Women Leading Visual Tech: Interview with Caley Taylor of CLO Virtual Fashion

LDV Capital invests in people building businesses powered by visual technologies. We thrive on collaborating with deep, technical teams leveraging computer vision, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to analyze visual data. We are the only venture capital firm with this thesis.

Our Women Leading Visual Tech series is here to showcase women whose work in visual tech is reshaping business and society. In the lead-up to our second live community event, “Radically Transforming Fashion”, Abby Hunter-Syed, a former Partner at LDV Capital, had a chance to chat with our keynote speakers. (Note: After five years with LDV Capital, Abby decided to leave LDV to take a corporate role with fewer responsibilities that will allow her to have more time to focus on her young kids during these crazy times.)

Caley Taylor, 3D Design Team Lead at CLO

Meet Caley Taylor of CLO, a company that is set out to virtualize every single garment on earth. CLO’s virtual garment solutions and services connect all teams involved in the digital product lifecycle, enabling more direct collaboration and reduced lead time, whilst maintaining the intricacies of garment design. Their products range from 3D design software for apparel designers and brands, 3D design software for character artists in gaming and animation companies, virtual fitting platform, communications and archiving platform for virtual garments, to real-time draping engine for games to create a new ecosystem for virtual garments.

Caley serves as a mentor at Fashion Scholarship Fund. Previously, she worked at DKNY, Calvin Klein, Aritzia, and Global Brands Group.

Abby: How is CLO revolutionizing fashion design?

Caley: CLO gives the designer opportunities to look outside the box and beyond what is possible in the physical world of design. It gives the designer permission to experiment and create. In CLO, you can start from scratch and have a virtual mock-up in a matter of minutes. The program offers a wide variety of tools for both conceptual and technical users in any job role.

Abby: Why should a designer today use CLO?

Caley: CLO brings the power back to the creator and unlocks a world of possibilities. Whether you are experimenting with an abstract piece or working on a technical garment, CLO allows you to visualize without the need for a physical sample. That 3D garment holds a tremendous amount of data that can be used to communicate information throughout the lifecycle of the product.

Abby: What tech breakthroughs are you most excited about in the 3D design space?

Caley: What excites me is when users see the potential of 3D in an end-to-end process. There are many different types of technology now that allow you to replicate or go beyond what is possible in the physical world. Some of these technologies include virtual fitting which is offered on CLO-SET and virtual presentation.

Abby: What kind of impact does a 3D design tool have on the world of fashion?

Caley: 3D gives us the opportunity to reimagine how both the designer and end consumer interact with a product. A designer can iterate in 3D, a patternmaker or tech designer can make fit decisions without the need of a physical sample, a supplier has a clear representation of design intention, and the end consumer can interact with the garment through e-commerce or in a virtual environment. 3D can be used end-to-end and promotes clear communication, sustainability, and creativity.

Abby: In 5 years are we going to be designing for physical garments or digital ones? Why?

Caley: Designers utilizing 3D already have the digital version of every physical garment. In the future, the lines between the two will continue to blur. People need to wear physical garments but 3D gives us the power to decide if every garment needs to exist in a physical space or can remain only digital. Digital-only fashion gives creators a new form of identity and self-expression in a virtual world. Creators can make their fashions or buy digital garments on a virtual marketplace.

If you missed our virtual event, watch the video recording of Caley’s keynote below and check out our event recap.

Get your free copy and continue reading on slide 16.

This is in line with our 2021 LDV Insights report, “Content & the Metaverse are Powered by Visual Tech”:

“In the next five years, different avatars will be used for different purposes when participating in various communities and activities virtually. People will decide for themselves how and who they wish to interact as. It will enable people to showcase their persona outside of the typical definitions of gender, race, class, and even species. Over time our virtual existence will be as important as our existence in the analog world.

With virtual outfits, we get even more freedom for self-expression to accommodate our changing moods, preferences and environments.”

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