When I first came to the Savannah College of Art & Design, I was ready to start designing clothes and getting my career started! I had all the magazine subscriptions and (what I thought at the time) knew all of the designers. All I need to do was learn how to make my designs real. Well I received a very rude awakening in one of my fashion classes when I had to list five designers from New York, Paris, and Milan. Let me just give you an insight as to where I was in the designer knowledge aspect, it went from Ralph Lauren to Coco Chanel. Now if you know your fashion, you know that is a very poor range of designers. So that’s what I’m here for, to help you jump start you knowledge of the fashion industry with the five W’s. You may not like what the industry always has to offer but if you actually know what you’re talking about, you’ll have a great respect.
1. Who designed what? : You definitely need to know about all the designers and their latest shows. So do your research! Style.com is a great website that includes information about the designer, what their latest collection is about, and a single shot of every garment they had walking down the runway. You can also look at shows from the past so you can learn what past trends were.
2. What’s trending? : If you don’t know what is trending, you’re going to be in the dark forever. Trends are usually very clear and if you keep up with the shows from Style.com you’ll be able to fish them out. For me, I downloaded the Style.com App so I can always check out the new shows and looks from wherever I am.
3. When does this all happen? : This is why Style.com will be your best friend. They have all the information on all the shows. But don’t just rely on Style, follow different designers on all social media! They’re always posting from their shows and workrooms. Also look for fashion magazine editors, they will always be front row to all the good shows giving us all great pictures and information!
4. Where should I document all this information? : Now I’m not going to tell you that you should keep journals of every trend and show happening every season, but keep tabs on the things you really like. Every trend is always recycled so keep looks that you just absolutely love in a small book that you can always go back to. This is a good way to start remembering the designers that you like (you’ll start to see patterns in their designs.) Also you can always reinvent a style you liked from a past season!
5. Why use that kind of fabric? FABRIC! Know your fabric! Especially if you want to be a designer, you must know what kind of fabrics you should use each season. You need to be familiar with fabrics because you don’t want to use a wool in a spring/summer collection! If you want to look at fabrics designers use, go to MoodFabrics.com. They are always selling fabrics from the latest shows and you don’t even have to buy a yard, only because it can get pricy fast. You can buy a sample for only one dollar!
Now you know how to better yourself as a fashion lover or future designer. Go download the Style.com App because London’s fashion week is coming to an end!