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The Basics Fashion Design seriesfrom AVA Publishing’s Academiaimprint comprises a collection oftitles that, together, cover the keyelements of fashion design:Research and Design, Textiles andFashion, Construction, Developing a Collection, Fashion Drawing andKnitwear. The series provides anessential introduction to the subjectand forms a comprehensivereference tool for students andanyone interested in the art offashion design.

To become a successful fashiondesigner you will need to developyour drawing skills, but for anycareer in fashion it is important tohave an understanding of the basicprinciples of good fashion drawing.

Basics Fashion Design: FashionDrawing provides a visuallyorientated introduction to the subjectby considering the different styles,techniques and approaches used inthe fashion industry. Packed withinterviews and work by talenteddesigners and illustrators, this bookwill both inform and inspire you.

Ethical practice is well known, taughtand discussed in the domains ofmedicine, law, science and sociologybut was, until recently, rarely discussed in the terms of the AppliedVisual Arts. Yet design is becoming an increasingly integral part of our everyday lives and its influence on our society ever-more prevalent.

AVA Publishing believes that our world needs integrity; that theramifications of our actions upon others should be for the greatesthappiness and benefit of the greatestnumber. We do not set ourselves out as arbiters of what is ‘good’ or‘bad’, but aim to promote discussion in an organised fashion for anindividual’s understanding of their own ethical inclination.

By incorporating a ‘working with ethics’ section and cover stamp on all our titles, AVA Publishing aims to help a new generation of students,educators and practitioners find a methodology for structuring theirthoughts and reflections in this vital area.

John Hopkins is Head of Fashion andTextiles at Winchester School of Art,University of Southampton, in the UK.He studied fashion at Central SaintMartins College of Art and Design,London, before graduating with amasters degree in fashion design. Soon after graduating from SaintMartins he gained extensiveprofessional experience as awomenswear designer with Jaeger and Burberry, where he worked for over ten years, as well as working as a freelance illustrator for the FashionService in London and New York.

John’s teaching career began in theUnited States, where he served as Chair of Fashion at Savannah College of Art & Design. During this time heextended his international experienceworking with illustrators and designersbefore returning to the UK to take up his position as Programme Leader for Fashion at Winchester, where hecontinues to share his knowledge andexpertise to support and encouragedesign students and develop hisresearch interests in fashion.

Featured topicsa brief historyart supplies and materialsthe fashion sketchworking drawingssketchbooksfashion proportionsdrawing from lifecreating posesheads, faces and hairhands, legs and feetdrawing menunderstanding garmentsfashion flatstechnical specificationsvector graphics and bitmapsfashion softwarecollage and mixed mediadigital colouring fabric renderingfashion illustrationpresentation boardsmood boardsdevelopment boardsline-up sheetsdigital presentationsportfoliostemplates

Featured contributorsPetra BörnerLovisa BurfittCecilia CarlstedtStephanie FinnanHolly Mae GoochRichard HainesElmaz HüseyinHelena KruczynskaWendy PlovmandTomek SowackiSandra SuyHoward TangyeLuis Tinoco

ava publishing sa [email protected]

BASICS

05FASHION DESIGN

FASHIONDRAWING

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vto produce an image bymaking lines and marks on paper

John HopkinsFASHION DESIGN

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Publisher’s note

1st Proof Title: (AVA): BFD: Fashion DrawingJob No: D809-96 / 4255

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ISBN-13: 978-2-940411-15-3

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An AVA BookPublished by AVA Publishing SARue des Fontenailles 16Case Postale1000 Lausanne 6Switzerland Tel: +41 786 005 109Email: [email protected]

Distributed by Thames & Hudson (ex-North America)181a High HolbornLondon WC1V 7QXUnited KingdomTel: +44 20 7845 5000 Fax: +44 20 7845 5055Email: [email protected]

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Copyright © AVA Publishing SA 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission of the copyright holder.

ISBN 978-2-940411-15-3

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Design by Sifer Design

Cover illustration by Cecilia Carlstedt

Production by AVA Book Production Pte. Ltd., SingaporeTel: +65 6334 8173 Fax: +65 6259 9830Email: [email protected]

All reasonable attempts have been made to trace, clear and credit the copyright holders of the images reproduced in this book. However, if any credits have been inadvertently omitted, the publisher will endeavour to incorporate amendments in future editions.



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1 Illustration by Lovisa Burfitt.




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Introduction 6

How to get the most out of this book 8

Contents

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Drawing to communicateyour ideas 10

A brief history 12Art supplies for drawing 20The fashion sketch 24Working drawings 30Sketchbooks 36

InterviewsElmaz Hüseyin 42Lovisa Burfitt 44

The fashion figure 48

Understanding fashionproportions 50Drawing from life 52Creating poses 56Fashion heads, faces and hair 60Arms, hands, legs and feet 66Drawing men 70

InterviewHoward Tangye 74

Technical drawings 78

Understanding garments 80Drawing fashion flats 84Drawing technical specifications 88Vector graphics and bitmaps 90

InterviewTomek Sowacki 94

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Conclusion 160

Templates 162

Further resources 166

Acknowledgements and picture credits 168

Working with ethics 169

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Presentation formats 120

Fashion illustration 122Presentation boards 126Digital presentations 134

InterviewsCecilia Carlstedt 136Luis Tinoco 140Sandra Suy 144

Fashion portfolios 148

What is a fashion portfolio? 150Digital portfolios 154

Interview Stephanie Finnan 156

Colouring and rendering 96

Colour for fashion 98Fabric rendering 104Collage and mixed media 110Digital colouring and rendering 112

InterviewPetra Börner 116

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Introduction

Drawing may be described as an evolutionary process that is fundamental to communicating ideas. This is also true offashion drawing, with its distinctive nuances and associationswith style. The exciting breadth and diversity of whatconstitutes fashion drawing today is testimony to the creative vision of fashion designers and fashion illustratorsalike. It reflects the range and scope of media now available,from a simple graphite pencil to sophisticated CAD programs.

Basics Fashion Design: Fashion Drawing provides a visuallyorientated introduction to the different drawing styles,techniques and approaches that are taught at colleges andused extensively in the fashion industry. The first part of thebook addresses the basic principles of good fashion drawing,including the importance of the ubiquitous fashion sketch incommunicating an idea. Understanding fashion proportions inrelation to the anatomy of the standing figure is considered inchapter two. The following chapter introduces the distinctivenature and purpose of fashion ‘flats’ and the linear drawingprocesses of individual garments. The role of computers tosupport and enhance the drawing process is also consideredand compared to more traditional hand-rendering techniques.The second part of the book covers drawing enhancements,including colour rendering as an important aspect of fashionartwork, collage and mixed media techniques. Finally, fashiondrawings for presentation formats and fashion portfolios areexplained and visually illustrated.

Perhaps the most defining characteristic of the fashiondrawing process, and particularly the fashion sketch, is that it should enable the designer or illustrator to express him orherself. It should give rise to a personal drawing style, muchlike we have our own handwriting styles. Drawing can taketime to establish and a lifetime to perfect. However, it’s worthperfecting and it does get better with practice!

1 Fashion designer andillustrator Lovisa Burfittdescribes her drawing styleas ‘very fast and restless’.

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I don’t know where I’m going until I actually sit down and draw.’

Jean Muir

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Pencils and charcoal

Pencils are among the most versatile

and widely used drawing tools for

designers and fashion students alike.

They are available in a wide range

of grades, but most people work

within the 2H, H, HB and 2B range.

Each grade offers a different density

and line quality. The harder grade

pencils can be useful for producing

fine-detailed line drawings, while the

softer grades are well-suited to more

expressive sketch drawings and

adding tonal values. It’s always worth

experimenting with pencil drawing,

especially when starting out. Pencils

are well-suited to most papers and

holding positions; they may be

sharpened and adjusted and their

lines can easily be erased.

Charcoal is useful for fashion life-

drawing. Drawing with charcoal is

a much looser experience than

working with pencil since it offers

bolder lines that are not intended

to be erased. It is a good media for

loosening up and drawing on larger

paper sizes. Newsprint is well-suited

for charcoal, allowing its deeper tonal

values to come through.

1 Example of working desk space.

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Drawing to communicate your ideas

Art supplies for drawing

Setting up your workspace to enable you to draw is a fundamental

starting point. You should always begin by considering your light

sources: make sure that you can see what you are doing. Some

people draw on a flat surface but it is worth considering whether to

raise your sketchbook or paper off the table and arrange it into an

easel position. This should also free up your arms, which is always

the best way to approach drawing. Arranging your art supplies on

the same side as your drawing hand will help to reduce unnecessary

stretching, and helps avoid simple accidents such as dripping paint

on your drawing. Finally, relax and enjoy the experience.

How to get the most out of this book

This book is a visually orientated introduction to fashion drawingand illustration. Each chapter provides numerous examples of thedifferent drawing styles, techniques and approaches that are taughton fashion courses and used within the industry.

Throughout the book there are interviews with talented designersand illustrators, each of which offers a different perspective ondrawing styles as well as an insight into the fashion industry.

IntroductionsSpecial section introductionsoutline basic concepts thatwill be discussed.

ExamplesImagery accompanyingthe content, visuallydescribing fashiondrawing styles andtechniques.

Clear navigationEach chapter has a clearheading to allow readersto quickly locate areas ofinterest.

CaptionsThese provide imagedetails and commentaryto guide the reader in theexploration of the visualsdisplayed.

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1–8 Colour forecasting and

catwalk trend images from

Trendstop.

Lab dips

A process whereby a fabricswatch is test dyed to meetan exact colour standard.Lab dips are reviewed in alight box under controlledlighting conditions and may be analysed with aspectrometer.

Strike-offs

A strike-off is a small run ofscreen-printed fabric, whichis used to test the integrity ofthe screen for accuracy andcolour trueness. It also refersto fabric that is printed innew colours or on newgrounds with existing screensbefore a production run.

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Colouring and rendering

Selecting colours – or, more

specifically, the right colours for a

particular season – is crucial in the

fashion industry and can mean the

difference between success and

failure in terms of a label’s image and

sales. Fashion designers will often

visit their suppliers to discuss colours

for the coming season and will work

closely with their textile partners to

develop ‘lab dips’ and ‘strike-offs’ for

printed textiles. Additionally, the

global fashion industry is served by a

network of trend and fashion

forecasting companies that provide

detailed colour analysis, colour

direction and market-trend research

for fashion and interiors up to two

years in advance of the selling

season. Companies such as

Trendstop, Peclers, Li Edelkoort for

Trend Union and Promostyl, among

others, are well-respected authorities

on colour, each producing a variety

of specialist reports for their fashion

clients. They also employ fashion-

orientated illustrators who contribute

to their publications with hand-drawn

illustrations alongside CAD artwork

and colour presentation flats.

Colour forecasting

Running footersClear navigation allows thereader to know where theyare, where they have comefrom and where they aregoing in the book.

Additional informationBox-outs elaborate ontechniques discussed in the main text.

HeadingsThese enable the reader tobreak down text and referquickly to topics of interest.

Chapter titlesThese run along the bottom of every page to provide clear navigation and allow the reader to understand the context of the information on the page.

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Drawing starts with imagination before it expresses itself as a practical means of generating or communicating an idea. In fashion this can manifest itself in a variety of ways that are linked to social, artistic and cultural values or influences.This chapter briefly traces the origins of fashion drawingsince the late 19th century to its contemporary expression asthe modern fashion sketch. The techniques and available artsupplies are considered in relation to how fashion drawinghas evolved over time as a hand-rendered practice. Thesketching process and purpose of sketchbooks are alsoconsidered and visually presented to include examples ofworking drawings and rough sketches, which are taken from a variety of contemporary sources.

