Want to draw fashion?
Friday 6 March 2009
What makes a good fashion designer? n2k went to visit a workshop on drawing for fashion and found out.
The workshops
Long before they were let loose on the fashion world, designers like Alexander McQueen and Tom Ford began by mastering the art of refining ideas on the page.
The‘After Fashion’ workshops which took place during London Fashion week, was all about letting young people discover and experiment with illustration, whilst also letting them create their own ‘style’ of drawings.
Fashion professional Chantelle Morton was on hand to help them out too. Watch the video and find out more.
What is the fashion industry?
Fashion is an industry like any other - with the end product being clothes. There are different categories of fashion and these relate to how or where they will be sold such as:- supermarket, high street, independent designer, ready-to-wear (prêt à porter), luxury super brands (such as Gucci and Prada) and haute couture (for the elite few).
There are also casual and sportswear brands that range from small labels to the massive super brands such as Levi’s and Adidas.
What does a designer do?
There is a long process before the ideas are translated into actual clothes you can wear.
Style
The first thing a designer does is think about who they are designing for and for what season. They may also take into account current fashion trends and how these fit with their own personal style ideas. They will also think about colour and fabric.
Drawings
The next step is to actually draw the fashion collections. A a specification drawing is made for each garment first - this is what the workshop students were learning to do. Then fabric samples and trims are selected.
Patterns
From the drawings a pattern cutter will design a paper pattern – a simple two-dimensional template for each garment. This is the patters that is used to cut the garment out in fabric, so it can be made up into a sample.
Samples
Designers will look at each sample and decide weather they work on their own and also as part of the whole collection. If it needs altering in any way, the sample may be tweaked in terms of fit, fabrication and detail, and a new sample made.
Want to study fashion?
First talk to Connexions and try to gain as much work experience as possible. To get a job in the fashion industry it's important to have some experience, but the contacts that you make and the influences you are exposed to in terms of style are also really important.
If you choose to do a degree, the best ones are those with a work-placement element, to prepare you for the business side of things. Talk to your school’s careers officer, or visit Connexions or Aimhigher to find the right course for you.
