Test Your Fashion Design Knowledge

Fashion Design: A Summary

• Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and accessories.

• Fashion designers create clothing and accessories for consumers and may specialize in clothing, accessory, or jewelry design.

• Fashion designers consider who will wear a garment and the situations in which it will be worn, working with materials, colors, patterns, and styles to create functional and aesthetically pleasing designs.

• Clothing may be made specifically for an individual or for the mass market, with most clothing designed for everyday wear falling within a narrow range of conventional styles.

• Fashion designers may work full-time for one fashion house, work alone or as part of a team, or set up their own labels.

• Three main categories of garments produced by clothing manufacturers include haute couture, ready-to-wear, and mass market.

• The fashion industry is a global industry, with seven countries establishing an international reputation in fashion: the United States, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, and Belgium.

• The United States is home to the largest, wealthiest, and most multi-faceted fashion industry, with most fashion houses based in New York City.

• Fashion income varies widely, with median annual wages for salaried fashion designers at $74,410 in February of 2023.

• Social media is a significant platform for advertising and promoting fashion, with influencers being paid large amounts of money to promote products or clothing items.

• The fashion industry is heavily influenced by culture and different trends and has varied over time and place.

• Some notable fashion designers and brands include Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Vivienne Westwood, Loewe, Zara, and Manolo Blahnik.Fashion and Clothing Around the World

• Japanese fashion is loose and unstructured, with sombre and subtle colours, and richly textured fabrics. Famous designers include Kenzo Takada, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo.

• Shanghai Tang is a Hong Kong clothing brand that aims to rejuvenate Chinese fashion of the 1920s and 30s with a modern twist.

• Fashion in the Soviet Union was influenced by Western trends, but moderated by socialist ideology. Shortages of consumer goods meant that pre-made fashion was not widely available.

• Swiss fashion is casual elegant and luxurious, with a slight touch of quirkiness, and has been influenced by the dance club scene.

• Mexican indigenous dress was determined by the materials and resources available in specific regions, with textiles created from plant fibers, including cotton and agave. Class status differentiated what fabric was worn. After the Spanish Conquest, traditional Mexican clothing shifted to take a Spanish resemblance.

• Mexican indigenous groups rely on specific embroidery and colors to differentiate themselves from each other. Mexican Pink is a significant color to the identity of Mexican art and design and general spirit.

• Newspapers and magazines in Mexico, such as El Imparcial and El Mundo Ilustrado, led to significant movement, informing the large cities of European fashions. This encouraged the founding of department stores, changing the existing pace of fashion.

• Juana Catarina Romero was a successful entrepreneur and pioneer in the adoption of European fashion and dress by those with high social status in Mexico.

• A fashion designer creates clothing designs, while a fashion buyer selects and purchases products for retail.

• Ready-to-wear clothing is mass-produced and available in standard sizes, while haute couture is made-to-measure and highly exclusive.

• Sustainable fashion aims to reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry by using eco-friendly materials and production methods.

• The fashion industry is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, and waste production.

• Fashion weeks are events where designers showcase their latest collections to buyers and the media.