Tuesday, August 11, 2009

How to Become a Fashion Designer - Links to Fashion Schools


Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT)
Seventh Avenue at 27th Street
New York, NY 10001-5992
Tel: +1 212 217 7999
www.fitnyc.suny.edu

Parsons School of Design
66 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 1011
Tel: +1 212 229 5582
www.parsons.edu

Bunka Fashion College
Japan
www.bunka-fc.ac.jp

Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design
Southampton Row
London WC1B 4AP
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7514 7022 / +44 20 7514 7023
www.csm.linst.ac.uk

Royal College of Art
Kensington Gore
London SW7 2EU
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7590 4444
www.rca.ac.uk

Insitut Francais de la Mode
33 rue Jean Goujon
75008 Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 56 59 22 22
www.ifm-paris.org

Ecole de la Cambre de Bruxelles
21 Abbaye de La Cambre
1000 Bruxelles
Belgium
Tel: +32 2 648 96 19
http://www.fashion.net/howto/fashiondesigner/

How to Become a Fashion Designer - Alternative Routes


"Let's be realistic," says Carol Mongo at Parsons, "School's not for everyone. If you're just looking to get a job in the fashion industry – not a career as a designer – you probably don't need to go school." If you want to work as a seamstress or a patternmaker, the best thing is probably to apply for an internship at a fashion house and work your way up. However, there are many examples of famous designers who started out as interns with no formal training. For example, Dior's brightest new star, men's wear designer Hedi Slimane, had a degree in journalism when he started working with men's wear designer José Levy. Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière is another example of a brilliantly successful designer who learned the jobs hands-on, as an assistant at Jean-Paul Gaultier. Usually, you apply for an internship by sending a portfolio to a fashion house you're interested in. But it's a good idea to call them up beforehand to see exactly what they need. It's also important to note that competition is fierce, and unless you have personal connections, it's very difficult to get an internship without an education.

There are also designers, like Luella Bartley, who started their own business after working as stylists for several years, thus building an industry network as well as a good marketing sense.

http://www.fashion.net/howto/fashiondesigner/

How to Become a Fashion Designer - Applying to a School


There are a lot of colleges that have fashion programs, but only a handful has the kind of reputation that can really push your career. (See separate listings for addresses and web sites.) It's hard to enter these schools as competition is high, and they tend to be very selective. You apply by sending a portfolio of drawings of your designs. "We can't teach you how to be creative – you have to bring your creativity to us and let us lead you on your way," says Carol Mongo. She recommends students to get some sewing experience before they apply. Drawing is also an important skill for a designer – it is the way you communicate your ideas. In order to build an impressive portfolio it's a good idea to have some experience in sketching; taking art classes will help you understand form and proportion. But you don't have to be an expert drawer to get accepted to a school. "The most important quality that we look for in our students is that they are truly passionate and exuberant about fashion," says Mongo. "If you have wonderful ideas but can't draw, there are always ways to get around it. You could for example put your designs on a mannequin and take pictures of it."

http://www.fashion.net/howto/fashiondesigner/

How to Become a Fashion Designer - Choosing a Strategy


There are as many different ways to embark upon a fashion career as there are styles of design. Ralph Lauren's Polo empire was founded on a small tie collection that he sold to Bloomingdales. Helmut Lang decided to open his own clothing store when he couldn't find a t-shirt that he liked. Michael Kors built up a network of customers by selling clothes in a trendy NYC boutique. However, most people find that the best foundation for a design career is to get a fine arts degree in fashion at a prestigious school. Besides teaching you the craft, a good school will also add credibility to your resumé. "We live in a brandname society, and having the name of a good school behind you really does help," says Carol Mongo, Director of the Fashion Department at Parsons School of Design in Paris.

http://www.fashion.net/howto/fashiondesigner/

How to Become a Fashion Designer - Introduction


You know you're destined to be a fashion designer if you: a) spent most of your childhood making clothes for your Barbie dolls instead of playing with your friends; b) read fashion magazines instead of your school books; c) ran a boutique out of your basement at age 10. In other words: if you want to be the next Yves Saint Laurent, it helps to be completely and utterly obsessed with fashion.

