Service · under NDA on every project
High-end technical outerwear
Down jackets, structured coats, luxury sportswear: the most complex pattern making — pattern cutting, as it is called in the UK — handled with method.
Service · under NDA on every project
Down jackets, structured coats, luxury sportswear: the most complex pattern making — pattern cutting, as it is called in the UK — handled with method.
Technical outerwear is the most complex garment in the fashion hierarchy. Down jackets, structured coats, multi-layer jackets: each typology brings construction challenges that allow no approximation. A single stitching line across the chest of a coat shifts the silhouette. A misplaced channel on a down jacket compromises both thermal performance and aesthetics. This is where pattern making becomes engineering.
Atelier modArch has specialised over the years in this category — the one most studios avoid because of its complexity. The result is a proven method that covers every phase: from pattern construction to the production technical pack.
A structured coat is made up of at least eight distinct components: the outer body, the lining, the interlining, the collar, the sleeves, the pockets, the internal reinforcements and the finishings. Each component has its own pattern, its own size grading, its own seam allowances. On a down jacket you also add the channels, the boudins for the down filling, the quilting points and the heat-sealed seams where technical performance demands it. Managing all of this — while preserving aesthetic coherence across every size — requires years of practice on real cases.
Native CAD files (Lectra Modaris, Optitex, Gerber AccuMark) and universal DXF AAMA/ASTM. Physical pattern on request. Complete technical pack with bill of materials, seam tolerances and sewing instructions. Optimised marker ready for automated cutting.
The final quote is issued after reading the brief and analysing the sample. The preliminary evaluation is free, with a reply within 24 working hours.
Down-filled outerwear is among the most complex garments to pattern because the volume of the padding changes the rules. A perfect flat pattern can produce a wrong garment: the padded sleeve pitches forward relative to its flat projection, the shoulder sets differently, the real waist of the closed garment does not match the pattern's perimeter. Quilting channels add a second level of complexity — they must be drawn parallel, with baffles that keep the down distributed, and their filling affects hem, collar and hood. Behaviour in fitting is less predictable than on any non-padded garment: this is why physical validation is central to the process, with a dedicated 12-point checklist published in the guide fitting technical down jackets.
The number of pieces grows with complexity: a standard outerwear piece closes at 12-18 pattern pieces, a down jacket with 12-18 quilting channels and baffles reaches 20-28. Every additional piece is an additional surface for error — and it is the reason why, on this garment type, specific experience counts more than anywhere else.
The project follows the four-phase method: brief (garment type, materials with the padding weight, base size, range), pattern development in CAD, prototype validated in fitting — typically two sessions plus a final check — and production, with size grading and marker making quoted separately. To prepare a complete brief — measurements, padding with its weight, tolerances, material references — the guide how to read an outerwear tech pack lists the mandatory sections and the most frequent errors; alternatively, there is the downloadable brief checklist.
The number of revisions depends on the complexity of the garment and is defined in the initial brief. Typically a technical outerwear project involves at least two fitting sessions and a final check on the sample. Each modification is documented in the technical pack.
Both situations. We intervene on already-developed models with fit or construction issues (fit correction), or we build from scratch starting from a sketch, a physical sample or a direct measurement.
Yes. The service can include supervision of the first physical prototype through an affiliated workshop, with a fitting session and documentation of the corrections. See also the Prototyping service.
For brands based abroad, the same service is described here: outerwear pattern cutting from Italy.