This chapter also includes interviews with a commercialfashion designer and an accomplished designer andillustrator to gain additional perspectives on fashion drawing styles, media choices and personal inspirations.


1 Line-up illustration byGudrun Kloepsch.For me drawing is the magic connection between

inspiration and expression.’

Jean-Charles de Castelbajec

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A brief history

From the mid-19th century onwards fashion-interest publicationssuch as La Mode Illustrée, Gazette du Bon Ton and Modes de Parispublished increasingly sophisticated fashion plates of the styles thatemanated from Paris. These drawings became important culturalmarkers of fashion in their own right and began to influence theaesthetic view of dress styles, as well as to communicate the ‘looks’ of the day to their readers.

During the late 19th century, Parisian couturiers such as CharlesFrederick Worth began to sketch their ideas for private clients.Typically these early examples of fashion drawings aimed forproportional realism, with the garment rendered in great detail.

PochoirA labour-intensive processthat was popular in France in the early 20th century,pochoir involved creating acolour print with a series ofstencils in which each colourwas vividly applied by hand.The numerous stencils had to be carefully placed in orderto apply the individual paints(watercolour, gouache, ink)for colour separation.

GouacheA type of paint that consistsof pigment suspended inwater. Gouache differs fromwatercolour in that theparticles are larger and theratio of pigment to water ismuch higher. It also containschalk, which makes it heavierand more opaque, withgreater reflective qualities.

TemperaTempera is a type of paintmade by mixing powderedpigments with egg yolk.When dry, it produces asmooth, matt finish.

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1 Example of a Gibson Girlillustration by Charles Dana Gibson.

2. Fashion plate by Paul Iribefrom Les Robes de PaulPoiret, 1909.

3. Fashion plate by GeorgeBarbier from Gazette du Bon Ton, 1922.

1900s–1910s

At the turn of the century, while the prevailing look of the day wascontrolled by the constricting S-shaped corset, one notableillustrator with a distinctive drawingstyle defined a look that was referredto as the ‘Gibson Girl’. His name wasCharles Dana Gibson and his prolificpen-and-ink drawings were widelypublished and admired. Gibsonportrayed an elegant, yet slightlyaloof woman who has been variouslydescribed as taller, more spirited butaltogether feminine.

Following the extreme hourglasssilhouette at the turn of the century,fashion details focused on the bustline; the introduction of the sheathcorset influenced a new, moreelongated silhouette. Fashiondrawings were inspired by the art nouveau movement, with an added infusion of theatricalinfluences and the spectacle of the touring Ballets Russes.

In 1908, couturier Paul Poiretcommissioned the young print makerPaul Iribe to draw his gowns for LesRobes de Paul Poiret, published in1909. Using the pochoir process,Iribe applied his vibrant colours toeach print using stencils for eachcolour. It was the first time acouturier had looked to modern art to represent his creations and it redefined fashion illustration.

Watercolour, gouache and temperawere all used during this period asdrawings took on a more ‘painterly’approach. Watercolour paper orlightweight card was frequently used to prevent the water-basedmedia from buckling the paper. Theresulting fashion plates presentedvibrant colours and linear clarity.

1920s

During the 1920s the drawing style became more angular andlinear in presentation, consistent withthe changing silhouette and artisticmove towards art deco. The new,‘boyish’ figure appeared longer andleaner than before as the prevailingfashions changed.

Drawings began to reflect a frivolityas the new ‘flapper’ silhouette tookcentre stage. With the corsetabandoned, fashionable womenbound their breasts and wore simpleslips as the waistline relaxed to hiplevel. The Japanese kimono becamean important stylistic influence andbeadwork and fringing often adornedthe otherwise simple shapes.Watercolour and gouache mediaremained popular, while designerscontinued to apply fine-line ink orpencil to their work for definition and detail.

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1 Fashion plate by Vionnetfrom the 1930s.

2. Fashion plate by Chanelfrom the 1930s.

3. Christian Dior’s New Lookfrom the 1940s.

1930s

As the exuberances of the 1920s gave way to the sobriety ofthe 1930s, the fashion silhouettebecame more elongated, sensualand feminine. Drawing stylesreflected the new mood, becomingsofter and more textural, whileproportions returned to a morerealistic interpretation. The surrealistart movement influenced fashionillustration styles during this period,with some notable collaborationsbetween fashion couturier ElsaSchiaparelli and artists such asSalvador Dalí and Christian Bérard,with whom she developed ‘shockingpink’ for one of her collections.

Drawings took on a more lifelikeappearance and the popularity of bias cutting in rayon and silkcontributed to a softer, almostslouchy silhouette. The emphasis on back detailing during this time,particularly on dresses, was reflectedin the drawings; draping and surfacepatterns were rendered in inks,watercolours and gouache. Brushstrokes became noticeably moreenhanced and were used to greateffect, in combination with colourwashes, to soften the overall look.Women’s make-up was becomingmore important as new facepowders, mascaras and lipstickcolours were developed andrepresented in the drawings, which exuded Hollywood glamour.

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1940s

The austerity of the early 1940s sawanother shift in the silhouette, withhemlines shortening, hats taking on anew significance and shoulder padsadding emphasis to a squared-offshoulder-line. Utility dressing and‘make do and mend’ becamepractical necessities. The scarcity ofresources during the Second WorldWar was reflected in a more realisticdrawing style. Watercolour andgouache were still widely used torender accurate representations offabrics, colours and prints. Shadowwash effects were sometimes addedto enhance the visual composition.

The introduction of Christian Dior’s New Look in 1947 changedeverything and heralded a newfemininity. Drawing styles becamemore romantic, with bolder, moreexpressive lines. Designers began to add fabric swatches andpositioned the female figure centrally on the page.

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1 Fashion plate of red coatfrom the 1950s.

2. Fashion sketch from the1960s.

1950s

At the start of the 1950s womencontinued to wear variations of the New Look, with its emphasis on the small waist and full skirt.Gradually this gave way to differentskirt silhouettes, including the new bubble skirt and the leaner,sophisticated pencil skirt. Straplesscocktail dresses were also popular,worn with structured foundationgarments to control the silhouette.This style was accented by the new stiletto heel.

Drawings of this period, handleddeftly through brush stroke and bold colour wash effects, exudedsophistication and elegance.Watercolour, gouache and inks wereall used by designers and illustratorsduring this time. Towards the end ofthe 1950s bouffant hairstyles cameinto fashion and began to appear in sketches.

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1960s

The 1960s gave full expression to youth-orientated pop culture as it swept across the pages ofmagazines, challenging the statusquo and redefining accepted idealsof beauty. Quick-drying, felt-tippedmarker pens were introduced duringthis time and were quickly adoptedby designers. The effect on drawingswas immediate and lasting as thenew pens allowed sketches to takeon a more spontaneous andenergetic look. The new fashionmodel was portrayed as youthful andvigorous. Poses changed from beingdemure and sophisticated to spiritedand hedonistic as they projected anew type of freedom for women.

Instead of elegant brush strokes andback washes, drawings took on amore linear, geometric expression,enabled by the new felt-tipped pens.Mixed media drawings appeared,which used combinations of markerpens, pencil, crayon and watercolour.

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1 Fashion sketch by LouisDell’Olio, 1973.

2. Illustration of Montana dressby Richard Rosenfeld, 1983.

1970s

Fashion photography gained inpopularity and magazines wereincreasingly featuring photographsover fashion illustrations. Despite this,drawing styles were still changingand progressively evolved towardsdecorative and psychedelicexpression. Felt-tipped marker penscontinued to be used by designers in an expanding range of colours.Drawings became more experimentaland the fashion figure began to berendered in the more abstract formthat we recognise today, withelongated arms and legs in sinuous,curved poses.

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1980s–1990s

The 1980s saw a renewed interest in fashion illustration as magazineeditors began to commissionillustrators rather than photographersfor some of their features. It was a deliberate decision in favour ofrediscovering the uniquely expressivequalities that a drawing can convey.It also demonstrated a more inclusiveapproach to the broader visuallanguage of fashion as illustratorscontinued to experiment with media.While designers were still using felt-tip and marker pens, illustratorsrediscovered watercolour andgouache as well as colour pencils,acrylic paints, hard and soft pastelcrayons, charcoals and a variety of inks.

The late 1980s saw the introductionof the first CAD (computer-aideddesign) imaging software programs.These had a major impact on fashionillustration and drawing presentationformats during the 1990s and intothe new millennium. At first the new software programs were used to create background effects or simply to apply colour blocking toa drawing. However, as the scope ofapplications and editing propertiesbecame recognised by designersand illustrators, CAD-enhancedillustrations and drawings began to exert their influence and expandthe aesthetic view of fashion.

Today, fashion drawings are asdiverse as illustrators’ imaginations,yet they still serve as a distinctivestatement of style.

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Art supplies for drawing

Setting up your workspace to enable you to draw is a fundamentalstarting point. You should always begin by considering your lightsources: make sure that you can see what you are doing. Somepeople draw on a flat surface but it is worth considering whether toraise your sketchbook or paper off the table and arrange it into aneasel position. This should also free up your arms, which is alwaysthe best way to approach drawing. Arranging your art supplies onthe same side as your drawing hand will help to reduce unnecessarystretching, and helps avoid simple accidents such as dripping painton your drawing. Finally, relax and enjoy the experience.

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Pencils and charcoal

Pencils are among the most versatileand widely used drawing tools fordesigners and fashion students alike.They are available in a wide range of grades, but most people workwithin the 2H, H, HB and 2B range.Each grade offers a different densityand line quality. The harder gradepencils can be useful for producingfine-detailed line drawings, while thesofter grades are well-suited to moreexpressive sketch drawings andadding tonal values. It’s always worthexperimenting with pencil drawing,especially when starting out. Pencils

are well-suited to most papers andholding positions; they may besharpened and adjusted and theirlines can easily be erased.

Charcoal is useful for fashion life-drawing. Drawing with charcoal is a much looser experience thanworking with pencil since it offersbolder lines that are not intended to be erased. It is a good media forloosening up and drawing on largerpaper sizes. Newsprint is well-suitedfor charcoal, allowing its deeper tonalvalues to come through.

1 Example of working desk space.

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Inks

Inks were much used in the early20th century to produce black orcolour drawings and they still offer a distinctive colour mediachoice. They can be applied withbrushes or nibs and are available in a wide range of colours that canbe mixed to produce almost anyhue. It’s important to differentiatebetween inks that are water-solubleand waterproof. Both can be used to create wash effects, although water-soluble inks tend to sink intothe paper and dry to a matt finish.Adding water will dilute the ink furtherand create lighter tones. WaterproofIndian inks are popular with somefashion illustrators and can be usedto create line and wash effectsacross a variety of paper surfaces.

Paints

The most widely used paints for colour fashion drawings andillustrations are watercolour andgouache, both of which are water-soluble. Watercolour paints are enduringly popular as they offer soft, subtle colour washes and translucent colour effects.Watercolours can be mixed withcolour pencil to good effect butshould be allowed to dry beforehand.It’s best to apply watercolour as awash without going over it too much as it is not intended toproduce an opaque surface. Good-quality watercolour paints have been developed to eliminatehard edges. Gouache is an opaquewatercolour paint and is suitable forlaying down a flatter, more even andopaque colour. Conversely, it issometimes watered down but this is not how it should be applied.

