February 6,
2002, #6
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As the
big-name design houses take to the runways over
the next few
weeks to show their Fall 2002 collections, try
to look past
the glamour to see all the hard work that goes
into
delivering the designs. From first concept to runway
preview takes
about 8 weeks. Could you deliver the goods
on that kind
of time-table? It's something to consider...
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In This Issue:
Fashion Biz:
How To Learn More About Fabrics And Pattern Making
Fashion Trivia:
The First Hollywood Costume Designer
Fashion
Profile: Blue Fish Clothing Company
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FASHION BIZ
How
To Learn More About Fabrics And Pattern Making
Question: "How
can I learn more about fabrics and pattern-
making?"-Mary
Ann
If you
attended a fashion design school, you'd take classes on
fabric and
pattern-making to learn the details of putting together
a garment from
start to finish. If you don't attend a fashion design
school, you
either need to learn these things on your own, or pay
someone to do
them for you if you intend to sell your designs.
For this
discussion, I'll assume you're interested in learning how to
do these
things yourself. Here's how to get started:
Fabrics
To start
learning about fabrics, head to your own closet. Pull out
your favorite
pieces and think about why it is that you like them.
Do you like
the way they drape on your body? How they hold you
together so
that nothing jiggles? Keep you warm? Clean easily?
Require no
ironing? What?
Then take a
look at the labels. What are they made of? Are they
100% of a
certain fiber, or are they a fiber-blend? Do they require
special care,
like ironing, hand washing, or dry cleaning? Make notes
of what you
like and dislike about each fabric. It will help you to
think about
fabrics for your own designs.
Next, look at
the evening or special occasion apparel you have on
hand. What
kinds of fabrics are those made of? What do you like
or don't like
about those fabrics? Again, make notes. You'll refer
to it later.
If you're
thinking about designing lingerie or accessories (scarves,
handbags, or
shoes), take a look at those items from your wardrobe.
What are they
made of? How do they wear? Again, make some notes.
Now that you
have a general idea of fabric characteristics, it's time
to learn more
about the subject. The best free resource I've seen is
"Fabric
University" at FabricLink.com,
http://www.fabriclink.com/University.html
.
You'll find
tons of information about fabric history, care, and cleaning,
so print out
the pages for future reference. Want another good
resource for
fabric care? Try Fabric.net,
http://store.yahoo.com/phoenixtextiles/fabriccare.html
Once you've
learned a little about fabric, head to the mall for some
more research.
If you've never given fabric serious thought before,
I guarantee
that you'll start seeing clothes in a whole new light.
Make notes of
what types of clothes are generally made from which
fabrics, like
shirts, pants, dresses, coats, etc. You'll begin to see
some
interesting commonalities among usage, price range, care, etc.
Now don't put
yourself into a box creatively with this exercise,
thinking
chiffon can only be used for mother-of-the-bride apparel,
for example.
Instead, use it to see what's already selling and why.
Since the
fastest path to success is to follow something that's
already
working, you'll be able to leap from the fashion starting gate
faster with
this knowledge in the back of your mind.
Finally, head
to the fabric store for a little one-on-one time with
some fabric.
See what's available, think about your designs, and
envision which
fabrics would work best. If you have a design and
pattern
available, make up the design in different fabrics to see
which one
works best.
Since this is
the medium in which you're going to bring your designs
to life, take
the time to learn it well. The more you know about it,
the easier
your job will become.
Pattern-Making
If you don't
sew or have never altered a pattern, making patterns
can be a
little tricky at first. But don't let that stop you. You have
to have a
blueprint in order to accurately reproduce your designs,
and a pattern
is the way it's done. Fortunately, you don't have to
re-invent the wheel.
The two most
common ways to create a pattern is on paper and
by computer.
Traditional
pattern making is done on paper and is called a "flat
pattern"
design. Typically, an existing pattern is used as the basis
for the new
pattern. This could be a basic shirt, skirt, or pant
pattern, for
example. The pattern maker creates the new design
by adding
design details like pockets, lapels, buttons, etc., to
match the
design sketch.
The new
pattern is often made of a heavy-weight paper called
"tagboard,"
which is similar in weight and handling to a file folder.
It can be
easily cut and traced around to create other patterns.
The intended
fabric is an important consideration at this point,
since you'll
need to know how much to add for stretch, gathers,
and other
fabric characteristics.
Computer
pattern making is a fast and easy way to get the job
done. Like
paper patterns, computer-generated patterns often
rely on a
basic pattern as the basis of the new pattern, allowing
the pattern
maker to embellish the template with the new design
details. Many
large companies rely on pattern design systems (PDS)
to accurately
size and scale designs, but the equipment is expensive
and out of
reach for many starting designers.
So, there you
have it. In order to create and sell your designs,
you need to
know them intimately-including what fabric they're
made of and
how they're constructed. To discover what else
goes into
successfully selling your designs, pick up a copy of
How To Get
Started In Fashion Design at:
http://www.FashionJobReview.com
Good luck!
Have a
question you'd like answered in "Fashion Biz?" Send it to [email protected] .
FASHION TRIVIA
QUESTION:
When was the first costume designed specifically
for a motion picture?
ANSWER:
1916. When working on a movie with serial queen
Pearl White,
Parisian-born director Louis J. Gasnier decided on
a particular
"look" for her character. To bring the image to life,
he summoned a
tailor to assemble an outfit consisting of a black
suit, white
blouse, loose tie, and velour beret. Secretaries of
the day fell
in love with the look, catapulting the movie to
record box
office sales. That was all movie executives needed
to know to
start budgeting for costume designers on every project.
So what did
actors do before then? They wore their own clothes,
if the movie
was contemporary, or the director rented outfits from
costume
companies, if the film was historical or science fiction.
FASHION PROFILE:
Blue Fish Clothing Company
As an artist
wishing to express herself, 17-year-old Jennifer Barclay
started
hand-printing designs onto T-shirts in her parents' garage.
Thinking to
turn a profit, she took them to a local fair and sold out
almost
immediately, pocketing $450 in the process. That was 1985.
Her artistry
won followers from day one. Soon she was making
dresses and
shirts printed with her whimsical designs, and selling
them at craft
shows and jazz festivals in and around her hometown
in New Jersey.
In 1986, she attended her first trade show in New
York and took
orders for 6,000 pieces.
Back home,
reality sunk in. She had 4 months to deliver the order.
She hired her
friends, slept in the workshop, and worked round the
clock. But she
delivered the order on time, and in doing so, founded
herself an
empire.
Blue Fish
Clothing continued to grow and thrive during the 1990s,
adding retail
stores, celebrity clients, and publicly traded stock.
The most
ardent fans collected between 35 and 50 pieces and
Blue Fish
Clothing took on a cult-like status. With sales of nearly
$14 million in
1997, the company decided to relocate to
Pennsylvania
in 1999. But somewhere along the line, financing
fell through,
and Jennifer, tired of running the operation, closed
shop in 2001.
Today Blue
Fish Clothing is actively sold in the second hand market,
and Jennifer
continues to design, albeit on a much smaller scale.
You can learn
more about the rise and fall of Blue Fish Clothing at:
http://www.geocities.com/bluefishtales/index1.html
Until Next Time,
Diana Pemberton-Sikes
http://www.FashionJobReview.com
[email protected]
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