aboutfashion

Modern fashion design and designers

Modern fashion design is roughly divided into two categories, haute-couture, and ready-to-wear. A designer's haute-couture collection is meant exclusively for private customers and is custom sized, cut and sewn. To qualify as an official "haute couture" house, a designer or company must belong to the Syndical Chamber for Haute Couture, a Paris-based body of designers governed by the French Department of Industry that includes American, Italian, Japanese, and other designers as well. A haute couture house must show collections twice yearly with at least 35 separate outfits in each show. It is often shown on the catwalk and in private salons.

Ready-to-wear collections are not custom made. They are standard sized which makes them more suitable for larger productions. Ready-to-wear collections can also be divided into designers/createur collections and Confection collections. Designer/createur collections have a high quality, a superb finish and a unique cut and design. These collections are the most trendsetting compared to Haute Couture and Confection. Designer/createurs ready to wear collections contain often concept items that represent a certain philosophy or theory. These items are not so much created for sales but just to make a statement. The designer's ready-to-wear collection is also presented on the international catwalks by people who do fashion modeling.

WHAT DOES A FASHION DESIGNER DO?
FASHION DESIGNERS create clothing and accessory designs. They may plan the production and marketing of their creations. Designers specialize in one type of garment or accessory such as men's or women's wear, children's garments, swimwear, lingerie, handbags, or shoes. Some high-fashion Designers are self-employed and design for individual clients. They make fashion news by establishing the silhouette, colors, and kinds of materials that will be worn each season. Other self-employed, high-fashion Designers cater to specialty stores or high-fashion department stores. They design original garments as well as follow the established fashion trends. Designers who work for apparel manufacturers do less original work; they adapt fashions set by other Designers for the mass market.

Designers' Assistants in apparel manufacturing are exposed to the fast pace of production schedules while performing routine aspects of the job. Assistant Designers acquire the knowledge of what creations will sell at a profit in an intended market, within a defined price range, at a particular time of the year. They learn the personality of firms, types of stores that buy the merchandise, and the age and tastes of the stores' clientele.

Fashion Designers perform the     following tasks:
        Sketch their ideas.
        Draw and cut patterns to create sample garments.
        Select fabric and trimmings.
        Combine basic dressmaking and tailoring principles with flat pattern work and draping
        techniques.
        Fit and modify the finished garment.
        Arrange showings for press and buyers when the sample garment line is ready.
        Compare merchandise with those of the competitors.
        Keep current on trends by reading trade magazines and attending fashion shows.
        Visit textile showrooms to keep up to date on latest fabrics.

WHAT SKILLS ARE IMPORTANT?
Fashion Designers frequently use the following skills, knowledge, and abilities:

Design - Knowledge of design techniques, principles, tools and instruments involved in the production and use of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Idea Generation - Generating a number of different approaches to problems.
Active Learning - Working with new material or information to grasp its implications.
Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Visioning - Developing an image of how a system should work under ideal conditions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

WHAT?S THE WORK ENVIRONMENT?
The work environment for Designers varies. Some Designers work in quiet, spacious, well-lit, and well-ventilated areas. Others may work in small areas close to crowded workrooms. Designers work independently but spend much of their time coordinating their work with workroom personnel, buyers, sales personnel, firm members, patrons, and other artists. Designers may travel out of the country for showings, conferences, or shopping. They may work under pressure for long periods to meet deadlines and budget limitations. Many Designers are busy all year preparing styles for the following seasons. Others work intermittently and are laid off when a line is completed.
 

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