Fashion Terminology

Haute Couture
❖ French for “Fine Tailoring”
❖ Design that predominated until the 1950’s
❖ Made for the individual customer, look and fit take
priority over the cost of materials and the time it
takes to make
❖ The most costly garments, ranging from $2,000-
$40,000.
❖ High price guarantees you have a one of a kind
outfit or gown that fits you perfectly and has been
designed with you in mind.
 Designer Label
❖ A cross between couture and mass market
❖ Not made for individual customers, but great care
is taken in the choice and cut of the fabric.
❖ These clothes are made with high quality materials
and mass produced only in small quantities to
guarantee exclusivity.
❖ They are costly.
❖ Examples: Donna Karan, Yves St Laurent, Gucci
 Mass Market
❖ Clothes to cater to a wide range of customers,
producing ready-to-wear clothes in large
quantities and standard sizes.
❖ Less costly materials and construction techniques,
creatively used, produce affordable high street
fashion.
❖ Standardized sizing is used, trims and notions are
scaled down but still try to keep the look of
Designer or Haute Couture.
❖ Other names for mass market: ready-to-wear, off-
the rack
❖ Examples: Old Navy, Gap, Abercrombie and
Fitch, H&M
 Specializing
❖A designer may choose to specialize in a
certain area of design:
– Women’s wear
• Day wear, evening wear, lingerie, sports wear,
knitwear
– Men’s Wear
• Day wear, evening wear, sports wear, knit wear
– Children’s wear
• Boy’s wear, girl’s wear, teenage clothes, knitwear
 A fashion year
❖Two main seasons
– Spring/Summer
– Autumn/Winter
❖Both require a different fashion look and a
new range of colors and fabric designs for
the time of year.
– Lightweight fabrics in summer
– Heavier fabrics in winter
 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!
❖ 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.
❖ Predicting Trends
– A designers most difficult task is forecasting what will be in
style for the coming years. To do this, they know the past
trends and look at repeats. They also purchase HIGH priced
trend magazines. Additionally they observe what succeeded
with customers in the past.
 The Collection
❖ 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…
❖ 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 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
 What are the careers
involved in creating a
collection?
❖ Fashion Designer
❖ Textile Designer
❖ Fashion Illustrator
❖ Pattern Cutter
❖ Fashion Photographer
❖ Fashion Journalist
❖ Public relations consultant
❖ Fashion Buyer
❖ Stylist
❖ Fashion Model
Where is the easiest place
to find work in these
careers?
 Design Capitals
❖There are many cities around the world that
host a strong fashion economy but 5 major
cities are considered by most to be the
centers of the fashion world.
❖Which five cities do you think host fashion
for the world?
 Milan, Italy
❖ These fashions have a reputation for casual
elegance and luxurious fabrics. Many Italian
couturiers, such as Valentino, are based in Rome.
However, Milan is seen as the fashion capital of
Italy because many well-known designers are
based there and it is the venue for the Italian
designer collections, which take place at an
exhibition center called the Diera di Milano or the
Milan Fair
Milan
❖
Italian Designers
Giorgio Armani ❖ Cailand ❖ Elicolaj ❖ Gherardini
❖ Alma Couture ❖ Callaghan ❖ Ematite Istante
❖ Filippo Alpi Femme ❖ ❖ Juditte
Armando Calo ❖ Erreuno
❖ Maria Grazia ❖ ❖ ❖ Bill Kaiserman
Capucine Fendi
Amoretti ❖ Krizia
❖ Roberta Badio
❖ Gianna Cassoli ❖ Salvatore
❖ Ferragamo ❖ Andre Laug
❖ Baila Emilio Cavallini
❖ Maurizio Baldassari ❖ Ernestina Cerini ❖ Gianfranco Ferre ❖ Paola Marzotto
❖ Renato Balestra ❖ Complice ❖ Alberta Ferretti ❖ Max Mara
❖ Anna Mucci
❖ Federico Bano ❖ Anna e Cristina ❖ Fiore
❖ Basile Costi ❖ Floranna ❖ Gioia Nordi
❖ Bensussan ❖ Raffaella Curiel ❖ Gianluca Gabrielli ❖ Tita Rossi
❖ Laura Biagiotti ❖ Dadoscorza by ❖ M. Galante per ❖ Tivioli
❖ Blumarine Edward De Carlis Circolare ❖ Mario Valentin
❖ Chiara Boni ❖ Roberta De ❖ Raniero Gattinoni ❖ Gianni Versace
❖ Mariella Burano Castello ❖ Genny
❖ Byblos ❖ Dolce e Gabbana ❖ Daniela Gerini
 Paris, France
❖ Chic and stylish
❖ Home of famous couture houses such as Dior and
Chanel
– The houses stage exclusive fashion shows in their own
salons. Many other famous French designers show their
work twice a year.
❖ One of the best known French designers and a pioneer
of ready to wear is Yves Saint Laurent. He consistently
turned out stylish, quality garments over many years.
❖ One of the innovators of French fashion is Jean Paul
Gauliter. He designs unusual witty clothes which stand
