Introduction to fashion design

Course objective: At the end of the course, the

training will describe the function of the
basic concepts in fashion design.
Index
1. Characteristics
2. History of Fashion Design
3. Concept of fashion
4. Types of fashion design
5. Most common methods of taxation
in a way
6. Most common methods of imposition
a fashion
7. Most recognized designers
1. Characteristics

Fashion design differs from design

clothing due to the fact that his
main product tends to become obsolete
after one or two seasons,
usually. A season is defined
like autumn/winter or spring/summer.
It is generally considered that the design
Fashion was born in the 19th century with Charles.
Frederick Worth, who was the first to
sew a tag on the garments with their
name. While all the articles of
clothing from any period of the
history is studied by academics
as costume design, only the clothing
created after 1858 may be
considered as fashion design.
Fashion designers design clothes and
accessories. Some high-end designers
sewing are independently employed and
they design for individual clients. Others
they cover the needs of stores
specialized or of stores of
high fashion departments. These
designers create original garments, like this
same as those who follow trends of
established fashion. However, the
majority of fashion designers
they work for clothing manufacturers, creating
designs for men, women, and children in
the mass market. The brands of
designer who has a 'name', such
like Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren are
typically designed by a team of
individual designers under the direction
from a design director, and Chanel.
2. History of Fashion Design

Beginnings of haute couture

The first fashion designer who was not
a simple fashion designer was Charles
Frederick Worth (1826–1895). Before
that established her couture house
of fashion) in Paris, the design and creation of
clothing was managed by a large number of
anonymous dressmakers, and high fashion was
based on the styles used in cuts
real. Worth's success was such that he could
to order their clients what they should use,
instead of following his direction like the
dressmakers used to make. The term couturier
(sewing box) was, in fact, coined for
refer to him. It was during this period that
many fashion houses started to
hire artists to sketch or paint
garment designs. The images by themselves
they could be presented to the
customers in a much more economical way
producing a sample garment in
the workshop. If the client liked it
the garment, it was ordered and paid for. By
the tradition of garment sketches
started as a method of the houses of
ways to save money.
Beginnings of the 20th century

Throughout the early years of the century

XX, practically all high fashion is
originated in Paris and to a lesser extent in
London. Fashion magazines of others
countries sent editors to the shows
in Paris fashion. The shops of
departments were sending buyers to the
Paris parades, where they bought
clothes to copy (and they were stealing)
openly the style lines and the cut
from others). Both in the workshops that
they made tailored suits like the
ready-to-wear clothing stores appeared
the latest fashions from Paris, adapted to the
economic and everyday characteristics of
the customers of the stores.
At this moment the division between high
sewing and clothes ready to wear were not available
still clearly defined. The two
independent modes of production
they still were not competitors, and,
in fact, they coexisted in houses where the
dressmakers made garments for both
ways.
In the early years of the century, the magazines
they also began to include photographs
of the sets and they became even more
influential than in the past. In the
cities around the world these
revostas had a great effect on taste
public and were in high demand. Illustrators
talented like Paul Iribe, Georges
Lepape, Erté, and George Barbier were drawing.
exquisite fashion frames for these
publications that covered the most
recent developments in fashion and beauty.
Perhaps the most famous fashion magazine in the
The moment was La Gazette du bon ton,
it had been founded in 1912 by Lucien
Bird and regularly published until
1925, with the exception of the years of the
war.
Mid-century
The Second World War created many
radical changes in the industry of the
fashion. After the war, the reputation
from Paris as the global center of fashion
began to decline, and the fashions of
dough making and manufacturing
they increased their popularity. A new
style for youth emerged in the
1950s, changing the focus of fashion
forever. While the installation of
central heating was expanding, it was doing so
also the era of minimum garments
carefully, thus emerging lighter textiles
and the synthetics.
Facing the threat of products from
prefabricated fashion, the haute couture of
Paris defended itself, but with little effect, in
how I couldn't help but let fashion be
it will be the color on the streets. In a short time,

