My introduction to fashion design

WEEK ONE: 20 April 2013

Last week I started a fashion design course. I always felt I have a creative side it cannot be explored because of my lack of skills. So, I decided it is not too late to learn something new, and I found the perfect course for me to figure out if I have anything to give in this industry and explore my creativity.

I will keep a diary of my progress – as an experiment. I want to see how much we can actually progress in something new that we pursue, I want to keep a track of challenges and all the feelings throughout this process.

The moment I started to draw on paper, I had an involuntary smile. I think is a good sign.

So, in the first class (3 hours) we learned how to draw a fashion figure, the CROQUI. I knew there is a technique behind this, but I didn’t know it, so my attempts to draw something looking like a human being were ending up in frustration. One of my colleagues at the course, who said already has a line of clothes coming out, was worst than me, so yes, there is hope.

So, the course has in total 30 hours, 3 hours every Saturday, for 10 weeks.

I will start with what materials we need for the first course (there are other materials but I will introduce them as we start to use them):

• One 10, 12 inches ruler (9 inches minimum)
•  HB pencils
• Eraser
• A4 sketching paper

The process of actually drawing a fashion figure starts with drawing a 9 inches vertical line in the middle of the sheet. Mark every inch. In the picture below you will see the proportions for different parts of the body. On the left side it’s the raw fashion figure. On the right side is the figure after we rounded the shapes of the body.

Another thing we started to look into in this class is how to draw clothes on a figure. The big thing here is that the clothes need to flow.  There are no straight lines, they don’t go on the same lines as the nude figure lines. Someone asked how you draw tight pants – so there are many more secrets and techniques to drawing the clothes and looking forward to it.

The other important thing we learned is how to draw the face details. You wouldn't believe, but the most difficult part of the face is drawing the egg shape! And believe me, if the egg is not right, your lady will look like an alien, or a monkey J

Ahh, I forgot to mention, I was pretty good when it came to drawing the first figures, but in my last attempt, when I actually put some clothes on it, I made it FAT! And the lesson I learnt is that if you make the shoulders too broad, and keep the proportions, your figure will be fat and too big compared to the head.

Homework

Our homework is to choose a picture with some clothes we like and draw them on our own croqui. No creativity, the teacher said, just draw what you see. There might be a reason for that! I already choose mine, and if I don’t change my mind, it will be the below (which I think is Carolina Herrera); it will be pretty difficult, especially the blouse, so it will be a challenge. My next question for the teacher is how you draw a white garment – and make it look different than the color of the paper.

Inspiration

Another assignment we have is to start compiling a folder with things that inspire us – it can be anything, not necessarily clothes. I have this fantasy of being inspired by nature, but for now this is the first inspirational image I will add to my virtual folder – a painting of my favorite artist, Gustav Klimt. I am trying to imagine what would this girl wear, and in the middle of the night I came up with this idea (the drawing on the right side). I didn't have exactly the colors I was looking for, the brown would be darker, the blue will be deeper, the yellow is actually gold.

Anyone can guess what was my inspiration for the dress?