Get Creative—Here's the Best Fashion Design Software on the Market

If you're in school for fashion design or are looking to become a fashion designer on your own, there are certain tools you should have in your arsenal. In today's digital age, it's imperative that you have access to fashion design software to make your ideas and sketches a tangible reality. Take your creative renderings from paper to promotable models with the right program and technological savvy. Many fashion students use Adobe Illustrator to take their designs into the digital space, but there are other fashion design software programs that can prove beneficial. We've highlighted four of the top offerings below. Head below to see the best fashion design software on the market.

1. Adobe Illustrator

Adobe Illustrator is the standard for fashion students. It's a vector graphics editor that can cover all facets of fashion design, from sketching to patternmaking to logo ideation. Illustrator and Photoshop are two of the most utilized CAD (computer-aided design) programs utilized in the industry. Students and instructors can save 60% on the monthly subscription.

Adobe Illustrator CC ($21 per month).

2. Sketchbook

For a free, easy-to-use software for aspiring fashion designers, Sketchbook is a great fashion software for beginners. Sketchbook allows designers to realize concepts digitally, whether on a computer, tablet, or mobile device. It can be downloaded as an app, with both Sketchbook and Sketchbook Pro options available.

Sketchbook (Free)

Sketchbook Pro ($20).

3. Wild Ginger

To make your designs materialize, Wild Ginger provides a variety of is an apparel software for professional patternmakers. Whether crafting custom creations or designing for mass standard-size production, you can draft, edit, and create technical specifications for patterns.

4. C-Design Fashion

In addition to assisting with ideation and creation, C-Design Fashion optimizes production and distribution by allowing you to create and organize technical files and share them with suppliers while managing lifecycle and line sheets for your collection. One offering syncs with Adobe Illustrator.

C-Design Collection Management ($150 per month).

Interested in pursuing a career in fashion design? Read on to see how one of our editors landed a job in fashion.

This story was published at an earlier date and has been recently updated.