In the fashion industry or not, it seems like the assumption is that plus sizes are harder to fit. But, is it actually true that plus sizes are harder to fit or has our society spent so much of its attention dressing thin people that it has made us wary of dressing larger bodies?
Mixing fabrics or prints within the same garment is a fun way to add a unique twist, interesting texture, or creative design detail to your style. But, beyond patchworking a beautiful design, mixing fabrics in a way that is efficient in production and holds up to consumer use, takes some technical planning to get right.
When doing anything for the first time – including starting a fashion brand, it is inevitable that mistakes can be made. But, many mistakes can be avoided. These are the four most common mistakes I’ve seen new brands make and what you can learn from those mistakes in order to avoid them in your business.
The thing about design is that it is subjective. So, how do you know which designs to produce and when the development process is complete? Today’s post is all about how to know when you’ve perfected the design and fit of your garment. (Hint: it has almost nothing to do with the garment itself.)
The goal with development is to arrive at a pattern that fits well on as many people in the target market as possible, but even the best-fitting pattern can’t fit everyone perfectly. Because of this, it is worth considering how your designs might be altered so you can design with ease of alterations in mind.
Watching fashion reality TV, you might think that every designer knows how to sit behind a sewing machine and whip up an outfit. In reality, though, many designers don’t or can’t sew at all. There are some things that are important for every designer to know – especially if you don’t know how to sew.
One of the biggest challenges of a digital society is how do you keep returns low when customers don’t have the opportunity to touch, feel, and try on the clothes before they buy? There are things even on the design side that can help minimize returns. Here are five tips for designing apparel to sell online that will keep your return rates low.
Fashion is art that is functional. Art that works in three dimensions on a curvy body and moves with the wearer throughout her life. Because of this, think beyond your two-dimensional fashion sketch. If your goal is to design successful apparel for real people to wear, don’t forget about these things when designing.
On one hand, you want to wait as long as possible to start designing so you can make better predictions about what will sell well for the season. On the other hand, you want to give yourself enough time to get the designs made. Set your design timeline by working backwards from your release dates.
You’d be surprised how different the same design can be in different fabrics. I know this, and it still surprises me sometimes. The fabric has a big effect on the final garment. It dictates not only the look but also the fit and technical construction. Let’s look at how fabric affects each of these areas.