Short answer/recommendation
If you need consistent, production-ready apparel mockups (catalog shots, product pages, close-up fabric detail) pick Leonardo AI. If you want a single high-end hero image with an artistic, stylized look, Midjourney can deliver. Both can produce photorealism, but they differ in predictability, garment-detail fidelity, and background-removal workflow.

Why (short rationale)
- Photorealism: Midjourney v5/v6 produces striking realism and complex lighting, but it can hallucinate seams, logos and fine repeats. Leonardo tends to be more reliable at preserving fabric texture and repeat patterns when you feed good references and use its inpainting/canvas tools.
- Garment detail preservation: Leonardo gives more control (reference layering, inpainting, localized edits) so you can iterate on sleeve seams, stitch lines and pattern alignment. Midjourney is stronger at overall mood and lighting, weaker at pixel-perfect garment continuity.
- Background removal/workflow: Leonardo’s UI and inpainting/edit tools make it easier to generate a neutral or transparent-ready background and to patch edges. With Midjourney you’ll typically generate on Discord, upscale, then use an external background-removal step (Photoshop, remove.bg) and manually fix edges/inpainting.

Decision criteria (pick based on need)
- Choose Leonardo if: you need catalog consistency, repeatable templates, tight control over fabric detail, faster in-app edits, or plan batch outputs. Good for small teams and product ops.
- Choose Midjourney if: you want a single high-impact hero shot, artistic lighting, or aren’t chasing pixel-perfect repeats and seams. Works well for creatives and ad visuals.
- Consider budget & skill: Midjourney’s Discord prompts require more prompt-engineering skill; Leonardo’s GUI is easier for non-technical users. Both have subscription models; Leonardo’s free/credits tiers can help initial tests.

Practical checklist to produce a photorealistic apparel mockup
1) Prepare references: clean flat garment image(s), fabric closeups, and a target model/pose or mannequin photo.
2) Prompt: include camera (50–85mm), lighting (softbox, 45° key), fabric type, stitch detail, scale of pattern, color values, and “high-resolution, photorealistic, no text, no watermark.”
3) Generate with tight seeds/refs: use Leonardo for templates and inpainting to preserve pattern alignment; use Midjourney for final mood shots when needed.
4) Export high-res PNG. If background isn’t transparent, remove with a background-removal tool (or use Leonardo’s inpainting to create a neutral plate).
5) Final touch: refine edges in Photoshop (feather, mask), correct color with soft-proofing for print, and check pattern repeat at 1:1 scale if you’ll use it for production.

Best-for / Avoid-if
- Best for Leonardo: consistent catalog mockups, garment detail fidelity, iterative editing, non-technical workflows. Avoid if you want heavily stylized, cinematic hero imagery.
- Best for Midjourney: cinematic hero shots, dramatic lighting and mood, one-off promotional images. Avoid if you need precise repeat patterns, seams, or batch consistency.

Final note
If you’re unsure, run an A/B: create the same mockup in both (one or two quick tests). Use ChatGPT to help craft precise prompts for each engine and compare outputs against your acceptance criteria (seams, pattern alignment, edge clean-up effort). This will quickly tell you which fits your budget, team skill level, and production quality needs.

Compare Midjourney and Leonardo AI