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Coloured pastels

These broadly describe a family of pastels that includes soft pastels,hard pastels and oil pastels. Madefrom ground colour pigmentcombined with gum, soft pastels are available in a variety of vibrantcolours and graduated tints. Theycan sometimes feel slightly crumblyin the hand but are blendable andleave a soft, almost creamy mark on paper. Hard pastels are firmer to the touch. These are suitable forproducing broad, flat areas of colouras well as finer lines. Chalk pastels,which are made up of limestone withadded pigment, are tonally lighterthan pure pigment pastels andrequire a fixative to preventsmudging. Chalk pastels aresometimes used for fashion life-drawing as an alternative tocharcoal and are also available inpencil form. Perhaps less used infashion, oil pastels do not require afixative and characteristically producea thick buttery mark. They can beused on oil painting paper and maybe dissolved with turpentine tocreate softer smudged colours.

Chinagraph pencils

These hard wax pencils are alsoknown as china markers or greasepencils. Originally developed formarking on glossy, non-poroussurfaces such as glass, plastic andother glazed surfaces, these versatilepencils also work well on newsprintpaper for figurative drawing andsketching. The lines they make arebolder than regular pencils andsuitable for mark making. Althoughmostly available in black they docome in a limited range of colours.

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1 The desk of illustratorRichard Haines.

PaperWhen choosing paper, there area number of points to consider.First is to establish the right andwrong side of the paper as thiswill affect the look of your chosenmedia. The weight and surface of the paper should also beconsidered: hot pressed (HP orfine) papers have a smooth, hardsurface. This is the smoothesttype of surface and is well-suitedto pen and ink. Cold pressed(NOT) papers have a slightlytextured surface. Rough surface papers take on more ofthe texture of the paper-makingfelt and are dried naturallywithout being pressed. Finally,consider the size of the paper,which will determine issues ofscale, and the overall quality:inferior qualities may fade,discolour or easily tear.

Here are some of the mainchoices of paper for fashiondesigners and illustrators.

Cartridge papers may havesmooth or fine grain finishes and are usually offered for sketchpads in typical sizes from A5 toA3. While the paper is well-suitedto pencils, soft pastels and mostmarker pens it is not ideal forwatercolours. If in doubt, askwhen you buy the paper orsimply experiment with yourchosen media on a small piece.

Watercolour papers aredesigned for applying watercolourand gouache paints. They comein cold pressed and roughsurface textures, which makesthe paper suitable for holdingwater. Hot pressed papers areused for lighter watercolourwashes and are also excellent forcharcoal drawing and pastels.

Layout paper is often used bydesigners and fashion studentsfor producing line-up sheets orworking drafts of technicaldrawings. This semi-opaquepaper is crisp, lightweight and its smooth surface makes itsuitable for pencil and pen-and-ink artwork.

Tracing paper is a transparentpaper that is designed to be laidover another surface and usedfor tracing through using all typesof pencils and most pens. It is adesign-orientated paper andpencil lines can be easily erased.

Newsprint is an inexpensivepaper that is suitable for fashionlife-drawing and sketching.Available on a roll or in sketchpads, it is a semi-opaque,lightweight paper with an off-white cast and is usuallymade from recycled fibres. It iswell-suited for applying charcoal,pencil and chinagraph.

Multi-media paper (known asvellum in the USA) refers to agood, all-round paper that issuitable for multi-media drawingsincluding pen and ink, markerpens, pencils and oil pastels.These papers are available frommost good-quality paper brands.

Marker papers are characterisedby their bleed-proof finishes thatmake them specifically suitablefor applying marker pens. Theyalso have a special coating onthe reverse side to prevent themarkers from soaking through to the next sheet.

Note: North American papersizes are different from the A4metric system used throughoutthe rest of the world. See page166 for a conversion table.

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The fashion sketch

As we can see from the historical fashion drawings earlier in thischapter, what passes for a fashion sketch has adapted and evolvedover time, reflecting an aesthetic statement of style that is broadlyaligned to the cultural and social values of the day. Since the 1970s,fashion designers have adopted a wide variety of approaches to thefashion sketch. Individuality is often applauded and encouraged incolleges in the pursuit of creative expression through drawing and,although media choices have expanded and diversified over theyears, the fashion sketch remains one of the most alluring aspects of realising a personal drawing style.

An understanding of the human body is integral to fashion sketching,which is usually the process of drawing the clothed figure on astylised human form. To a lay person, fashion sketches can oftenappear abstract, energetic or even unfinished, but in fact fashionsketches serve different purposes depending on their intended use.A fashion sketch for a pattern maker would normally require a level of detail and finish that might include line drawings of all the seams,

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darts or even topstitching, while a more personal sketch would notnecessarily require such detail if its intended purpose was to conveyan initial idea or simply explore a silhouette. Experimenting withfashion sketching can help you build confidence and develop yourdrawing skills. All fashion sketches should aspire towards answeringa design problem or a brief. Without this context a fashion sketchmight be considered little more than a stylish scribble.

In fashion terms we can talk of figurative sketches that don’t need to be realistically proportioned to the human form. Most sketches are drawn with a degree of speed and stylisation that is intended toconvey a mood or attitude, beyond visually describing the clothes.

1–2 Sketches by HelenaKruczynska.

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The sketching process

Fashion sketching not only involvesthe act of drawing an initial idea butalso the process of considering anddeveloping the idea across the pagesof a sketchbook. It is always best tohave an idea of what you want todraw. This may sound obvious, but fashion sketching should bepurposeful, not random or tooabstract. In many respects a fashionsketch is a problem-solving process,which brings together the visualelements of articulating an idea in its purest form. This can meanrecording a sudden idea before it is lost or forgotten, or capturing amoment in time, such as observing a detail on someone’s garment.

A fashion sketch should seek torecord and make sense of an idea.This is largely achieved with any one or more of three components:establishing the overall silhouette of a garment or outfit; conveying thestyle lines of a garment such as aprincess seam or the positioning of a dart; and representing details on a garment such as a pocket shape,topstitching or embellishment. Somesketches may appear spontaneousor similar to mark making but theyshould all be linked by a commonunderstanding of the human formand an end use. (Mark making is ageneral term used to describe avariety of lines and marks that maybe applied by different media toenhance or add an expressive qualityto a drawing. In fashion drawing it issynonymous with line quality.)

Graphite or drawing pencils are idealfor shading and creating variations ofline quality. While this is a good wayto get started, it is also well worthdeveloping the confidence to sketchwith a pen. Sketching in pen requiresa more linear approach to drawing,which can often enhance the clarityof a design idea, and it is no lessspontaneous than using pencil, as Lovisa Burfitt’s work clearlydemonstrates (see pages 44–47).

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1 Sketches by Jenny Hong.

2 Sketch by Richard Haines.

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Working drawings

In fashion it is quite usual to produce a series of rough sketches orworking drawings in order to arrive at a design or collection proposal.This allows the designer to develop variations on an idea, beforemaking a final decision about a design, whilst at the same timeforming part of a critical process of elimination and refinement. Theprocess of reviewing and refining a design involves collating ideas inline-up sheets. These represent drawings of outfits (not individualgarments), which are visually presented on the human figure as acoherent statement for a collection proposal. Line-up sheets aremore practical than inspiration sketches or rough sketches and aregenerally clearer to understand on the page. Their primary purpose isto assist with visual range planning and the commercial requirementsof formulating ready-to-wear clothing ranges. Consequently, theyhave no real basis in haute couture or bridal wear, which is moreabout representing the individual.

1 Line-up drawing by Gudrun Kloepsch.

2 Working sketch by Harald Helgessen.

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1 Sketchbook by Ruth Beatty.

2 Sketchbook by IacopoCalamandrei.

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1 Sketchbook by IacopoCalamandrei.

2 Sketchbook by Ruth Beatty.

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Sketchbooks

Sketchbooks are the repository of a fashion designer’s ideas,observations and thoughts. Whilst there is no template for theperfect sketchbook (and they are not solely the preserve of fashiondesigners), a good fashion sketchbook should enable the designerto progressively record and document a series of ideas andinspirations through related visual and written material accumulated over time.

All sketchbooks evolve in response to changing influences andcircumstances. The true value of a sketchbook is in how thedesigner uses it to pause and reflect on their work in a meaningfulway in order to continue to the next stage of the design journey. It can sometimes be difficult to fully comprehend this when startingout; there may be a temptation to fill up the opening pages with lots of secondary images but this will not lead to a personalsketchbook unless it starts to take on the personality of the user,rather like a personal diary or journal. A sketchbook should becomeas individual as your fingerprint and provide you with a growingresource from which ideas and concepts can be explored and

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developed without feeling self-conscious. Sketchbooks also enableyou to explore and develop your own drawing style; the book willbuild up over time and its resource value will increase. One of themost useful aspects of a sketchbook is its portable nature, allowingyou to carry it around and enter quick thumbnail sketches orobservational drawings.

Most fashion student sketchbooks are A4 size. However, there is no fixed rule on this as some students successfully work with A3-size sketchbooks. Sometimes working across a landscape A3 format can be useful for sketching A4-size fashion figures and developing preliminary line-ups. The smaller A5 pocket-sizesketchbooks can be useful for discreetly carrying around; they also work well as fabric swatch books and for entering additionalthumbnail sketches. (See page 166 for the North Americanequivalents to A3 and A4.)

1–2 Sketches by HelenaKruczynska.

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1 Sketchbook by Iacopo Calamandrei.

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Please describe your current jobI am a freelance design consultant,working within the industry andrelated areas. I am also involved in aproject at a more fundamental level,creating a pilot fashion designmodule for schoolchildren who are interested in design.

What was your career path to your current job?I have basically been practising as a design professional since I leftcollege, first with my own line andlater choosing to immerse myself inthe mass market. I worked full-timein the industry up until last year whendevastation hit with the credit crunchand many designers were maderedundant overnight. Consulting iswhat many of us have opted to dountil the industry recovers – or possibly permanently.

What makes a good fashion sketch?Attitude, line, clarity – I like to start with a great hairstyle and face. Attention to detail, such asaccessories, can accentuate the vibeyou’re trying to communicate. It’simportant for me to be excited bywhat I see and I should be able toget ‘lost’ in them.

How would you describe yourdrawing style?Realistic but not realistic, sometimescaricaturist (which design sketchescan be), comical and whimsical,exciting, usually with movement and flow in the lines.

What type of media do you like to use when you draw?I almost always start with pencil onlayout paper. I rough out some goodposes either from life, from my heador magazines. Then I love to ‘clean’them up by loosely tracing them withIndian ink and a dip pen. This forcesyou to draw pretty quickly and givesyou clean, meaningful lines withvarying widths – I love using thismethod. Then I work by lightly fillingin colour using pastels. I also makecopies and use colour pencils,Pantone and highlight with gouacheif necessary.

Who or what inspires you?Normal people inspire me... I couldbe sitting on a train and noticesomething amazing about a girl orboy who’s done something cool withtheir uniform or something. I can beinspired by an old lady who wearsher hat a certain way. I was onceinspired by a NY street vendor who,amazingly, had his teeth set withemeralds and rubies to look like dice.

Do you have any advice forsomeone starting out in thefashion industry?Be patient, there is so much to learnand college can only prepare youwith the basics. Something new(both good and bad) is always lurkingaround every corner. Follow your gutfeelings and keep your standardshigh, particularly if you choose themass-market route where small, not-quite-right things can becomebig ones in production. Believe inyourself, otherwise no one willbelieve in you.

Elmaz Hüseyin, fashion designer

1–3 All sketches by ElmazHüseyin.

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Please describe your current jobI'm working on drawings forBloomingdales, which they are using in their various kinds ofcommunications for their department stores.

What artistic training have you had?I studied design and drawing atBeckmans School of Fashion, andthen went on to study at the RoyalCollege Of Art, Stockholm.

How would you describe yourfashion drawing style?Adrenalin kick-style, quick and clean and rough.

What type of media do you like to use?Ink feather, pen and brush using inkare my favourites, and my style ispretty much that. I mix materialsdepending on mood, such as feltpen, a lot of coloured pencils, avariety of ball point pens, crayons,basic pencils and so on.

