Fashion Design

1. The immense variety in the fashion world has made fashion the reflective outlet that it is today. What you wear can express one or many different things about you: your religion, the climate in which you live, your occupation, your age, your sexual orientation, your socio-economic status, etc. What you wear can send endless messages about your personality or your lifestyle. By wearing sportswear or activewear, you may communicate (intentionally or unintentionally) that exercise and healthy living is a main priority for you. If you constantly wear sweats and hoodies, you may communicate that comfort and casualness is most important in what you wear. On the other hand, if you wear nice tailored pants and a blazer, you may be wishing to send out the more professional vibe. What you wear is going to communicate something about you. Therefore, it makes sense to customize your style to reflect something about yourself. After all, your options are limitless.

2. Fashion is heavily dependent on time and events pertaining to that time. Economic shifts are definite influences on fashions. Jones states that during an economic downturn, bright colors and expensive trimmings may temporarily disappear for the market. Designers and producers may look for cheaper materials during tough times, and therefore may have to accommodate their limited means in their designs. In addition to economic shifts, political shifts can also reach the fashion world. Jones uses the example of World War II on fashion. Since most communication to Paris was suspended, designers had to rely more on their own ideas and creativity, and therefore, new, independent, unique styles were forged during this time.

3. The most important thing when designing a garment is to know your audience and the timeyou are designing for:

-Gender

-Age

-Purpose (comfortable casual or professional)

-Season (are you designing for hot or cool temperatures?)

-Trends (do your research - what is in vogue at the moment? or are you trying to make a new statement?)

-Personality (what type of personalities are you trying to reach? this will influence the fit, color, material, etc. of your garment.)