entire categories of women until now

restricted to lower impersonations of
haute couture would enjoy a great
variety and freedom of choice. Trying
with larger volumes of products, the
production cycles were much more
longer than those of the sewing workshops, the
what it meant that the designers that
they planned collections twice a year,
they had to guess with more than a year of
anticipation of what their customers could
to want.
Last decades of the century
During the last decades of the century the
trends began to cross boundaries
internationally quickly. The styles
Western popular ones were adopted
around the world, and many
designers who were not Western
they had a high impact on fashion.
Synthetic materials like lycra, the
spandex and viscose were widely
used and fashion, after two decades
looking to the future, he began to search again in his
roots to find elements of
innovation.
3. Concept of fashion

According to the Dictionary of the Royal Academy

Spanish, fashion is 'a custom that
is in vogue for some time, or in
determined country, with a specialization in the
costumes, fabrics, and ornaments. Understand this
mainly from the recently introduced.
Another more classic and common definition says
that it is a custom started by a
prestigious and important minority, which arrives
to society and is accepted by it.
There is, however, another definition of
much more journalistic cut according to which
Fashion is a collective social phenomenon
that portrays a village. It arises from life
same as a means of expression and
communication. For the journalist Margarita
River, fashion is like 'the narrative'
diffused that has mobilized massively the
people of this time to see, buy and
convert that narration into part of one
same
The most serious sociologists assert that
we all have multiple identities, of what
one must be congratulated since it is
unequivocal symptom that we have the
plurality within ourselves. The
fashion in clothing has put everything
this within our reach and has turned it
almost an obligation. Fashion is that
subtle mechanism that brings to the surface at the same time

the known and the unknown of each

individual.
Fashion has governed personal relationships and
collectives, has raised myths, has created
stories, has mobilized wills and has
built impossible paradises. Is it possible?
A life without fashion? For the Spaniards
would be a life without Father Apeles, without him
Judge Garzón, or without Mar Flores. For the
the set of humanity would become
a life without Carolina of Monaco, without
Clinton and Yeltsin, without Arafat, without Ronaldo,
without the sheep Dolly... Unbearable? No,
but difficult for a large part of the
Western countries.
But the concept of fashion that is most
Adapting to our objective is the following:
Fashion is the transient tastes that
they condition customs and trends in
any aspect of life, that which
has the general attention focused on itself,
that has created a moment around him.
The fashion phenomenon implies a
basic conditions: your sense of the
fleetingness, its radical interest in change
spectacular, for the variations that
they culminate in their unconditional love for
everything that means novelty. Everything that
it's fashion, it goes out of fashion, and that ease
to not remain is what defines it
authentic fashion process. The best is
always the present, that's why fashion
(especially regarding clothing)
refers), understood as a process of
creativity, has as its main quality
be in the moment
4. Types of fashion design

There are three main types of design

fashions, although they can be divided into
other more specific categories:
Haute couture
The type of fashion that prevailed until the
The 1950s was the 'made-to-measure' fashion.
haute couture (French for high fashion).
The term 'made to measure' can be
used for any garment that is
created for a specific client. High
sewing, however, is a term
protected that can be used only
by companies that meet certain
well-defined standards by the Chamber
Sewing Union. Nevertheless,
many "ready-to-wear" clothing brands
even mass market sources claim to create
haute couture, what according to the standards,
it is false. A haute couture garment is
made at the request of an individual customer, and
it is usually made of expensive textiles
high quality, made with extreme
attention to detail and finish,
generally using hand techniques that
they take a lot of time.

