fashion design process

1. Fashion
Design
Process
By Sunil Talekar,

2. A FASHION YEAR
Two main
seasons
Spring &
Summer
Autumn &
Winter

3. LIGHTWEIGHT FABRICS IN SUMMER

4. HEAVIER FABRICS IN WINTER
Both require a different fashion look and a new range of colors and fabric designs for the time of
year.

5. THE PLAN...
Designers work a year in
advance
In the spring, the studio
works for the
spring/summer of the
following year
Once a collection is
finished, on to the next!

6. THE PLAN...
Research
Each collection is
researched so that’
• all the items in it
complement each
other,
• will be in style,
• and have the
particular look for
which the company
is known for.

7. THE PLAN...
Predicting Trends
• A designers most
difficult task is
forecasting what will
be in style for the
coming years.

8. THE PLAN...
Predicting Trends
• To do this, they
know the past
trends and look at
repeats. They also
purchase HIGH
priced trend
magazines.

9. THE PLAN...
Predicting Trends
• Additionally they
observe what
succeeded with
customers in the
past.

10. THEME
A designer selects a theme that represents their collection. It can be a period in
history, a foreign place, a range of colors, a type of fabric…

11. THEME

12. • A Mood Board is a summary of your collection’s
inspiration and theme.
WHAT IS MOOD BOARD

13. WHAT IS
MOOD
BOARD

14. WHAT IS
MOOD
BOARD

15. WHAT IS MOOD BOARD

16. WHAT IS MOOD BOARD

17. • It’s a design tool that will help you remain focused
and consistent as your line develops.
WHY DO YOU REQ. MOOD BOARD

18. • It’s also a great communication aid when explaining your
vision to others (retailers, media etc.).
WHY DO YOU REQ. MOOD BOARD

19. Magazine tears, fabric swatches, old photos, buttons,
ribbons;
WHY DO YOU REQ. MOOD BOARD

20. basically any visual reference you desire are mounted
onto a hard board. Be sure to give your story board a
title, like a book or film”.

21. 1. Research: Go to galleries, exhibition, watch the music videos, the latest
fashion show, street fashion, specialty magazines from different part of the
world (fashion, architecture, design…), go to boutiques.
HOW TO MAKE MOOD BOARD

22. HOW TO MAKE MOOD BOARD
2. Take pictures of objects, scene and store front. Create a “mise
en scene” related to your theme.

23. HOW TO MAKE MOOD BOARD
3. Write down a few thematic keywords you want to have in your
design.
4. Combine two theme to create something new. Example: Punk
and Aristocrat, Urban and Cosmic…

24. 5. The presentation must be strongly themed, capturing the mood
in a nut shell and should always be accompanied by a title. This
can be determined by the fabrics: Natural Linens, the season:
Summer Blues, or the merchandise: Metamorphosis…
HOW TO MAKE MOOD BOARD
6. Cut out pictures that inspired you. Use anything you can find
from magazines, your pc or mac, tissue paper, feathers, foil,
string, fabric etc., books (not just fashion), your own photographs
and collect fabric and paint swatches. But DONT go overboard,
this can look messy.

25. 7. Use a large sized board ( example 24”x18”) to lay out your
images, your color swatches, fabrics and buttons…. This allow
you to show a complete idea.
HOW TO MAKE MOOD BOARD
8. Extract from the large board the essence of your theme. At this
point usually use Photoshop + scanning and a smaller board.
9. Take a step back and critically look at what you’ve created to
see if it matches your keywords and theme you defined earlier.
10. Show your mood board to 2 other people (from different
social circles (two friend might give the same answers, but a
friend and a peer might come up with totally different critiques).

26. MOOD BOARD

27. MOOD BOARD

28. MOOD BOARD

29. Designing
• After the groundwork is completed for the nature of the
collection, the designer must decide how many and what
types of garments should be included in the collection.
• Usually, they have a three month period to design, produce
and publicize the collection in time for their fashion show.
• Press and buyers get their first look at the collection at the
show
THE COLLECTION

30. THE RANGE...

31. DETAILING...
DETAILING...

32. THE DESIGN
Steps
• Designers work differently to put the design ideas together:
some sketch, drape fabric on a dress stand, or use patterns
from previous seasons
• Create a paper pattern
• Make a muslin sample
• Try it on (a dress stand or live model) adjustments are made
When fit is right, a professional pattern cutter makes an
accurate pattern
• A sample item is made in the fashion fabric, then produced
in various colors
• Fashion show: reveals the finished designs in their most
attractive state

33. MEASUREMENTS

34. CONTINUE