The correlation between clothing design and textile properties: a new approach for measuring fabric drape

Purpose The research aims to investigate the relationship between clothing design and textile properties to highlight recommendations for designing women’s dresses, depending on the properties of their fabrics, along with the drape coefficient prediction. Design/methodology/approach Five satin dresses were designed to evaluate their properties effect on garment aesthetics and functionality. Fabric characteristics such as tenacity and elongation, bending, warp, weft yarn count and drapability were tested. Using Image Analysis, all photos were analysed to obtain the correlation between designs and textile properties, pointing towards a new method for measuring the drape. Findings Results show a subjective correlation between designs and fabric properties. Authors developed a new drape indicator using image analysis of dress design photos. This new indicator (shade design drape percentage [SDD]) depends on calculating the shade percentage caused by fabric folding along the dress. It can be concluded that there is a statistically significant relation between SDD and some fabric properties, such as Cusick drape coefficient (DC), weight, wrap elongation and warp yarn count. Originality/value This paper suggests a new way for fashion designers to create designs according to fabric characteristics. The developed approach of SDD would have a great contribution to measuring the fabric drape concerning fashion design.