What makes a great fashiondrawing?When you sort of feel the quick moveof the brush or pencil, understandingthe anatomy instantly in yourstomach by the first look.

What advice do you have for a student to develop their drawing skills?To really practise your eyes andhands to draw what you see, and topractise drawing anatomy by nudestudies, over and over again, until itcomes automatically like walking orriding a bicycle.

What or who inspires you?Music influences me a lot, it gives soundtracks and moods to my pictures.

Lovisa Burfitt, fashion designer and illustrator

1–2 Illustrations by LovisaBurfitt.

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Lovisa Burfitt, fashion designer and illustrator

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Having looked at the purpose and evolution of fashiondrawing, both as a statement of style and a means ofcommunicating an idea or design, it is important to apply a greater understanding of the fashion figure to thedevelopment of a contemporary and personal drawing style.

In this chapter we will look in more detail at the fashion figure and consider the value of working with a life model togain primary drawing perspectives. We will also examine thedifferences between observational drawings of the humanfigure and the idealised forms that characterise the fashionfigure for men and women. Different approaches betweendrawing men and women are compared and contrasted as we consider how to proportion the human body to afashion scale. We look at the value of working with poses tocommunicate an attitude and create the desired look, alongwith associated gestural attributes, which are characteristicof figurative fashion drawing. The use of drawing media andline quality will also be presented and considered in relationto the evolving fashion figure.

1 Illustration by Holly Mae Gooch.‘

The fashion figure

I like the body. I like to design everything to do with the body.’

Gianni Versace

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2 Nine-heads figure templateby Helena Kruczynska.

Understanding fashion proportions

The proportions of a fashion figure are often exaggerated andstylised, particularly for womenswear drawings. This can sometimes be slightly confusing to the untrained eye but in fashion terms it represents a statement of an ideal rather than an actual body shape. This ideal is then aligned to a contemporarylook that is viewed through the visual lens of fashion.

Since the late 1960s and 1970s exaggerated proportions have generally prevailed and continue to exert an artistic influence over most fashion drawings. Most standing fashion figures are proportioned between nine and ten heads in height (if the figure’s head is arranged vertically on the page alongside thecomplete standing figure). Most of the additional height is gainedthrough the legs, with some added to the neck and a little added to the torso above the natural waist. Most women in the real world stand around 5ft 5in or 5ft 6in, but a fashion figure needs toproject greater height in order to better show off the clothes andcommunicate the look to an audience, usually through exaggeratedgestural poses. Of course, a woman who might be 5ft 2in could beproportioned the same as a woman standing 5ft 10in but for fashionpurposes neither would offer the desired ideal proportions forcommunicating the look. When drawing the fashion figure the look might refer to the prevailing styles of the season, such as the position of the fashion waist, or it may be an exploration ofvoluminous or contoured clothing styles with reference to influences from a particularly favoured model or celebrity.

There are fundamental differences between the fashion proportionsfor drawing men and women. Women’s fashion proportions aremostly concerned with extending height through the legs and neck,with the resulting drawings taking on a sinuous and gently curvedappearance. For men the drawing approach is altogether moreangular. (See Drawing men on page 70.)

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1 Observational drawing fromlife model, by HelenaKruczynska.

Drawing from life

Drawing from life, which is an excellent way to develop and refineyour drawing skills, involves observational drawing of real-life male or female figures. It is important to consider the appropriate artmaterials and media, such as charcoal, pen or pencil, as well aspaper type and the eventual scale of work. Working to larger sizes, such as A3 or A2, is often best when starting out or simply for loosening up (see page 166 for more on paper sizes).

Drawing is a process that can be improved and enhanced withregular practice and life drawing offers the particular opportunity of developing and improving hand-to-eye coordination. This isessentially about trusting yourself to spend more time looking at the figure in front of you, rather than by glancing at the figure thenlooking at the emerging drawing itself and drawing from memory.This is a common mistake among life-drawing students.

It is very important to study the figure before you start to draw. Try to make sure that you are in a good viewing position and thenanalyse the pose. If the figure is standing it is essential to establishwhich leg is taking most or all of the weight; this will criticallydetermine the stability of the pose in relation to what is called the‘balance line’. The balance line is an imaginary line that drops fromthe base of the centre of the neck down to the floor at the position of the foot. It can be drawn on the paper and used as a guide toensure that the figure remains standing without ‘tipping over’ on thepage. As a general rule, the leg that is supporting the weight of thepose, which should always be drawn before the other leg, will curvedown to the floor and should join up with the balance line at theoutside edge of the foot.

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The principle of the balance line applies to all standing fashion posesincluding those simulating a walking pose. It is also applicable tomenswear although men’s poses are generally made less dramaticand gestural than for women’s fashion drawing.

Studying the pose first also allows time to evaluate distinctionsbetween the ‘actual’ figure and the expression of an ‘ideal’ fashionfigure for womenswear or menswear. Proportions in fashion drawingrepresent an ideal, so it follows that the life figure does not need tobe drawn as an exact representation. This requires interpretativevisualisation, which is an essential release for fashion drawing.

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1–3 A series of observational life drawings by HelenaKruczynska.





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1 Line drawing of pose byHolly Mae Gooch.

Fashion drawings are frequently characterised by gesture andmovement, both of which are ideally suited to exploration throughdrawing the fashion figure from life. Part of a fashion drawing’s allureis its seemingly effortless style, which is sometimes the result of acareful selection of lines and what is left to the imagination of theviewer. In this regard it is important to note the value of line quality in the fashion-drawing process.

Line quality describes the varieties of drawn lines or marks that have their own inherent characteristics depending on the media that is used, the paper quality, the speed at which the line is madeand even the angle of the pen or pencil as it moves along thesurface of the paper. Distinct from adding tone and shadingtechniques, the use of line to convey essential information is integralto most fashion drawings.

Some of the most expressive and visually engaging fashion posesare the result of linear drawings, where selective line quality is usedto maximum effect. An understanding of fashion proportions and the standing balance line is essential as a building block for moregestural poses, which instil movement and personality into a fashiondrawing. In addition to studying poses from life, it is also possible todevelop poses by tracing over figurative photographs in magazines,but this needs to be approached with care: consider the image onlyas a starting point. Fashion is, after all, a human activity so it followsthat developing and creating studied poses is a useful exercise andwill aid the development of templates or croquis for future use.

Creating poses

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It should be possible to use a pose more than once and for atemplate figure to present different design ideas. While the poseshould be relevant to the context of the clothing (for example, itwould make little sense to draw a sporty pose for a wedding dressor an evening gown), creating the pose is much more about thebody underneath. Look for movement lines that run through thebody – not the outline of the figure – noting the intersections of thepose at the bust, waist and hip positions. The leg supporting theweight must be grounded, but the other limbs can be modified oradapted to enhance gestural qualities. In this way, the resultingfashion poses can exaggerate the ‘actual’ to project a moreexpressive ‘ideal’.

CroquisCroquis is a French word for a sketch. In fashionterms, it describes a lineardrawing of a figure that maybe used as a template overwhich to trace and draw adesign or garment. Figurativefashion templates or croquisare typically exaggerated to a nine- or ten-headsproportion.

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1–4 Selection of drawings by Holly Mae Gooch. Thefigures in 2 and 4 are linedrawings of different poses;1 and 3 show studies ofposes in a fashion context.

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1 Developing a study of a fashion face by Holly Mae Gooch.

Fashion heads, facial features and hairstyles are worthy of specialconsideration in fashion drawing; they can convey a multitude ofessential style and gender information. The very personal and uniqueattributes that a face can contribute to a drawing are worth exploringthrough practice and exercises. Much like the evolution of fashiondrawing itself, the ‘ideal’ face changes over time and takes on manyguises. Make-up trends continue to have a direct influence oncontemporary fashion faces and it is always useful to collectmagazine tear sheets from which to study and evaluate differentfaces and proportions.

Fashion heads, faces and hair

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1 Study of a fashion face by Holly Mae Gooch.

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Faces

Although faces can be drawn in the linear style that is so often used in fashion, they can also lend themselves to applications oftone and shade. Structurally, theforward-facing head is oval in shapefor women – much like an egg shape – and should be horizontallyintersected at mid-point to positionthe eyes. The mouth is usuallyarranged halfway between the eyesand the base of the chin. The mouthcould be considered in two partswith its upper and lower lips. Theupper lip should include an ‘M’shape definition. The nose may eitherbe represented with dots for the

nostrils above the top lip of themouth or with an added off-centrevertical line from the front of the faceas if to indicate a shadow. Noses are rarely given any prominence infashion faces as the eyes and lipsbecome the main features.

Eyes lend themselves to thicker linesand smudging effects but take carenot to overwork them. Eye shadowcan be added for greater effect andto provide colour. Lashes should also be considered and can have adramatic effect on the overall visualappeal of the drawing.

The ears may be discreetly added atthe side of the head starting at eyelevel and ending just above thenostrils; they can be useful fordisplaying earrings, if appropriate.

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Hair

The hair should be carefullyconsidered as this can have a transforming effect on theappearance of the fashion head.Again, collect tear sheets frommagazines in order to build up avisual file of hairstyles as it can bequite challenging to imagine themwithout a reference point and ofcourse, hairstyles for women varyenormously. If it is visible the hairlineshould be drawn around a quarter of the way down from the top of the oval shape of the head. Line,shade and colour can all be addedaccording to the style requirementsand context.

1–2 Study of lips and eyes by Holly Mae Gooch.

3–4 Two hairstyle studies by Holly Mae Gooch, showingthe drawing development.

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1–3 Studies of hands and armsby Holly Mae Gooch.

When drawing a fashion figure it is important to consider the hands,arms, legs and feet in relation to the pose and gestural qualities. Thestanding figure needs to be drawn with due consideration of thebalance line, so that the leg that supports the weight of the figure isdrawn at a gentle curve down to the floor, with the outside edge ofthe foot placed where it meets the balance line. Correctly positioningthe leg that supports the weight of the figure is critical in determiningthe credibility of the pose; consider this in relation to the upper bodyposition and the placement of the arms, which can oftencounterbalance the exaggerated form of the legs.

Although it is helpful to understand anatomy and muscle tone inrelation to figure drawing, for fashion drawings the arm muscles arenot emphasised on women. Instead, the lines of the female figureshould remain gently curved and drawn as a continuous linewherever possible. Longer lines are a discernible characteristic offashion drawing and help to convey a sense of style and confidence.

Arms, hands, legs and feet

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Drawing arms and hands

When drawing an arm, consider it inthree parts: the upper arm, the elbowand the lower arm. The upper arm isattached to the shoulder from whichit may pivot depending on the angleof the torso. It has a smooth, gentlytapering upper section that reachesdown to the elbow position. Theelbow can be drawn in a variety ofways depending on whether the arm is viewed from the front, inwhich case a discreet line is usuallysufficient; or from the side, when itsflexible, more ‘pointed’ characterdefines the angle of the lower arm.This part of the arm tapers morevisibly to where it joins the hand.Women’s wrists should be narrowjust above the hand and maysometimes be adorned with abracelet or bangle depending on the desired look.

In drawing terms, the hands havetwo main parts: the front or back ofthe palm and the fingers and thumb.Both parts may be elongated to offerthe fashion figure a range of gesturesand actions, which will all enhancethe drawing. Consider the angle ofthe lower arm when drawing thehand. Fingernails may be includedbut knuckles are not usuallyemphasised: too much detail on a hand can make it look wrinkled.You could also try drawing the handresting on the hip with the fingershidden from view.

