When I was three years old, my mom would stop my tears by giving me a shoe magazine. At seven, I had binders full of jell pen fashion sketches. By thirteen, I was introduced to the Savannah College of Art and Design. And by twenty-one I am ready to show my word who I am as a designer.
The fashion design program is very rigorous. You spend your sophomore and junior year learning the basics and advancing your skills of pattern making, sewing, and sketching. You’ll have an unlimited amount of sleepless nights, your social life will become third on your priority list because you might have to make three garments in two weeks, and you’ll never walk into Eckburg (the fashion design building) without your arms starting to go numb from all the supplies you need to bring. But in the end, is it all worth it?
Although I have written for HerCampus for a couple years, this is the first time I’ll be giving an insight in my life and what it is like to be in fashion department of SCAD. You’ll also be with me throughout the year and following me through my senior year as well as the process of my senior collection.
With the first month of the school year coming to an end, we’re still in the “process” stage of designing. The most important thing to do is perfect your process book. A process book is how I’ll introduce my collection to my fellow classmates, professors, and jurors (they’re a big part of deciding who will be showing in the spring). The book includes images that inspired me for my designs and the feel of my collection, swatches of fabrics, and quick sketches that will progress my ideas to my final sketches. Each week, I have to bring in pages of my book that I have tried to perfect for critique as well as at least twenty-five sketches per class. Again its all a heavy process to help us students perfect our collections.
We have all had an initial meeting with the Dean and Chair of our fashion department within our second week of school. From this, they tell us what they like about our books, if we have a strong idea, and what we can change before we go onto designing.
Within the next six weeks, I will be perfecting my sketches and with the helping of my senior professor, deciding my final ten look lineup. I’ll also have to make two to three mock ups of the final line up. This is to show our Dean and Chair how well we can sew and if we can successfully connect our ideas from our process book to our ideas. Does it read well? Will people who haven’t seen our books understand what your collection is about just from looking at the garments? Is the mood right?
There’s a lot of weight placed on your shoulders as a senior in my department. But the most important thing is to stay true to your ideas and not to lose yourself in a sea of critiques.
I am very excited to share my senior year with you all and I hope in the end you all will see how much blood, sweat, and tears go into making a collection!