apart from the main thrust of French style. He
designed for Madonna.
Paris
 French Designers
❖ Jin Abe ❖ Hiroko Koshino ❖ Emanuel Ungaro
❖ Balenciaga ❖ Christian Lacroix ❖ Valentino
❖ Dorothee Bis ❖ Karl Lagerfeld ❖ Kansi Yamamoto
❖ Cerruti Femme ❖ Guy Laroche ❖ Yohji Yamamoto
❖ Chanel ❖ Matsuda
❖ Chloe ❖ Issey Miyake
❖ Enrico Coveri ❖ Claude Montana
❖ Christian Dior ❖ Thierry Mugler
❖ Louis Feraud ❖ Bernard Perris
❖ Jean-Paul Gaultier❖ Nina Ricci
❖ Romeo Gigli ❖ Sonia Rykiel
❖ Givenchy ❖ Yves Saint Laurent
❖ Kenzo ❖ Jean-Louis Scherrer
 London, England
❖ Known for unorthodox clothes, with a young
market and popular appeal.
❖ Vivienne Westwood is one of the pioneers of street
style, the name of daring youthful looks which
London is known for.John Galliano, Richmond
Cornejo and a design group called English
Eccentrics also turn out fresh ideas consistently.
❖ Other well known names include Zandra Rhodes,
Katharine Hamnett (known for slogan t-shirts) and
Bruce Oldfield who designs glamorous evening
wear.
London
 London Designers
❖ Bodymap
❖ Joe Casely-Hayford
❖ Caroline Charles
❖ Nick Coleman
❖ Paul Costelloe
❖ Ghost
❖ Pam Hogg
❖ Betty Jackson
❖ Bruce Oldfield
❖ Ednia Ronay
❖ Vivienne Westwood
❖ Workers for Freedom
 New York, New York,
U.S.A.
❖ American fashion design is dominated by a clean-cut
casual style reflecting the sporty, health-conscious life
styles of many Americans. The fashion industry in New
York is based around Seventh Avenue.
❖ A designer who helped to set the trend in America for sport
influenced day wear throughout the 1940’s and 50’s was
Clair McCardell. Many of her styles have been rivived.
More recent influences on the American Look have been
Calvin Klein, with classic coats, separates and jeans.
❖ Ralph Lauren designs casually elegant clothes in natural
fabrics and Donna Karan works with practical,
sophisticated women’s wear.
New York
 New York Designers
❖ Geoffrey Beene
❖ Bill Blass
❖ Oscar De La Renta
❖ Tom Ford (Gucci)
❖ Halston
❖ Carolina Herrera
❖ Norma Kamali
❖ Donna Karan
❖ Calvin Klein
❖ Ralph Lauren
❖ Mary McFadden
❖ Mary Ann Restivo
❖ Scassi
❖ Pauline Trigere
 Tokyo, Japan
❖ The look is lose and apparently unstructured. This is
often the result of complicated cutting techniques.
Colors are often subtle, and somber. Fabrics are rich
and textured.
❖ Many of the famous names in Japanese fashion now
work in Europe or the USA, but the Tokyo designer
collections are still a major international fashion
event. Famous names in Japanese fashion include
Kenzo, known for layered looks and highly original
knitwear.
❖ Miyake, considered a master of draping and cutting,
and Rei Kawakubo who developed a completely new
way of cutting. His work has been compared with the
bias innovation of Vionnet in the 1930’s.
Tokyo
 Tokyo Designers
❖ Jin Abe
❖ Barbara Bui
❖ Hiroko Koshino
❖ Junko Koshino
❖ Issey Miyake
❖ Hanae Mori
❖ Yuki Torii International
❖ Kansai Yamamoto
 The “Main Event”
Calendar
❖ January
– Italian and French couture collections for
spring/summer in Paris and Rome
❖ February
– British, Italian, American and French designer
collections shown in London, Bologne, Germany, and
Paris
– IMBEX (International Men’s and Boy’s wear
exhibition in London, England)
– International men’s fashion week in Cologne, Germany
❖ March
– British, Italian, American and French designer collections for
autumn/winter shown in London, Milan, New York and
Paris.
– Munich (Germany) Fashion Fair
❖ April
– Interstoff clothing, textiles trade fair held in Frankfurt,
Germany
❖ May
– International designer collections, in Tokyo
– London mid-season fashion exhibition for autumn
❖ June
– Italian children’s wear collections held in Florence, Italy
– Portex: Portugese ready-to-wear fashion fari for
Spring/Summer in Porto
❖ July
– French and Italian couture collections for Autumn/Winter,
Paris and Rome
– Uomo Italia Men’s wear shown in Florence
❖ August
– Future Fashions Scandinavia Fair held in Copenhagen,
Denmark
– International men’s fashion week and international jeans
fair in Cologne, Germany
– Finnish fashion fair in Helsinki
❖ September
– British, French and American ready-to-wear collections for
Spring/Summer shown in London, Paris, New York
❖October
– British, French, American and Italian designer
collections for Spring/Summer in London, Paris,
New York and Milan
– Interstoff – international textiles and trade fair in
Frankfurt, Germany
❖November
– International designer collections, Tokyo
❖December
– Portex Portuguese ready-to-wear fashion fair for
Autumn/Winter, Porto
 Terms that keep
designers in business..
❖Fashion
❖Fad
❖Classic
❖Style
❖Design
❖Trends
❖Fashion Cycle
Fashion
❖The currently
accepted
prevailing style.

