5 Steps to Garment Construction

Garment construction is one of the key aspects of Fashion Designing. Here, the most important thing is the sequence that is used to construct or manufacture the garment. The fashion industry has identified a standard sequence for Garment Construction, which is as follows:

Sketch/Design: This is the first step in most designing aspect. However, in garment construction along with sketch, designers draw up ‘working drawings’. These are detailed sketches that lay out the measurement and pattern of the garment.

Production Pattern: Here the pattern maker creates the design on a standard ‘pattern making paper’. The tissue paper pattern is the most commonly used technique in the industry. In the later stage, the tissue paper pattern becomes a blue print for designers to create the garment.

Grading: The purpose of grading is to determine the perfect size of the garment. Pattern sizes are usually large, medium, and small, but when graded manually the graders have to alter the pattern at each and every point, starting from armhole to neckline. 

Market Making: In this step the fabric yardage is determined as per the style of the garment. Nowadays, there are computer softwares to determine the amount of fabric that is required to create a garment.

Sewing: This is the final step and common to all designing aspects. This step involves sewing the fabric together using different techniques and assembling different parts of the fabric to create the final garment. 

 

These five steps are just a precursor to this subject. Garment Construction requires great understanding and knowledge. The finesse can be acquired through a formal education in institutes like Whistling Woods International- Neeta Lulla School of Fashion. Here, an aspiring designer can explore different techniques in garment construction along with venturing in different avenues of fashion designing.

Seeking a Quality Fashion Education

Fashion designing is one of most artistic fields and has witnessed a steady growth in recent times. One of the reasons for this is globalization. A lot of international labels have established themselves in the country and a lot of Indian designers have made big on the global scene. But to reach those heights, your fundamentals need to be strong and for that you need a quality education.

Education is the first step towards starting your career, be it the typical nine to five job or a job with unrestricted hours. As far as fashion designing is concerned you may have the artistic skills to become a fashion designer, but you need the backing of a formal education to learn the very essence of designing. A formal education is necessary for anyone for any career in the fashion industry, from designing to managing.

Rocky S

Rocky S, one of the most influential designers in India, has made a niche in the fashion industry. He has successfully established his brand ‘Rocky S’ on both national and international levels. His initial education was in commerce, but his passion was fashion. He had the knack for picking up the right clothes and would be the fashion advisor for his friends. Coming from a conventional family, breaking away was a little challenging. But he did emerge victorious and joined J. D. Institute for Fashion Designing. He had an eye for fashion and the hands of an artist but these skills need to be developed and enhanced which is what a formal education did. Working for Roopam was his first break and a couple of years he entered the world glamour by designing for Akshay Kumar.

Neeta Lulla

Another prestigious personality in the world of fashion that reaped benefits from a formal education is Neeta Lulla. With her classic elegance and enormous amount of knowledge, she has been among the selected few to earn numerous awards. She has been on top for nearly two decades, but she started with a Degree in Dressmaking and Apparel Construction from SNDT University. Each of her works has been vibrant and unique, right from Chandni to Devdas. Now the Dean of Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion, Lulla is a firm believer in formal education.

Often young aspirants have a lot of questions regarding the need of education pertaining to careers in creative fields. Even with the internet making things easier, there is still a certain hesitancy among students. The Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion is dedicating an evening to aspirants, a little A & Q time with Subhash Ghai and Neeta Lulla. So make sure you’re ready with your questions on 5^th July 2014!

Career in Fashion Marketing & Fashion Communication

Fashion Marketing and Fashion Communication are two streams of the fashion industry that are not as extensively known compared to others, but are as critical career lines as any other in this industry. Most aspects of fashion designing needs highly sharpened creativity, but a fashion designer or a fashion house cannot run on creativity alone. This glamorous industry is incomplete without being business minded.

Fashion marketing is quite similar to marketing any product. Integrating brand into the product is something always popular in the fashion world for many popular retail fashion products. Fashion marketing can be perceived in two ways; one is marketing for the fashion conscious consumers and the other is marketing to distribution channels such as retail franchises. Fashion marketing basically focuses on promoting, publicizing and increasing awareness of a particular brand or designer. A person pursuing a career in this line should have the skill of strategically pushing a product into the limelight. A fashion marketer should be able to recognize the target audience and the needs of the consumers. This information will be the base point on which the strategies will be developed. Advertisements, public and media interaction, social media, events and magazines are used by a fashion marketer intelligently to create awareness. 

Fashion communication is an emerging career line that is gaining space in the market. It has a lot to do with the business side of fashion designing and so it is bound to share similarities with fashion marketing. As the name suggests, it is all about communication, or more accurately mass communication. In this globalized world and constantly changing trends where styles keep changing by the minute, communicating a particular brand or designer in a unique and impactful way is the priority. Through the use of mass communication, brand labels or designers are promoted. Just as it is with fashion marketing, fashion communication uses advertisement, promotion, social media, print and videos to get the message across.  

In order to gain successes in these two professions an individual needs to have a strong background in fashion education. They need to possess knowledge about every aspect of the fashion industry, the business as well as the creative part. The MBA in Fashion Management at the Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion does just that. Aspirants are introduced to the fundamental business concepts along with the application of commercial practice, which is required before entering the world of fashion. 

Career Options for Fashion Aspirants

The glamorous and lucrative line of Fashion Designing has beckoned a lot of young creative minds to join this career path. For a lot of people, Fashion Designing is normally associated with only the designing aspect, but the fashion industry is huge. Aspirants with artistic skills and an extensive fashion sense can make a successful career in fashion as one of the following.

