Fashion design is the applied art dedicated to clothing and lifestyle accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time. It is considered to have a planned obsolescence usually of one to two seasons. A season is defined as either autumn/winter or spring/summer. Nowadays, even though French, British, Japanese and American fashion are the top in style, Italian fashion is considered the most important and elegant in design and it has led the world of fashion since the 1970s and '80s.
Structure
Fashion designers can work in a number of ways. Fashion designers may work full-time for one fashion company, known as in-house designers , which owns the designs. They may work alone or as part of a team. Freelance designers work for themselves, and sell their designs to fashion houses, directly to shops, or to clothing manufacturers. The garments bear the buyer's label. Some fashion designers set up their own labels, under which their designs are marketed. Some fashion designers are self-employed and design for individual clients. Other high-fashion designers cater to specialty stores or high-fashion department stores. These designers create original garments, as well as those that follow established fashion trends. Most fashion designers, however, work for apparel manufacturers, creating designs of men’s, women’s, and children’s fashions for the mass market. Large designer brands which have a 'name' as their brand such as Calvin Klein, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, or Chanel are likely to be designed by a team of individual designers under the direction of a designer director.
Designing a collection
A fashion collection is something that designers put together each season to show their idea of new trends in both their high end couture range as well as their mass market range.
Designing a garment
Fashion designers work in different ways. Some sketch their ideas on paper, while others drape fabric on a dress form. When a designer is completely satisfied with the fit of the toile (or muslin), he or she will consult a professional pattern maker who then makes the finished, working version of the pattern out of card. The pattern maker's job is very precise and painstaking. The fit of the finished garment depends on their accuracy. Finally, a sample garment is made up and tested on a model.
History
Fashion design is generally considered to have started in the 19th century with Charles Frederick Worth who was the first designer to have his label sewn into the garments that he created. Before the former draper set up his maison couture (fashion house) in Paris, clothing design and creation was handled by largely anonymous seamstresses, and high fashion descended from that worn at royal courts. Worth's success was such that he was able to dictate to his customers what they should wear, instead of following their lead as earlier dressmakers had done. The term couturier was in fact first created in order to describe him. While all articles of clothing from any time period are studied by academics as costume design, only clothing created after 1858 could be considered as fashion design.
It was during this period that many design houses began to hire artists to sketch or paint designs for garments. The images were shown to clients, which was much cheaper than producing an actual sample garment in the workroom. If the client liked their design, they ordered it and the resulting garment made money for the house. Thus, the tradition of designers sketching out garment designs instead of presenting completed garments on models to customers began as an economy.
Ready to wear
At this time in fashion history the division between haute couture and ready-to-wear was not sharply defined. The two separate modes of production were still far from being competitors, and, indeed, they often co-existed in houses where the seamstresses moved freely between made-to-measure and ready-made.
Around the start of the 20th century fashion magazines began to include photographs and became even more influential than in the past. In cities throughout the world these magazines were greatly sought-after and had a profound effect on public taste. Talented illustrators, among them Paul Iribe, George Lepape and George Barbier, drew exquisite fashion plates for these publications, which covered the most recent developments in fashion and beauty. Perhaps the most famous of these magazines was La Gazette du Bon Ton, which was founded in 1912 by Lucien Vogel and regularly published until 1925 (with the exception of the war years).
World War II brought about many radical changes to the fashion industry. After the war, Paris's reputation as the global center of fashion began to crumble and off-the-peg and mass-manufactured clothing became increasingly popular. A new youth style emerged in the 1950s, changing the focus of fashion. As the installation of central heating became more widespread the age of minimum-care garments began and lighter textiles and, eventually, synthetics, were introduced.
Faced with the threat of a factory-made fashion-based product, Parisian haute couture mounted its defenses, but to little effect, as it could not stop fashion leaking out onto the streets. Before long, whole categories of women hitherto restricted to inferior substitutes to haute couture would enjoy a greatly enlarged freedom of choice. Dealing in far larger quantities, production cycles were longer than those of couture workshops, which meant that stylists planning their lines for the twice-yearly collections had to try to guess more than a year in advance what their customers would want. A new power was afoot, that of the street, constituting a further threat to the dictatorship of the masters of coutures.