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Feet

The feet are usually drawn in asimplified way that mostly assumes a shoe line. When starting out it ishelpful to practise sketching barefeet, but the foot will usually behidden from view within a shoe,which can be drawn in a huge variety of styles. The overall look willbe determined by the angle of thefoot and whether or not the shoe has a heel.

Legs

As fashion drawing is largelyconcerned with presenting aninterpretation of an ideal figure ratherthan realistic proportions, so itfollows that drawing the legs is anexercise in artistic licence. Fashionlegs are routinely extended in theupper leg and thigh, and below theknee to where the ankle meets thefoot. Referring to the principle ofhead heights in fashion, half the totalheight of the female figure (i.e. fourhead heights) is taken up by the legsfrom below the crotch position.

When drawing a leg, approach it asthree parts: the upper leg or thigh;the knee; and the lower leg or calf,which joins the foot. The upper legshould be gently rounded and taperto the knee position; this can besketched out as a circle but on afinished drawing is usually indicatedwith a slightly extended line from one side of the upper leg to indicateits forward position. It is notemphasised but marks the positionfrom which the lower leg starts andgently curves down to the narrowestpart of the leg just above the ankle.

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3 ‘Talons’ illustration by Lovisa Burfitt.

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1 Linear menswear drawingsby Fiona Hillhouse.

2 Menswear illustration by Thomas Rothery.

It has already been noted that fashion drawing is largely concernedwith presenting an ideal figure rather than an actual body shape and this principle also applies to drawing men. Physical genderdifferences must be taken into account and are usually emphasisedin order to assert a position of masculinity, depending on the desiredage and attitude to be conveyed. In fashion drawing terms, men cancover a wider age range than most fashion drawings of women,rather like male models whose careers tend to extend beyond theirfemale counterparts. The male figure can be elongated to nine or tenheads in height; when compared to the female figure the torso islonger and correspondingly the overall leg length is slightly shorter,particularly the lower leg from below the knee. Perhaps the moststriking difference, however, is the emphasis of muscle tone, which is applied more readily to the male figure. When drawing male andfemale fashion figures on the same page, the male figure shouldstand slightly taller than the female, or at the same height.

Drawing men

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The male fashion figure

Starting from the head and workingdown to the feet, let’s consider themale figure in more detail. First thehead shape is drawn differently.Instead of an oval egg shape thehead usually appears more angularand chiselled with a squared-offjawline. A jaw dimple is sometimesadded. Eyes are positioned at mid-point. Eyebrows add definition andcan be emphasised as a horizontalline, but not the upper lid of the eyeas this might appear like make-up.The mouth is drawn wider andstraighter than for women; ears canbe added to the side of the headfrom eye level to just above thenostril level. The neck is not used to gain height and is drawn to amore natural length than for women,appearing thicker and less curved as it joins up with the shoulder.

The upper torso of the male figure isdrawn as the widest part of the bodybefore the addition of the arms, andtapers slightly to the waist. The waistsize is much thicker than for womenbut the line from the waist to the hipsis almost parallel and should alwaysappear trim, as the hips are notemphasised on a man and shouldlook noticeably narrower than thechest width. Stomach muscles may be defined where it isappropriate to the look. The armsand shoulders add further width tothe male silhouette and are thickerand more muscular than for women.Wrists and hands can also be drawnthicker; the fingers are blunter andless tapered than for women. It isinteresting to note the differentapproaches to male and femalegestures. Arms are generally drawn

closer to the body unless specificallyengaged in an activity such asholding a ball or an umbrella. The hands are not used asexpressively as they are for women,much beyond gripping objects orbeing positioned in pockets. Overall,fashion poses for men are typicallyless dramatic and certainly less fluidthan for women.

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The principle of the balance lineapplies equally to standing poses for men as it does for women. Men’s legs are not drawn with the same degree of curve and arecorrespondingly thicker and moremuscular in character. The knees canbe drawn more prominently than forwomen while feet are drawn largerand more angular. Men can bedrawn in activity poses such aswalking, riding a bike or climbing and can also look credible when theyare cropped, appearing to be closerto the viewer, which also adds totheir physical presence.

Drawing from life provides a valuablemeans of learning to draw men bydirectly observing and studying maleproportions and credible masculineposes. Magazine images can also beuseful for referencing hairstyles and a range of movements. Longer linesare generally preferred in fashiondrawings and while this is also truefor drawing men, the lines tend to be straighter. They can almostappear joined up, like a series ofinterconnecting points, or withinflections, which interrupt a line that might otherwise look toograceful and feminine.

Poses

1 Illustration by Aaron LeeCooper.

2 Line drawing by Holly Mae Gooch.

3–4 Sketches by Richard Haines.

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Please describe your current joband your career pathI am the senior lecturer forwomenswear in the Fashion andTextiles School at Central SaintMartins College of Art and Design.This involves working with largegroups of very talented people whohave varying points of view andtastes. Being part of studentdevelopment in art and design and their related skills is incrediblyinteresting and inspiring. Myresponsibility is to keep the studentsinspired and challenge their ability; to set project briefs and encourage a dialogue, so that there is alwayssomething new and in-depth coming through.

I have worked professionally as adesigner and an illustrator. But myteaching position is now full-time so Ihave to maintain a discipline of sortsto practise my own personal workalongside that. It works because Ilove both equally.

How would you describe yourdrawing style?I think my drawing style has evolvedwith, and been affected by, thechanges in my life. As a child I drewnaturally, in a naive way, from myimagination. I loved colouring booksand illustrated reading books atschool. Then I was very fortunate tobe taught by Elizabeth Suter as astudent at Central Saint Martins.

She taught how to look properly, to be aware of the body, in itsmovement, proportion, the bones,details, using the layout of the page,use of media and so on. Thisaffected me in the most profoundway. Drawing was an elective subjectin the design school. When workingin the drawing studio we alwaysdrew from life models of variousshapes and sizes. The quality of theteaching was evident in the resultsand the standards of both designand drawing in the school. All thetutors were able to draw. Thephilosophy of the school then, asnow, was to enable the student to develop their confidence, to be themselves.

1–4 A vibrant use of colour ischaracteristic of HowardTangye’s work (figures 3 and 4 shown overleaf).

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I have two different approaches todrawing: working from the model,looking and feeling the line or texture;and from my imagination, usually insmall and intimate sketchbooks. Thetwo come together at some point.

What type of media do you like touse when you draw?I like to work with mixed media onpaper: oil sticks, pastels, graphitepencils, inks, gouache, brushes andpens. The quality of paper is veryimportant to me, both in terms of the texture and also its ability to holdall the above and I like to see thepaper through the media. I also liketo see what happens to the mediaafterwards when it is viewed under amagnifying glass. It is a whole otherworld of marks and colour not seenwhen just viewed with the naked eye.It’s magic.

What common mistakes dostudents make when drawing?The most common mistakesstudents make when drawing arethat they do not look at the figureclosely and they don’t concentrate.Both are essential.

What elements make up a visuallyengaging composition?The elements that help make up avisually engaging composition are theuse of the negative space and howthe figure is placed on the page.Traditional Japanese artists aremasters of it.

What or who inspires you to draw?Drawing is hard work. It isdemanding but I am inspired to draw the figure by people who have caught my eye, by the way they look, the way they move, theirposture and so on. Everybody hasindividual qualities that are attractivebut certain temperaments can be the key. It’s a two-way thing: thesitter has to work at it too.

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This chapter considers the importance of understanding how to draw individual garments as part of the fashiondrawing process. In contrast to the more stylised approachused to draw the fashion figure, this chapter introduces therealistic proportions and techniques for drawing flats andspecifications, or specs as they are more commonly known.

We discuss the role of computers in fashion drawing and their application to a variety of presentation enhancementsand visual formats. This includes an introduction to dedicatedsoftware programs that continue to be developed and refinedto meet the needs of the fashion industry. Visual examplesdistinguish between the different presentation requirementsof technical drawings for fashion. Finally, there is an insightfulinterview with the director of a design consultancy thatproduces specs for a number of international clients.

Technical drawings

1 Students working withLectra software program.Even when I work with computers, with high technology,

I always try to put in the touch of the hand.’

Issey Miyake

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1 Specification sheet by Elmaz Hüseyin.

Understanding garments

The ability to demonstrate an understanding of individual garments is fundamental to fashion design and covers an area that we mightbroadly describe as ‘flats’ and ‘specs’. While both terms are widelyused in design education and across the ready-to-wear fashionindustry, there are some important differences between them.

A flat is an individual garment, or series of garments, drawn in the flat to represent a three-dimensional form as if it was laid down andviewed from above. Front and back views are usual, although sideviews can also be included depending on the visual information to be conveyed. Flats are essentially linear drawings, which may beenhanced for presentation purposes.

A spec (short for specification) is a more technically orientated andexacting presentation of an individual garment, drawn in a preciselinear style to convey detailed technical information. The drawing ispresented on a specification sheet, an internal document that acompany uses for manufacturing purposes, which contains essential technical information such as the assembly processes,fabric, trimmings and costings.

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Garment characteristics

There are different approaches todrawing flats and specs, yet eachrequires a fashion student ordesigner to demonstrate theirknowledge and understanding of anindividual garment. Flats and specsare therefore not as much concernedwith the overall look, as a figurativedrawing might be, but rather with the detail and characteristics of thegarment. These characteristics couldbe defined through a series of threemain visualisation processes. Thefirst is an understanding of the overall silhouette and proportion ofthe garment. Flats and specs are drawn with much more proportionalaccuracy than equivalent figurativeillustrations, so instead of a nine- or ten-heads figure, a more realisticeight-heads figure is used.

The second requirement of flats andspecs is to document the style lines.This includes drawing all seams anddarts that shape the garment andany additional features such asgathers or pleats. All style lines canbe drawn using linear techniquesthat shouldn’t rely on shading, colouror tone. It is also important to includeback views of all style lines todemonstrate a full understanding ofthe garment. Style lines such asruffles, added fullness or pleatingvariations can be drawn in a varietyof ways, all of which are achievedthrough drawing technique andpractice. Look at examples of otherflats or specs to increase your ownknowledge and understanding. Asyour level of technical knowledgeincreases, and your practical skillsimprove through pattern making and

draping in the studio, so too will yourability to draw garments efficientlyand effectively. In short, a studentwho does not understand the basicelements of fit and shape will be lessable to draw competent flats that areindicative of a fully resolved garmentdesign in two dimensions. It isalways a good idea to draw a flat or spec as if you had to give it tosomeone to cut or drape without you there to explain it.

The third visualisation process thatmakes up a flat or spec is theapplication of detail lines. Theseinclude topstitching and other visualsurface applications, such as a patchpocket, for example, which does notaffect the fit of the garment but isintegral to its final presentation.

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1–2 A selection of flats bySnapFashun, a specialistcompany that providesvector graphics templates.

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1 Presentation of flats on design board by Emma Frame.

2 Flats by Nuttawan Ness Kraikhajornkiti.

Drawing fashion flats

The approach to drawing fashion flats is generally more varied and less formal than drawing a corresponding specification drawing.It is important to consider what the purpose of the flat will be. Thismight sound rather obvious, but flats can be applied to severaldifferent end uses. The first of these might be to demonstrate a fullunderstanding of a design that is presented as an artistic illustrationor figurative drawing. It can sometimes be appropriate to include a flat alongside a figurative drawing in order to better explain thedesign. However, this has to be considered in relation to thecompositional value of the drawing; for some illustrations it may be unsuitable. Arranging flats on a separate presentation board is another option.

Another purpose of flats is to demonstrate range planning skills. In this regard flats serve an important function: they are extremelyuseful for breaking down a collection into its component parts. This can be by product, such as a visual analysis of all the skirts or tops within a collection; or by theme, such as grouping togetherall garments that make up a travel-themed capsule within a largerseasonal collection. In this way flats provide a distinct and additionalpresentation value to a designer’s portfolio.

