Someone brings me a photo of a woven suit jacket and asks: can you make this in knitwear? Here’s what matters: we need to understand what the client actually wants to achieve before we start designing and developing.
In terms of silhouette and form, knitwear can absolutely draw from woven tailoring.But as we all know, knitwear and woven are two different categories.
Knitwear has the advantage when it comes to texture and stretch. So turning a flat sketch into a knitwear piece requires a designer who understands knitwear production inside out — who knows how to work with the yarn’s properties to deliver what the client is after.
Knitwear has its own strengths: comfort, stretch, freedom of movement. Woven has its own: structure, sharpness, a clean line. The question is which one matters more to you, in this particular garment. Once you’re clear on that, you stop asking “can you?” and start asking “what do you want?”