Paris, March 7th, 2007  – Lectra, the world leader in software, CAD/CAM equipment and associated services specifically for the fashion, automobile, aerospace, furniture and furnishings sectors, today invites designers to test a revolutionary solution which enables them to create 3D storyboards.

Kaledo 3D Trend was developed on Windows Vista: Microsoft worked with Lectra, the world's leading supplier of professional software dedicated to fashion designers, during the launch of Microsoft’s new operating system, which will enable designers to work in a user-friendly environment intended to aid their creativity.

Kaledo 3D Trend is presented on the Microsoft website and a trial version can be downloaded free of charge from the Lectra website.  It is an addition to the new textile creation and collections range, Kaledo, tailored specifically for fashion designers.

Moving from static 2D storyboards to 3D animated storyboards gives fashion designers more ways to convey their creative ideas, to recreate the atmospheres which inspire them and present their fashion products form all sides.  A film, produced in Kaledo 3D Trend's three dimensional world, by a student at the Paris Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture fashion school, is available on lectra.com.

To learn more about this discovery, Lectra invites visitors to download and test a trial version of Kaledo 3D Trend, which will enable all visitors to become familiar very quickly with this new, very easy to use technology.

A Kaledo 3D Trend presentation is also available at the Windows Vista Innovation Cafe on Microsoft's website (www.windowsvista.com/innovation) and Lectra's website (www.lectra.com) in the section which is entirely dedicated to design.

Finally, in "Design by Lectra" on Lectra.com, fashion professionals can find out about the full new Kaledo solution, which meets all the needs of designers working in this industry: creation of collections, models and textiles. 

Using Kaledo 3D Trend to create and animate storyboards, designers create their collection's environment in three dimensions by combining styles and designs, in particular those produced using Lectra's design software, along with other multimedia components such as sound or video. They use an interface which is perfectly suited to the way they express themselves artistically. Designers can now easily create an atmosphere and orchestrate a virtual walk through a three dimensional world where all their ideas are strongly expressed.

At last, fashion companies can show and explore all aspects of the storyboard to validate the collection, present it to sales teams and to customers to ensure the most efficient promotion of the collection. Kaledo 3D Trend enables communication to be visual, avoiding language barriers and allows things to be shown rather than explained, which represents an essential differentiator in an international industry such as fashion.

Kaledo 3D Trend's release to market date will be announced in 2007.

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