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Although flats can be drawn with the aid of software programs,when starting out they are best drawn by hand. Use a pencil or pento trace over a realistically proportioned eight-heads template/croquisfigure. You can either refer to an existing figure or create your own bytracing over a standing pose in a magazine and refining the pose toa simple outline of realistic proportions. Use the same template orcroquis figure for all your flats within the same presentation toachieve visual consistency and scale. Hand-drawn flats can also be drawn larger than their intended scale and reduced down to therequired size. This is a good way to get started and allows for anenhanced level of detailing, such as topstitching. While flats shouldbe drawn with a high level of clarity, there are a number of views onwhether a flat should be drawn symmetrically or not. It is good topractise drawing a symmetrical garment by hand: draw half thegarment and fold it over to trace off the other half. However, perfectsymmetry is not essential: one sleeve could be folded at the elbow,for example, to show more detail or simply to enhance the visualeffect. There are limits to taking a more relaxed approach whendrawing flats but by adding a few drape lines or using a variety of line thicknesses, flats can appear less ‘flat’ and begin to take on more three-dimensional qualities.

Digital techniquesIn considering thecommercial context of flatsand their presentation valueto buyers or as part of afashion designer’s portfolio, itis possible to accommodateenhancements such ascolour and line quality.Increasingly, presentationflats are being coloured upusing software programssuch as Illustrator or Lectra’sKaledo design software.

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1–2 Hand-drawn flats by Jenny Hong.

3–4 Computer-aided flats byNuttawan NessKraikhajornkiti.

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Drawing technical specifications

Technical specifications or specs (also referred to as technicaldrawings or schematic drawings) are approached in a more formalfashion than flats. This is because a specification drawing has anindustrial context that is closely linked to a manufacturingspecification or cutting sheet instruction.

Technical specifications contain the visual information required for themanufacture of an individual garment in relation to its associated unitcosts, such as all trimmings and design details, which might includelabels or an embroidered logo. They are not used for range planningor to visualise an outfit unless, for example, the garment is made upof two parts for manufacturing purposes, such as a coat with adetachable hood. Specification drawings are always produced aftera design has been formulated. They are prepared in readiness for aproduction run through a factory unit or for a ‘sealed sample’ forassembly on a production line. Technical specifications shouldalways be drawn in a clear and linear style: they need to be accurateand clear enough in their detail for a factory manager or garmenttechnologist to understand them and to provide sufficient informationfor a sample machinist to be able to assemble the garment withoutadditional instruction.

1 Specification sheet by Elmaz Hüseyin.

2 Spec drawing by Aaron Lee Cooper.

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The ability to draw an accurate fashion spec requires a high level of technical knowledge combined with a steady hand. Most fashionstudents will not be at this advanced level when starting out.Moreover, not all fashion designers will be required to produce afactory spec. However, in practice, fashion students and designersshould be able to understand them and produce a detailed linedrawing of a garment when working with a pattern maker.Specification drawings serve an important function in identifying and eliminating potential faults before production. As such, they are increasingly being drawn with the aid of computers using avariety of CAD/CAM programs, signalling a move towards a moreintegrated design and manufacture approach.

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Vector graphics and bitmaps

Digital graphics media first emerged in the 1980s. Desktop scannersand more efficient graphics tablets soon followed, enabling designersto digitise hand-drawn artwork for the first time. The development of digital drawing and image-editing software during the late 1980sheralded the arrival of early vector graphics and bitmaps. In simpleterms, vector graphics are geometric formations such as lines, points and curves, which are based on mathematical equations torepresent a digital image. They produce clear lines that are suitablefor drawing flats or specs; linear quality is not reduced when scaledup or down in size. Bitmaps are the data structure represented by agrid of pixels that makes up a digital image, measured as dots perinch (dpi). Pixels are the building blocks of bitmap images such asdigital photographs and scanned images. The more pixels an imagehas per unit, the better the quality of the image for colour andresolution. Bitmaps are also known as raster graphics and are stored in various image files such as JPEGs or TIFFs.

Since their early application, graphics software programs havesteadily developed and expanded into a variety of sophisticated userplatforms, which can be used for enhancing fashion presentations.

1–2 Vector graphic fashionillustrations by NuttawanNess Kraikhajornkiti.

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Techniques include digital drawing, colouring, rendering and imageediting for visual formats. Foremost among the available software are Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, which have become industrystandards. Photoshop is a graphics editing program that is primarilygeared towards photo manipulation. Illustrator is a vector-baseddrawing program, originally developed for the Apple Macintosh in the mid-1980s. Today it has evolved into a sophisticated digitaldrawing tool that allows for the conversion of bitmap imagery intovector art. Illustrator’s versatility makes it well-suited for creatingcomposite illustrations and layouts, which are excellent for drawingand presenting flats. Illustrator can also incorporate images and textwith vector graphics to enhance presentations. Other softwareprograms of note are CorelDRAW, a Windows-based vectorgraphics program and its raster image creation and editingcounterpart, Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Macromedia Freehand is another powerful vector graphics tool that is orientated towards the desktop publishing market and now owned by Adobe.

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Fashion software

Specialist IT providers havedeveloped dedicated fashionsoftware applications. For example,French company Lectra hasdeveloped Kaledo, a Windows-based fashion design softwarepackage. SnapFashun in the UnitedStates has developed a CAD systemto serve the fashion industry, whichincludes an extensive library offashion flats and garment details that digitally ‘snap’ together (seepage 82). Intended to assist busydesigners working in industry or fashion students with creating anddrawing their flats, SnapFashun’svector graphics templates arecompatible with Adobe Illustrator.

As well as their labour-savingcapabilities, these graphicsapplications and CAD solutions offerextended opportunities for designersto modify their ideas and workingprocesses. The ability to draw byhand will always be relevant infashion and should be practised and maintained. But increasingly, aswe shall see later, developments infashion illustration are witnessing asynergy between hand-drawingstyles and digital enhancements.

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1–7 A selection of screen images showing Kaledo, a fashion design softwareprogram from Frenchcompany Lectra.

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Please describe your current jobI work and manage a freelancedesign consultancy agency:<www.tsdesign.eu.com> It consists of a network ofexperienced and dedicateddesigners; we take on a variety ofprojects from clients in the fashionand textile sector. Our work includesfashion design, graphic design andlogo design.

What was your career pathto your current job?After completing my MA at CentralSaint Martins, I started to work forsport-specific brands such asAdidas, Puma and Tommy HilfigerSports, as well as lifestyle brandssuch as Levis and Rip Curl. I alsohad my own brand, Yucon, whichwas successful but we ran out offunding. With my overall experienceas designer and manager I decidedthat I prefer freelancing or self-employment so my current situation,managing my own freelancebusiness, suits me perfectly.

How would you describe your artwork?Carefully thought through and usually rich in detail.

How important are computers to what you draw?Computers are vital to my work as they allow me to be clear andspecific in detail; any alterations canbe done then and there. They makeit easier to share the informationbetween me, my clients andfactories; I think they are essential to any business these days and Iwould be lost without them.

Tomek Sowacki, design director

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What type of software do you need to be able to use?My favourite is Illustrator on Mac as it is fantastic for technical drawingsand it links up with the whole AdobeSuite such as Photoshop and others.

What makes a good fashion flat or technical drawing?I would say a clear one: when youare able to give the drawing toproduction and the person ‘reading’the drawing is able to execute thedesign according to the informationgiven without having to ask anyfurther questions. Good drawings are important as they can save timeand not halter the progress.

What are your favourite garmentsor subjects to draw?I really enjoy designing outerwear as I think these garments in particularrequire you to think jointly aboutfunction, style and technical aspectsdue to the different end use (such as who will wear it, where, when, inwhat weather and so on). This allowsme to indulge in the details of thegarment, internal as well as external,to create maximum style andfunctionality.

Do you have any advice forsomeone starting out in thefashion industry?Make sure you love it, persevere in the industry and find a career path that suits you!

1–2 Design and correspondingspec sheet by TomekSowacki.

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In this chapter we look at the influence of colour in fashiondrawing by considering how it affects design presentationsand media choices for artwork. Colour theory is alsointroduced and evaluated in relation to hand-renderingtechniques and the development of computer-aided drawingsand associated colour schemes. The particular role of mixedmedia and collage for fashion is considered, with a variety ofsupporting visuals that provide an introduction to the widerange of media choices that have become integrated intocontemporary fashion artwork. We also look at theapplication of colour to different fabrics, textures and prints.The chapter ends with an engaging interview with a fashiondesign illustrator who has collaborated with a number ofinternational fashion houses to produce colour prints andtextiles for their seasonal collections.


1 Illustration by WendyPlovmand.I like light, colour, luminosity. I like things full of colour

and vibrant.’

Oscar de la Renta

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Colour for fashion

Colour media for fashion has evolved over the years and it has had a direct influence upon the visual style and presentation of fashiondrawings. The introduction of marker pens in the 1960s confirmed a particularly significant shift towards faster and more responsivemedia, which were specifically design-orientated rather thanhistorically rooted in a tradition of artist materials. Marker pens stillexert a powerful influence over fashion sketching styles and drawingtechniques. Today, however, the range of colour media that isavailable to fashion designers and design students must also beconsidered in the context of computer-aided design software.

Let’s start by briefly considering what colour represents from afashion perspective. When most of us look at images of clothes in a magazine or see a fashion window display we are immediatelydrawn to the colour of the clothing and accessories. Moreover,fashion collections are routinely designed and visually merchandisedinto seasonal colour themes. Colour is a fundamental, powerful force in the design process, from fabric selection through to thecompletion of a design. It is also a vital component in fashion thatcan have a transforming effect upon audience perceptions andreactions. Some designers such as Matthew Williamson or ManishArora are well-known for their engaging use of colour, while otherdesigners use colour to make a statement or add specific pieces to their collections.

Colour can also be expressed through embroidery, appliqué and avariety of trimmings such as zips and buttons, as well as colour dyesand printed textile designs. Fashion labels such as Basso Brooke,Cacharel and Eley Kishimoto are all known for their use of colourthrough printed textiles. The selection and application of colour is a decision driven by emotion but it can have a transforming effect on a design. Consider, for example, a dress design conceived anddrawn in beige and then the same design presented in red. Wewould respond to them differently, even though the dress would be in the same style. Such is the emotive power of colour.

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2 Matthew Williamson S/S09.Catwalking.com.

Despite personal preferences there is really no such thing as a badcolour. It is an artistic or design decision to select a colour and applyit to a design, choosing whether or not to combine it with anothercolour. The appearance of a colour is dependent on light: it will takeon a different appearance when viewed under different opticalconditions. The multitude of shades, tones and hues that areavailable today through synthetic or natural processes can bebroadly identified within a colour wheel classification.

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The colour wheel

The colour wheel visually representsthe basic principles of colour theory.The wheel is divided into threecategories: primary, secondary andtertiary. The three primary colours arered, yellow and blue. These may beconsidered as the foundation colourssince they are used to create allother colours and are equidistant onthe colour wheel. The combination oftwo primary colours creates threesecondary colours: orange, greenand violet, which are also equidistanton the colour wheel. The six tertiarycolours are made by combining aprimary and an adjacent secondarycolour. These equidistant coloursmake up red-orange, red-violet,yellow-green, yellow-orange, blue-green and blue-violet. Colours mayalso be divided into cool and warmcategories: cool colours are classifiedas green, blue and violet. Warmcolours are classified as red, orangeand yellow. When mixing colours, atint of a colour is made by addingwhite, while a darker shade is madeby adding black.