Fashion ready to wear

Ready-to-wear fashion (or Prêt-à-porter)
it's a halfway point between haute couture and
mass market. It is not made for
individual clients, but it takes great
care in the selection and cutting of the fabric.
The clothing is made in small
quantities to ensure exclusivity,
therefore it is rather expensive. The
ready-to-wear clothing collections are
usually presented by houses of
trends in each season during a
period known as Fashion Week
(fashion week) that takes place two
times a year.
Mass market
Currently, the fashion industry has
especially with the market sales of
dough. The dough market covers the
needs of a wide range of
clients, producing ready-to-wear clothing
in large quantities and standard sizes.
Cheap materials used creatively
they produce affordable fashion. The designers
of mass market generally
they adapt the established fashions of the
famous names in the fashion industry.
They generally wait for a season to
make sure that a certain style
will succeed before producing its own
versions of this. To save time and
money, they use cheaper textiles and
simpler production techniques than
can be easily executed by a
machine. The final product can be
sold at a much lower price than
a product of either of the other two
production methods.
5. Most common methods of imposing a fashion

Now let's focus on each one of

the different forms that fashion has
to settle in our society.
Basically, we have distinguished five paths.
of penetration in society. While it is worth noting
highlight that on numerous occasions a
fashion usually uses more than one of the
following procedures at the same time. They are the
following:
Flood of news
2. Scientific information
3. Major releases
4. Create controversy
5. Imitate the idol. Follow the leaders of
opinion.
6. Most common ways of imposing a trend

We have basically distinguished five pathways

through which a fashion can
to become established in our society. In
in many cases, however, they are used
more than one of them at the same time. They are the
following:
Flood of news
Film studies offer to the media
of communication interviews, photos and
free reports. They use that
material and fashion arises thanks to a
snowball effect. The Titanicmania is
a good example. News was created about
the actors, the filming, and the budget, and
simultaneously, the current events were flooded with
reports and historical anecdotes about the
catastrophe.
2. Scientific information
The corporate groups that sponsor
research usually sells the
the same things investigated,” claims Javier.
Curtichs, director of the division of
Burson Marsteller marketing.
researchers "are conditioned by
"This funding," according to José Luis León,
professor of audiovisual communication and
advertising of the University of the Basque Country,
"and emit scientific news that favors
business interests –although not in
to the detriment of its veracity -, as happens
when it is announced that the oil reduces the
risks of cardiovascular ailments.
3. Major launches
If products from a large scale are launched
same genre, a momentum is created
around this. "In certain
dates, for example, are released all at once
many Spanish movies because the
abundance makes national cinema fashionable
explains Fernando Ocaña, president of the
FCB/TAPSA agency. A great example of
the launch is also controversial
Tamagotchi.
4. Create controversy
Some advertising campaigns enter into
private conversations and the
media through the
scandal, as it usually does the
Italian company Bennetton. Recently,
Volkswagen partnered in France the
launch of its new Golf to the
Catholic imagery of the Last Supper: it had
to withdraw the campaign, but he/she succeeded
capturing the attention of the press.
5. Imitate the idol. Follow the leaders of
opinion.
The creation of fashion has a foundation
basic in the prescribing capacity,
capacity of opinion leaders - people
from the entertainment world, designers or
politicians - to convey their tastes and
trends. In fact, a brand only
keeps in fashion for a long time
time period if it attracts equally to the
opinion leaders and the general public.
As proof of this, we can highlight
as examples: the appearance of Clark Gable
In the movie It Happened One Night,
1934 - showing his bare chest to
quitarse la camisa, hizo descender la venta
of undershirts in the States
United. More recently, Jane Fonda.
aerobics became fashionable, the appearances
summer ones by Estefania of Monaco
they generalized the one-piece swimsuit and
very high on the hips, and the company 3M
he launched his nasal strips supplying them to
numerous elite athletes.
It should also be noted here the almost effect
random trends that some follow. By
example, the dance that accompanied the
Whigfield's song 'Saturday Night'
was born on an aerobics mat without either the
the singer nor the company were around
half.
7. Most recognized designers

Coco Chanel
Carolina Herrera
Christian Dior
Dolce & Gabbana
Guccio Gucci
Giorgio Armani
Donatella Versace and Gianni Versace
Ralph Lauren
Prada
Valentino
Louis Vuitton
Sarah Bustani
Sources: [Link] / [Link]