fashion flat, fashion float and fashion illustration

There are three main types of fashion drawing for clothing production, development, and product development purposes: Flats (Technical Illustrations), Fashion Design Illustrations, and Floats.

• A fashion flat (also known as a fashion technical drawing) depicts a garment by presenting it in a flattened form on a surface rather than on a figure. This method showcases the actual appearance of the garment in a static, two-dimensional state, offering a clear view of its design independently from a body.
• Fashion design illustration is a drawing of the garment on a figure for a line sheet or catalog, showing how the garment looks in three dimensions (3D) on a body when worn by an intended customer.
• A fashion float is a type of fashion drawing that does not include a depicted figure but shows some three-dimensionality of the garment, sometimes even revealing the garment's inside (by folding and floating the garment to display inner seams and stitches). Fashion flowats are commonly used for fashion presentation boards or apparel line sheets. However, they are not typically used for garment specification sheets and are not entirely suitable for engineering technical processes in production.

All three types of fashion drawing—flats, design illustrations, and floats—are essential for visualizing garments for professional purposes.