When working with colour media it isworth remembering that there arethree basic colour schemes. The firstis a monochromatic colour scheme,in which a single colour is used withits various tints and shades. Thesecond is an analogous colourscheme. This is when a colour suchas red is used in combination with itsadjacent hues such as red-orangeand red-violet. The third type ofcolour scheme is made up of avariety of contrasting colours andincludes the complementary scheme.This is when two hues that areopposite each other on the colourwheel are used together. Forexample, red and green areopposites, and are consideredcomplementary colours when usedtogether as they make each otherappear brighter and more intense.Other colour combinations exist suchas ‘split complementary’, which is aderivation of the complementaryscheme and uses three colourscomprising any hue and the twoadjacent to its complement. Thiscould be, for example, a combinationof red, yellow-green and blue-green.

1 The colour wheel.

2 Examples of different colour schemes.

Colour schemes

Complementary Split complementary Triads

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Analogous Mutual complements Double complements

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Selecting colours – or, morespecifically, the right colours for aparticular season – is crucial in thefashion industry and can mean thedifference between success andfailure in terms of a label’s image andsales. Fashion designers will oftenvisit their suppliers to discuss coloursfor the coming season and will workclosely with their textile partners to

develop ‘lab dips’ and ‘strike-offs’ forprinted textiles. Additionally, theglobal fashion industry is served by anetwork of trend and fashionforecasting companies that providedetailed colour analysis, colourdirection and market-trend researchfor fashion and interiors up to twoyears in advance of the sellingseason. Companies such as

Trendstop, Peclers, Li Edelkoort forTrend Union and Promostyl, amongothers, are well-respected authoritieson colour, each producing a varietyof specialist reports for their fashionclients. They also employ fashion-orientated illustrators who contributeto their publications with hand-drawnillustrations alongside CAD artworkand colour presentation flats.

Colour forecasting

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1–8 Colour forecasting andcatwalk trend images fromTrendstop.

Lab dipsA process whereby a fabricswatch is test dyed to meetan exact colour standard.Lab dips are reviewed in alight box under controlledlighting conditions and may be analysed with aspectrometer.

Strike-offsA strike-off is a small run ofscreen-printed fabric, whichis used to test the integrity ofthe screen for accuracy andcolour trueness. It also refersto fabric that is printed innew colours or on newgrounds with existing screensbefore a production run.

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The ability to draw fabric convincingly is a useful skill for any designeror fashion illustrator; it is often taught to fashion students as a meansof broadening their drawing skills and their knowledge of fabrics. Theprocess is usually referred to as fabric rendering. Of course, there aremany different types of fabrics to draw and while some might havesurface texture and pattern, others do not. Evaluate a fabric’sinherent characteristics, properties and its weight in order toestablish whether the fabric will drape over the body convincingly or whether it might present itself as more structured and firm to the touch. A designer sketch or linear fashion drawing shouldcommunicate a convincing understanding of the chosen fabric orfabrics. For more artistic illustrations the rendering process can besomewhat looser and more interpretative.

The best way to start is by copying a real fabric swatch. Much likedrawing from life, this entails keen observation and evaluation of thefabric before starting the drawing process. Selection of appropriatemedia is critical: prepare a variety of colour media, which can beused in combination. To start with it is best to draw to the samescale as the fabric. The scale will later have to be considered when itis applied to a figurative drawing, but by establishing how to imitatethe appearance of the fabric and what media to use in the firstinstance, the process of rendering the scale of the fabric to a fashionfigure won’t seem so daunting. To simplify things it can help tocategorise fabrics into a select number of groups such as woollenand textured fabrics, shiny fabrics, sheer fabrics, knits, patterns andprints. It is worth attempting each group of fabrics, since they are alllikely to be drawn at some time.

Fabric rendering

1 Drawing by Howard Tangye.

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Textured fabrics

Woollens and textured fabrics form a good starting point. This categorymight include wool flannels, meltons,gabardine, suitings, wool challis andcrêpes as well as camel hairs,Shetland wools and tweeds. Typically opaque, these sorts offabrics are used in autumn/wintercollections. Marker pens or gouachecan be used to lay down the basecolour as a wash effect, while colourpencil or a slightly dry brush can beadded to create the desired textureor brushed appearance. Tweeds canbe drawn with the addition of crosshatching and flecks; try pronouncedtwill weaves with a sharp pencil line.Wool plaids are typically built up inlayers, starting with a base colourcreated as a wash followed by weft and warp colour bands. Darker layers are usually added later with finer lines towards the end,especially for the lightest colour,drawn in pencil.

Shiny fabrics

Rendering shiny fabrics for the firsttime can often be more challengingthan opaque fabrics and, since theyreflect light, typically need to beconsidered in relation to a lightsource. Surfaces might be smooth or have a moiré effect. Shiny fabricssuch as taffetas, charmeuse andsatins should be drawn with acombination of dark, medium andlight tonal values. Sometimes it iseffective to leave white space toindicate where the light has the most pronounced effect on thesurface of the fabric. This applies topale or white fabrics, such as thoseused for evening or bridal wear;these fabrics have tonal variations.Marker pens, watercolour paints andIndian inks are all useful media forrendering shiny fabrics and can beused in combination with colourpencil for accents.

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Sheer fabrics

Sheer fabrics, such as chiffons,georgettes and fine voiles, arecharacterised by their transparencyand parts of the body may be visiblebeneath the fabric. Rendering thesefabrics presents unique challengesas there can be many values of acolour depending on whether thefabric is layered or worn over theskin. Their general appearanceshould be light of touch without hardedges, drawn using media such asmarker pens, blendable pastel chalksor watercolour. Colour pencils orchalks can be combined with othermedia to create the effect oftransparency. Hems and seamsshould be understated.

Knitted fabrics

Knitted fabrics can be drawn toconvey surface structure and texture and are typically defined by the inclusion of a ribbed edge orcable effect. A base colour wash ingouache or marker pen is effectiveand works well with the addition of pencil lines to define the knittedsurface of the fabric. A dry brusheffect can also be applied torepresent courser yarns. This groupalso includes jersey knits, which can take on a more fluid appearance;this can be rendered in a tonal wash.

1–2 Drawing by Claire Bushey,shown with correspondingfabrics.

3–4 Drawings by FionaHillhouse.

5 Drawings by MiyukiKitahara.

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Rendering fashion fabrics withpatterns and prints offers scope to use a variety of colour media,depending on the desired effect andbase fabric quality. Prints can add adramatic visual look when applied toa fashion drawing and need to bestudied carefully. The most importantaspects to consider are the repetitionand scale of the print. Some printsare designed for borders, such ashems, while placement printstypically adorn the fronts of T-shirts.Most fashion prints are repeat printsso applying them to the scale of ahuman figure becomes a necessaryconsideration. Rendering a print onto a figurative drawing or illustrationwill require you to consider linequality in relation to an understandingof the garment. It is important thatthe print is drawn to look like it isprinted on the surface of a fabric that has folds, drapes and is sewntogether with seams. With this inmind, shading techniques can alsobe applied.

Patterns and prints

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1–2 Illustrations by WendyPlovmand.

3 Drawing by Howard Tangye.

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Derived from the French word coller, meaning to glue, collage wasoriginally taken up by artists to describe the technique and processof assembling different forms to create a new work. In fashion designcollage is synonymous with the term ‘mixed media’ and is used todescribe a hybrid approach to creating artworks that might include a variety of papers, photographs, fabrics, buttons, ribbons, threadsand other objects to either replace or supplement the drawingprocess. While collage was traditionally carried out by hand, withtechniques such as cutting and pasting, it has now become widelyembraced by fashion illustrators through digital formats such asPhotoshop, with some exciting and diverse results that continue topush the boundaries of fashion illustration and presentation formats.

What makes collage and mixed media artworks for fashion sopopular and visually engaging is their diversity, allowing you to work outside the usual conventions of art supplies and drawingmedia. Hand-made collages also encompass tactile and texturalqualities that make the final drawings almost three-dimensional incharacter. Some even incorporate stitch. Collage and mixed mediaartworks for fashion often transcend and mutate the notion of thefashion ideal to something that is more abstract than a singledrawing or photograph could communicate on its own.

Developing collage or mixed media illustrations for fashion is acreative process that allows for a high level of artistic expression. As with most approaches to creating artworks it is best practisedand refined over time, but is underpinned by an inventive curiosity, a love of technique and good compositional skills. One might evenbe tempted to draw parallels between the appropriation of foundobjects to create fashion artwork and the notion of fashioncontinually reinventing itself. In this sense collage and mixed media for fashion take on a more poignant context.

Collage and mixed media

1–2 Mixed media illustrations byHolly Mae Gooch.

3–4 Collage compositions byWendy Plovmand.

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Continuing developments in digital graphics software has enabledfashion illustration to be redefined alongside more traditional hand-drawing techniques. Today many designers and fashion illustratorscombine both formats for a contemporary drawing style.

Digital colouring, rendering and collage describe a variety of bitmap(raster) applications and vector graphics. These include scanning and retouching hand-drawn illustrations as well as creating digitalfreehand drawings using either a mouse or a graphics tablet andpen. These processes can be applied to a fashion illustration or used for creating colour-enhanced presentation flats.

Scanning a hand-drawn sketch or illustration is an effective means of creating a digital fashion image for editing and retouching. Youmay wish to resize or enhance the artwork for digital storage, using a number of artwork effects from the software’s graphics toolbox,which are represented by icons such as a pen tool, brush tool, scale tool, eraser and stroke, and colour fill boxes.

Digital colouring and rendering

1–3 Digital colour illustrations byWendy Plovmand (1 and 3)and Aaron Lee Cooper (2).



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Digital colour

Understanding colour schemes isessential for working with digitalcolour swatches. In this regard thereare two main colour models toconsider: RGB and CMYK. RGB is a colour model in which the additiveprimary colours of red, green andblue light are added together toreproduce a broad spectrum ofcolours. The main purpose of the RGB colour model is therepresentation and display of images in electronic systems such as scanners, digital cameras andcomputers. RGB is generally fasterto work with than CMYK and well-suited to screen display.However, RGB images need to beconverted to CMYK for commercialprinting purposes. CMYK is asubtractive colour model used incolour printing, which applies cyan,magenta, yellow and key (black) tothe printed surface.

Also worth a mention is Pantone, aUS-based global colour authority thatserves the fashion industry and othersectors with a comprehensive colourclassification and matching system.The Pantone Color Matching Systemis a standardised colour reproductionservice that enables designers,

printers and manufacturers to allwork together to exact colourspecifications across Pantone’s widerange of spot colours. Pantone’sspot colours cannot be simulatedwith CMYK but require basepigments, including white and black,to be mixed in specified amounts.

Today, all digital graphics softwareoffers a comprehensive range ofcolours, textures, gradients andpatterns that can be applied to adrawing and edited through the useof palettes and layers. Palettesdisplay editing and monitoringoptions such as working with RGB or CMYK colour. Layers allow usersto separate different elements of animage so that each layer can besaved and edited independently. This is particularly useful whenbuilding up an image and addingelements such as colour or texture.In addition, specific fabrics, patternsand surface textures can be scannedfrom original sources and added topalettes or taken from computer-generated fabrics.

1 CMYK colour model.

2 RGB colour model.

3–4 Digital colour flats by Witney Cramer.

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Please outline your current job and your career pathAlthough I trained and worked many years in fashion, design and illustration, commissions nowinvolve clients within interior design,publishing, editorial, packaging andadvertising. Current projects includelimited edition packaging design forSwedish Liljeholmens, collaboratingwith Heal’s for their 2010 bicentenarycampaign, designing crockery for aJapanese client and creatingembroideries for Jonathan AdlerInteriors. I have been a visitinglecturer at Central Saint MartinsCollege of Art and Design since2001, mainly in fashion illustration.

