, proposing methods for surface and texture ideation and experimentation as part of an evolving digital fashion practice. Rooted in experimental and artistic practice-based design, the study follows a material-driven design process, engaging with procedural generation through Adobe Substance Designer applied to 3D tailoring via CLO3D. Rather than mimicking physical materials, the research approaches digital materiality through an experimental lens, proposing alternative material expressions that move beyond the familiar. The results present seven design outcomes that illustrate a form of digital material authorship, encouraging designers to engage with texture as a conceptual and creative tool, positioning procedural generation as a valuable method in contemporary fashion design practice, where designers take the lead in shaping the future of the field.