Apparel, Merchandising, and Design Facilities
Iowa State’s apparel, merchandising, and design program is one of few such programs in the nation where you have access to cutting-edge technologies. The Digital Apparel and Textiles Studio in LeBaron Hall houses about $75,000 of this equipment.
- Digital textile printer
- 3-D body scanner
- Laser cutter
- Computerized embroidery equipment
The Product Development Technology and Testing Lab includes an environmental room for testing products on human subjects, a sweating guarded hotplate to measure wet and dry thermal resistance, Kato’s Kawabata System to measure mechanical properties of textiles, and other textile testing equipment.
In addition, the Textile and Creative Design Research Lab was recently renovated to house equipment related to developing prototypes related to functional or creative apparel design research. The space includes a variety of sewing machines, knitting machines, and a long-arm quilting machine used to create prototypes. It also houses a large cutting table with interchangeable surfaces suitable for pattern making and cutting out various types of fabrics.
Beyond the standard Adobe Suite, you also have access to the latest fashion-focused software. The Lectra Modaris software, Browzwear Platform, and Browzwear Fabric Analyzer are available in our pattern-making courses. Backbone PLM and Lectra systems such as Kaledo, Modaris 3D, and Diamino are also at your fingertips in design and production classes.