❖What are the

current fashions
now?
 Fad
❖A fashion with a
sudden burst of
popularity

❖What fads do you

notice this year at
school?
 Style
❖ A characteristic or
distinctive form of
dress that exists
independent of
fashion
❖ Each person develops
their own over time.

❖ What is yours?
 Classic
❖A fashion that
retains general
acceptance over
a very extended
period of time

❖What are
examples of
classics?
 Design
❖Refers to a
specific
version of a
style
 Trend
❖The movement
of a fashion into
and through the
marketplace
❖How long a
fashion remains
popular
❖DESIGNER - "A fashion designer creates
clothing, including dresses, suits, pants,
and skirts, and accessories like shoes and
handbags, for consumers. He or she can
specialize in clothing, accessory, or jewelry
design, or may work in more than one of
these areas."
❖Prêt-à-porter - “Ready-to-wear”  is a
fashion industry term that signifies that an
article of clothing was mass-manufactured
in standardized sizes and sold in finished
condition—rather than designed and sewn
for one particular person.
❖BOUTIQUE - A small store containing a
limited amount of specialty or high end
products.  A small company that offers
highly specialized services or products
boutique wineries an independent
investment boutique
❖TASTE - Taste means the genius
understanding and test of these matters,
which is from building of internal mind.
Therefore, good taste is the base of fashion.
Fashion is appearance while taste is the
temperament
❖SILHOUETTE - Silhouettes are the outline of a
person, object, or scene which is represented as a solid
shape mostly in black color. ... Basically, Silhouette in
Fashion Design means that outline of clothing or
garment and refers to the line of dress.
❖CROQUI - Croquis means “sketch” in French. In
the world of fashion design, a croquis is a quick sketch
of a fashion figure. The word can also refer to the
practice of drawing live models. Croquis drawings are
minimalist in style and serve as a blank canvas for
drawing clothing.In fashion, a croquis is a quick sketch
of an ensemble. The fashion model figure is
exaggerated with elongated legs, arms, and neck. The
average human body is about seven heads tall, but
croquis often span from eight to eleven heads tall.
❖MUSE - A muse is "a force personified as a
woman, who is the source of inspiration for a
creative artist". So muses are supposed to have a
unique style which inspires the designer .
❖KNOCK OFF - an act or instance of knocking off.
an unlicensed copy of something, especially fashion
clothing, intended to be sold at a lower price than the
original. They are either replicas or copied designs.
❖ AVANT GARDE - Favoring or introducing
experimental or unusual ideas. The avant-garde (from
French, "advance guard" or "vanguard", literally "fore
guard") are people or works that are experimental or
innovative, particularly with respect to fashion, art,
lifestyle or culture.
❖MUSE - Toile is a French word (pronounced twarhl)
is a prototype or fitting version of a garment that's
made up in an inexpensive fabric so that the design
can be tested and perfected. The name comes from the
fabric of the same name that was originally used in their
construction – a translucent linen or cotton fabric.
❖ATELIER - Atelier is a workshop or studio,
especially one used by an artist or haute couture fashion
designer. ... Atelier is the French word for "workshop"
or "studio". In regard to clothing, shoes, jewelry or
accessories it references a designers studio or workshop
in which they work to merchandise & manufacturer
product.
❖BESPOKE - Bespoke clothing is custom-made clothing. It
is not made to measure, as featured by many good clothing vendors.
A made-to-measure item is a standard one customized at the factory
in certain measurements and details. Bespoke is made from scratch to
your specifications.

❖COLLAGE - A collage is a piece of art made by sticking

different materials such as photographs and pieces of paper or
fabric onto a backing. Designers have used fashion collages for
years, and the technique can have a greater visual impact than a
simple photograph or drawing.

❖FROTTAGE- frottage, (French: “rubbing”), in visual arts,

technique of obtaining an impression of the surface texture of a
material, such as wood, by placing a piece of paper over it and
rubbing it with a soft pencil or crayon, as for taking brass rubbings;
the name is also applied to the impression so obtained.
❖MONTAGE - A montage is a series of separate images,
moving or still, that are edited together to create a continuous
sequence.
❖MONTAGE - A montage is a series of separate
images, moving or still, that are edited together to create
a continuous sequence.
 Fashion Cycle
❖ The introduction, Rise, Culmination, Decline, and
Obsolescence of a given style over a period of time.
– Introduction: the beginning of a new style, trend
– Rise: gain in popularity and familiarity
– Culmination: the highest point or peak of the trend
– Decline: the end of a style or trend
Recurring cycle in skirt
lengths
Trend Cycle
 Design Details
❖Sleeve/Skirt/Pant/Short Lengths & Widths
❖Collar Types
❖Pockets
❖Topstitching
❖Neckline
 What are some specific
design details that fall under
these categories?

❖Hip huggers
❖¾ length sleeves
❖Peter Pan Collar
❖Round Neckline
THANK YOU