Thank you to everyone who responded, much appreciated.
To clarify what I mean by "apparel-friendly product variants", in D365 BC, from the documentation, an item that comes in different colors and sizes would be set up e.g. as BLACK_SMALL, BLACK_MEDIUM, WHITE_SMALL, WHITE_MEDIUM, etc. A more apparel friendly solution would be be more like Option 1: Color Option 1 Values: BLACK, WHITE, Option 2: Size Option 2 Values: SMALL, MEDIUM, etc. Option 3: Width, Option 3 Values: Normal, Wide, Double Wide, etc. The system would create all the variants based on the permutations of the options. It would also have pricing at the variant level. Furthermore, it would provide ways to set up different size runs (XS, SM, M, L and 2,4,6,8 and 38,38.5, 39 etc) There would also be a way to have a table of valid internal color codes and descriptions. Sizes and colors need to be structured and validated/controlled or else users make mistakes and/or create their own and chaos ensues.
Best,
Chris