However, there are many aspects of the profession. Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sportswear company as producing a label under your own name. Although the former career may not seem as glamorous as the latter, it certainly will make your life less stressful. To create your own label takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work. Not to mention living just above the poverty line for several years.

http://www.fashion.net/howto/fashiondesigner/

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Notable Fashion Designers of the 20th Century




By Jacquie Generra

For the upper echelon and privileged classes in our society, style and fashion gurus unequivocally exert an enormous amount of influence. At this juncture the most famous and the most important method designers of the 20th century were:

The designer Gabrielle or Coco Chanel. Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, known as Coco, learned to sew at a young age, while spending time in a Roman Catholic monastery's orphanage. At the age of 18 in 1901, she set out from school to work with a local tailor, in what can only be called an ironic twist to the rags to riches story of fame and fortune. Throughout this time, she began to design hats, which fascinated the interest of the privileged, together with her enthusiast, French millionaire Ettienne Balsan--her doorway to high Parisian culture. She opened her own boutique in 1910. In the 1920s, she burst onto the fashion scene with her minimalist styles constructed using readily-available fabrics and simple designs. Even though Chanel died in 1971, her fashion is still around today. Chanel has one of the top perfumes in the world today - No.5. Everyone knows Chanel as the person responsible for bringing pants to women's fashion but did you know Chanel was on TIME magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century and was the only one named to this list from the haute couture field?

The designer Calvin Klein. Calvin Richard Klein was brought up alongside Robert Denning, Ralph Lauren and such, designers raised in the Jewish immigrant community. He is a graduate of FIT in New York. Even though he did not graduate and finish, the New York fashion institute thought of him as one of their own, giving him a special Doctorate in 2003. He was on the cover of Vogue after just one year. He came up with a line of fashion which met the needs for any and every event. He founded his first business in 1968, and since that time has varied his product offerings to include clothing, various types of perfumes, and jewelry.

Ralph Lauren is another top of the line designer famous for his Polo line. Despite his poor beginnings as a traveling salesman for a necktie maker, he later became famous for his Polo Ralph Lauren line of clothing. He started to sell his line of Polo ties in 1967, but his greatest achievement was having his designs used in a film in the 1974 film The Great Gatsby, with Robert Redford in the lead role. Ralph Lauren is listed as the 224th most wealthy person in the world, his worth his estimated at $2.8 billion.

Yves Saint Laurent is well known in the fashion and cosmetic world. One of the greatest and most influential fashion designers is this French designer who was born in Algeria. More well known as Yves Saint Laurent (born as Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent), he is thought of an icon when it comes to ready to wear clothes. His avant garde designs revolutionized the fashion world when he developed the ready-to-wear scene in the 1920s. Another landmark in Yves Saint Laurent's career was his introduction of power suits for the career-oriented woman, in addition to smoking jackets for men, in 1966. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City honored Saint Laurent by making him the first living designer to receive an award from the museum. On June 1, 2009 Yves passed away as a result of brain cancer.

Artists, fashion designers make their designs very powerful in the world's culture. The famous designs mean that their names are well-known and will be for many years to come.

Jacquie Generra writes about Designer Wear and Fashion & Personal Care as a staff writer for HowToDoThings.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacquie_Generra

Local fashion designer unveils exhibition

Local fashion designer unveils exhibition
Nadia Neophytou

Local fashion designer David Tlale is unveiling an exhibition in Johannesburg on Thursday.

The award-winning designer has dressed a number of top South African celebrities and is known for his striking outfits.

He is collaborating with artist Charles Storr on the show Agony and Ecstacy, which explores the relationship between high fashion and art.

Tlale told Eyewitness News he wants to show he is more than just a fashion fundi.

“We are trying to bring design and fashion more than anything else couture or just a David Tlale signature into people’s home because at times people say David’s signature is very dramatic I cannot wear it, how about hanging it on your wall.”

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To become a great fashion designer, you've got to have great role models.  And David Tlale is a good one to follow.  I just love his collection.

Photo of  fashion designer David Tlale collection