Fashion Stylist

Fashion Styling is one of the career lines that have been there for a few decades but in recent years it has reached its full potential. The job description involves selecting correct clothes for editorial features, prints, television, advertising campaigns, movies, music videos, award functions, music concerts or any other public appearance by celebrities. A stylist collaborates with fashion designers, hair and makeup stylists to create the prefect look for the client. A stylist is the person who gets a celebrity on the best dressed list. Today retail stores and e-stores boast a personal stylist, who helps the buyers in picking the perfect outfit.

Fashion Merchandising

Fashion Merchandising is where fashion meets business. The designer has to launch his product and this is where a Fashion Merchandiser comes in. From producing a fashion line to final sale, a merchandiser is ‘involved in each step’. They ensure the supply of quality apparel to the customers in the most suitable retail setting, during the right season. They should be up to date with the current trends and also be able to forecast the future trends. There are sub-careers that fall under this category, such as retail management.

Fashion Illustration

A Fashion Illustrator is someone who creates sketches and drawing or any other work of art. When staring a new line, Fashion Designer depends on an illustrator to realize their ideas through their drawing and sketches. These drawings are used by designers to sell the line before prototypes are made. The illustrator can bring the designer’s idea to life. For this line of work, artistic skills have to be polished as the illustrator has to capture the essence of the designs and not just draw lines.

Belinda Bawa a Fashion Illustrator

Fashion Journalist

Meher Castelino a Fashion Journalist

For a person who loves to write and has a soft corner for fashion, Fashion Journalism is the perfect career option. Everyday there is some fashion related event or fashion show all over the world and writing about them is a requirement. Magazines and fashion websites and blogs have popped up with by-the-minute reports on the latest happenings in the world of fashion, so let’s just say that this is one career option will never go out of fashion. 

Pattern Making (left), Textile Designing (right)

The fashion industry is filled with diverse career paths like Pattern Making, Textile Designing, Production Management and new ones keep emerging from time to time that give immense opportunities to fashion aspirants. So keep your eyes and ears tuned and you could hit the giddy heights of success before you know it.

Knowledge Draped in Fashion

There are different facets to Fashion Designing that a young aspiring should be aware about. From the smallest stitch to the correct shade, every step has to be thoroughly thought through. Draping is another important aspect of fashion designing that a designer should be familiar with. Draping is used by haute couture designer to bring the best out of their creations on the runway.

Draping can be described as the art of creating a dress or garment simply by arranging fabrics around a dress form using the natural fall of the fabric and techniques like pleating and gathering. 

            

It is also the process of positioning and pinning fabrics on a dress in order to develop the structure of a garment design. Using a design sketch, a garment can be draped in a certain way or designers can create new designs by playing with the way a fabric falls.

The process of draping involves sewing loosely hanging material to a garment to create a flowing look. When done correctly, the drape gives a dramatic effect to the overall look.  

Muslin fabric is generally used and once the designer is satisfied, final marks are made on the fabrics to show where it should be cut or sewn. These pieces are then traced on paper to make patterns thus becoming a guide for the final garment.

Sari is the best example of Indian Draping  

A lot factors have to considered, specially the fabric. The type and weight of a fabric can affect the drape of the garment. The most frequently used fabrics are chiffons, satins and silks but fabrics with light and flowing feel can also be used, rigid fabrics should be avoided. 

Hand Pleating, Pleating Pattern, Machine Pleating are some of the common techniques that are used for draping which create different effects. Though designers are experimenting and constantly creating something new.

        

                               

Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion, through their fashion programs are training fashion aspirant in various aspects of designing. The students have had a lesson in draping and have created draperies of the Kush era.

By the students of Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion

The benefits a designer can reap through draping is that it teaches one how to put together before creating a sketch, as also the art of perfecting draft and seams that will prove helpful in the long run.

      

Student spotlight: Creating a Mood board

Fashion designing as a profession and art has evolved immensely, being more accessible than ever. Different aspects of fashion education have evolved, whereas others are still emerging. Possessing knowledge about fabrics, colors, silhouette and cuts is imperative, but presenting a creation holds equal significance. A mood board is one of the methods that can be used to present a design or a collection creatively.

Mood boards (also known as inspiration boards) help to visualize the design concepts and ideas and explore the look and feel of a project. There is a uniformity of colors, fonts, images, themes or layout. The mood board becomes a tool through which a designer and clients can have a better understanding of the designs. This covers everything, from what it needs, how to take it forward, what makes it tick and more. The board also acts as a brainstorming device in which new ideas can be developed or old ones refined.

A large number of designers use mood boards, and it is not limited to the fashion industry alone. In fact, creating an inspiration board is common for interior designers, web designers, landscape designing, wedding planning or it could be a normal collage made at home by a college going photography enthusiastic.

A mood board could be created on anything- a PDF file, PowerPoint or on a physical board, bulletin or even in a notebook. The content of the board should reflect the designer’s idea. A fashion designer, for instance, would create a mood board in which the theme of their collection would be apparent, the colors to be used, sketches of the outfits, illustrations, fragments of the fabrics to be used, the source of inspiration through which the collection has been created and anything that will be of any relevance to the designer.

Pranali Oswal's Mood Board

Pranali Oswal, a fashion student of Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion, has created a mood board in which she has beautifully exhibited her design and the source of inspiration. The renderings that Pranali has done are influenced by graffiti either inspired by the colors or by using text as print on the garment. Regarding the mood board, Pranali believes that they are important to designers as it gives direction to the collection while expressing the theme on its own. The board showcases the designer’s thought process giving the ideas a visual expression. 

Pranali Oswal's Mood Board