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, a textile lab in LeBaron 2092 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 OptiTex suite of computer-aided design software is available in our pattern-making courses. Lectra systems such as Kaledo, Modaris, Modaris 3D, and Diamino are also at your finger tips in design and production classes.