Types of fashion
There are three main categories of fashion design, although these may be split up into additional, more specific categories:
Haute couture
Main article: Haute coutureUntil the 1950s, fashion clothing was predominatly designed and manufactured on a made-to-measure or haute couture basis (French for high-fashion), with the garment being created for a specific client. A couture garment is made to order for an individual customer, and is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric, sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. Look and fit take priority over the cost of materials and the time it takes to make.
Ready-to-wear
Main article: Ready-to-wearReady-to-wear clothes are a cross between haute couture and mass market. They are not made for individual customers, but great care is taken in the choice and cut of the fabric. Clothes are made in small quantities to guarantee exclusivity, so they are rather expensive. Ready-to-wear collections are usually presented by fashion houses each season during a period known as Fashion Week. This takes place on a city-wide basis and occurs twice a year.
Mass market
Main article: Mass marketCurrently the fashion industry relies more on mass market sales. The mass market caters for a wide range of customers, producing ready-to-wear clothes in large quantities and standard sizes. Cheap materials, creatively used, produce affordable fashion. Mass market designers generally adapt the trends set by the famous names in fashion. They often wait around a season to make sure a style is going to catch on before producing their own versions of the original look. In order to save money and time, they use cheaper fabrics and simpler production techniques which can easily be done by machine. The end product can therefore be sold much more cheaply.
Income
Most fashion designers earn between $39,440 and $93,000. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an average annual income of $67,370 for fashion designers in 2005. Median annual earnings for fashion designers were $48,530 (£26,019) in 2000. The middle 50 percent earned between $34,800 (£18,658) and $73,780 (£39,557). The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,710 (£13,248), and the highest 10 percent earned more than $103,970 (£55,743). Median annual earnings were $52,860 (£28,340) in apparel, piece goods, and notions - the industry employing the largest numbers of fashion designers.
Fashion education
There are a number of well known art schools and design schools world wide that offer degrees in fashion design. The most notable of design schools include Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London College of Fashion, and University of Westminster in London; Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons The New School for Design in New York City.
Areas of fashion design
Many professional fashion designers start off by specializing in a particular area of fashion. The smaller and the more specific the market, the more likely a company is to get the right look and feel to their clothes. It
Fashion Category Celebrity Game
Welcome girls, enjoy our finest selection of dress up games, fashion games and the top online celebrity dress up games.
Dress-up Games for people who love fashion
dress up games, fashion dress up games online,inspiration in your own shopping for goodies ... Celebrities Celebrity Makeover; Celebrity With Fashion; Fantasy; Barbie; Room
Stardoll - Fame, fashion and friends
Stardoll is about celebrities, fashion and friends. Dress up Ashley Tisdale, Paris Hilton, Avril Lavigne and many more. Chat with friends.
Dress-up Games for people who love fashion
dress up games, fashion dress up games online,inspiration in your own shopping for goodies
Celebrity dress up games
Fashion Dolls ... The framework of the celebrity dress up games will make your fantasies possible and will also ...
Dress up games - Free online games for Girls and Kids
Free on dress up, fashion dress up, fashion for barbie, girl dress up, girl maker over - Fashion Dress ... Cartoon Games; Winter - Spring; Fairy Games; Punk-Emo Style; Celebrity Games
Fall Fashion Presentation Dress Up Game at girlGames4u.com - FREE ...
... Food Serving Dancing Decoration Dress up Animals Boys Celebrity Couples Fantasy Fashion Girls Gowns Halloween Little girls ... Use the mouse to drag and drop the clothes to dress up the girl!
Fall Fashion Week- Dress Up Games
Fall Fashion Week: Fall is coming to replace summer. Annually, when a new season ... Celebrities Dress Up ; Cooking Games ; Traditional Dress Up ; Girls Dress Up; Barbie Dress Up
Celebrity Dress Up - Dress Up Celebrities
Dress Up Games. Pop Dress Up. All Games; Fantasy; Holiday; Lifestyle; Fashion; Celebrity ... Dress up Celebrity Dolls in many different outfits, change ...
Fashion For Two Dress Up Game
“Grab” your best friend and start the fashion for two dress up game! Let’s assume that these ... Celebrity