How would you describe your drawing style?I work with references or themes in simple compositions, using mixedtechniques such as drawing, collage,sewing and painting. My cut papercompositions have sometimes beendescribed as looking like wood-cutsand a significant Scandinaviancharacteristic is distinguishable in my work.

I try not to determine the outcome before the work is created, leaving the process ofmaking art spontaneous and fun.This enjoyment is most apparentwhen working from a life model(essentially with some really good music).

Through my work I aim to express an identifiable individual rhythm orhandwriting, which is perhaps plainor elegant in its interpretation ofchosen subjects or scenes.

Subject matters vary from working to set commissions with definedstarting points, to artwork thatderives from a simple curiosity to finda way to draw something new orspecific. In my opinion, naturalreferences or photography (a ‘raw’base) lend themselves better tovisual interpretation than a cleverlydesigned or functional object (such as a mobile phone), which hasalready reached a solution. However,there are exceptions, as I’m fond ofdrawing cars and robots.

Tell me about your collaborationswith fashion housesMy main experience of fashiondesign came through running myown business and in 2004, when Idecided to be a full-time illustrator,this experience gave me vitalconfidence in collaborations with fashion houses.

One of my first commissions infashion was with Clements-Ribeirofor Cacharel on the A/W06collection. They acquired a dozen of my artworks to be transformedinto fashion prints and I rememberbeing delighted by seeing my workprojected as the backdrop of thecatwalk in Paris. I enjoy beinginvolved in varied types ofcollaborations and I find fashion fitsperfectly well with advertising jobs,interior design or book-coverillustrations. The process of thesecollaborations is much the same;sometimes the starting point isspecified, sometimes open-ended,but with fashion I consider colours,placement, the look of the repeatand the scale of the design carefully.

Petra Börner, fashion illustrator

1 Yellow field print, an originalartwork for Cacharel, byPetra Börner.

2 Embroidered artwork byPetra Börner.

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Petra Börner, fashion illustrator

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What type of colour media do you like to use in your artwork?I work in a variety of media, but atmost starting points, thoughts ofcolour and composition are central.For example, if I am creating anillustration in cut paper I tend toselect the colours of the paper as my starting point and from thereimagine the development of thestructure. I also use paint, ink, thread and, at times, digitalmanipulation to modify coloursaccording to the needs at hand. The beauty of colours created orassembled by hand seems superiorand more refined than any digitalwork I create. The fine-tuning ofachieving harmony between coloursis an intuitive process to me.

How important is colour in your work?Colours are central to all my work and an artwork disappoints ifcolours of an illustration or print aremanipulated after the artwork hasbeen created. This is an element thatcan be a concern in collaborationswith clients, who often work towardsstrict colour structures and have toconsider the blend with otherproducts. I enjoy the element andpossibilities given by working withcolours and seldom rely solely oncontrasts between black and white. I often involve tones or shades of thesame hue within an artwork to createdepth or as a way to play with thefocal point. To me, the mastering ofcolour is the more challenging part of illustration and art, more than the composition.

What advice do you have forfashion students who want tocreate colour artwork?It’s a good idea to create basiccolour compositions and analyse theresult. I would try to find an enjoyableand useful method to work with(mixing paint, using DIY paint cards,cutting paper, stickers, wood, metal,photography, stitching, knitting) andthen create interesting, attractive,perhaps unusual combinations. Aswith drawing, repetition is key todefine the colours that represent your identity.

Who or what inspires you?I’m attracted to work that combinescharm, spontaneity, skill andconfidence; art that feels part of a circumstance and is clearlyrepresenting the artist’s self, with an effortless vitality achieved only bythe urge of repetition through time.

1–4 Cocoa bean dress forCacharel A/W06 (1) andpieces from Cacharel’sS/S07 collection (2, 3 and 4),all featuring Petra Börner’sprint designs.

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In this chapter the important differences and distinctions that coexist between fashion presentation formats areconsidered. Building on an understanding of the fashionfigure and the role of technical drawings for fashion, thischapter explores how they may be grouped together as part of a coherent presentation. The particular perspective of fashion illustration is considered in relation to otherartwork formats, while a range of artwork boards, sometimesambiguous in nature, are visually presented and explained.We look at the growing influence of digital presentationplatforms, including websites and blogs. The chapter is richly supplemented by interviews with three inspirationalillustrators who each apply their different styles and talents to contemporary fashion illustration. Their distinctive mediachoices and eclectic styles are testimony to the diverselanguage used by fashion drawing today.

Presentation formats

1 Illustration by Luis Tinoco.

To create something exceptional, your mindset must be relentlessly focused on the smallest detail.’

Giorgio Armani

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1–3 Fashion illustrations byTimothy Lee (1) and TahsinOsman (2–3).

Fashion illustration

Fashion illustration describes a particular approach to fashiondrawing that exemplifies artistic expression and stylisation of thehuman form. On the whole it is concerned not so much with an accurate representation of the garment or outfit, but withcommunicating the allure or attitude of the design. In this regardfashion illustration may be considered as being distinct from fashionsketching. We may also refer to fashion illustrators as distinct fromfashion designers, although both work in complementary ways andthe production of fashion artwork is common to both practices.

Some of the most successful fashion illustrators have had little or no design training and therefore do not involve themselves in thecomplexities of pattern cutting or the manufacture of a garment. Thisis not their function and it does not restrict an illustrator; they have no need to add every seam, dart and tuck to their final illustrations.In fact, such detailed information can sometimes make a fashionillustration appear static or overworked, especially if the details are already clarified in a designer’s flat drawing.

Fashion illustration is about capturing the mood, the spirit and theessence of a design. Some of the most effective fashion illustrationscan appear almost effortless, inviting the viewer to imagine what liesbeneath the surface or to form personal interpretations. Of course,illustrations are not effortless and developing an illustration is aprocess in itself, one that requires practice, visualisation andexperimentation. Personal illustration styles evolve over time.

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Composition and layout

Composition in fashion illustrationrefers to the arrangement of thevisual elements within its defineddimensions, and the relationshipbetween these elements. As there is such variety in fashion illustration,applying fixed rules to composition isnot really appropriate. However, thereare some underlying principles thatshould be considered by fashionstudents – these may also beregarded as intuitive.

The relationship between theelements can be classified by what is referred to as the ‘positive image’and the ‘negative space’. Thepositive image refers directly to thesubject, usually the human figure in a fashion illustration, while negativespace refers to the space aroundand between the subjects. Thepositive image and negative spaceare equally important in determininga visually engaging composition.

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The layout of a successful fashionillustration has considered placementin order to achieve the desired effector visual impact. This is usuallyaimed at capturing the viewer’sattention and directing their eye over the illustration. Before the arrivalof digital media this was achievedthrough a manual process of roughdraft planning and gradually layeringup the composed illustration. Today,the ability to work with separatelayers for digital images hasfacilitated the process and made

it much more versatile. Once in digital form, illustrations may be edited and formatted to fit aparticular presentation or printingrequirement. Whichever route youtake, whether it is hand-rendered ordigital, planning and composing yourillustration is always important andyou should consider the illustration’spurpose – for presentation orinclusion within a portfolio.

1 Fashion illustrations by Anna Walker.

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Presentation boards

Most fashion students will be familiar with the term presentationboards as they are frequently used when working on projects andpreparing a portfolio. The term is also used in the fashion industry to refer to a variety of boards that communicate and sell ideas ordesigns for commercial objectives.

Presentation boards are primarily concerned with presenting ideas and designs to a defined audience with an appropriate level of clarity, visual flair and professionalism. They serve differentcomplementary functions and, when considered within a project or specific presentation, they should be visually linked. This mightinclude, for example, working across a template and colour codestyle and using the same board dimensions within a presentation.

Strong compositional skills, and the ability to clearly communicateinformation, are a distinct advantage when preparing a presentationboard. Presentation boards that are executed with clarity also conveya student or designer’s organisational skills (and this is important forworking in fashion). Presentation boards should not blur into eachother or repeat the same information as the viewer or audience willquickly lose interest or become confused.

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1 Illustration boards by Chi Hu.

2 Illustration board (top),design board (middle) and flats presentation board (bottom) by Thomas Rothery.

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Mood board

One of the most frequently usedboards, and one that most fashionstudents are introduced to first, is amood board. As its name suggests,the purpose of this board is to setthe mood or tone for the designboards or project work that follows.The process of preparing a moodboard also enables a designer tocollect visual information from avariety of sources and to organisetheir inspirations and ideas into acomposed visual display. Theseboards can vary considerably fromintense photomontages or compositecollages to rather spare visualcompositions that convey an etherealquality. Some mood boards aretactile, others may be digitallyformatted. Depending on theguidance provided by tutors orprofessors, either type may beacceptable but it is still important that the board is planned, arrangedand edited into a coherent visualcomposition.

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Concept board

Concept boards can take the placeof a mood board when a context isset for a project or collection. Aconcept board might also includereferences to colour palettes withaccompanying inspiration or directionimages. Concept boards may beused for industry-linked projects,known as ‘live’ projects, to introducethe design boards that will follow.They sometimes combine thepurposes of both a mood board and a colour board, with theadditional focus of a context, andshould be visually engaging and well-composed.

Title board

This board can sometimes take theplace of a mood board if a context is already set and the student wantsthe focus of their work to be linked toa collection title or theme. Typically,more advanced fashion designstudents will use a title board tointroduce their work in conjunctionwith other boards such as colourboards, development boards andsubsequent artwork or designboards. Title boards can be used to good effect for introducing aproject within a portfolio.

1–4 Flats board (1), mood orconcept board (2) andillustration boards (3–4) by Lucy Chiu.

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1–4 Illustration boards (1 and 3),flats board (2) and colourboard (4) by Lucy Chiu.

Flats board

Although some designers includeflats with their illustrations, it is oftenappropriate to prepare a separatepresentation board for flats andthematically link them to your otherboards. In some sections of thefashion industry this is commonpractice, such as for activesportswear and product categoriesof menswear. Presenting flats on a separate board can enable adesigner to give more artisticexpression to an illustration withoutcompeting with a flat as part of thesame composition. Increasingly,presentation flats are being drawnand coloured with the aid of digitalgraphics software. If you pursue this approach you should considerhow it will work alongside your other boards.

Range plan board

Prepared by design teams in thefashion industry to ‘break down’ a collection into its constituent parts across product categories orconsignment deliveries, range planboards (or line sheets as they areknown in the US), are used to clarifyfinal collections for presentation to sales teams and buyers. Theseboards utilise presentation flats toclearly show each product styleagainst exact fabric swatches. They might include a style number,season, price and delivery date.Range plan boards may be lessfamiliar to students, who will usuallyproduce smaller line-up sheetsdrawn on the figure.

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Line-up sheet

Used by more advanced fashionstudents, the purpose of line-upsheets is to present and edit finalcollections in a line-up format thatallows the outfits to be evaluated for their overall look, including theircatwalk/runway appeal. The designsare drawn on the figure and not asflats, with attention to styling, fit andproportion. It is important, therefore,that they are drawn to a consistentscale and that the poses are notoverly dramatic as the purpose of the line-up sheet is to enable criticalevaluation of the capsule collection.They may be included in a finalportfolio but should not detract fromor duplicate final illustration work.

Colour board

Although colour stories can beconveyed as part of a mood board,theme board or range plan, aseparate colour board is sometimesuseful. Colour boards are used inindustry to clarify exact colours and combinations within a productcategory or merchandise theme.Colour inspiration is important forstudents of fashion and fashionknitwear, who often include themwithin their portfolios and provideadditional fabric or yarn samples. It is important, however, to considercolour consistency when producing a colour board as your artworkshould be colour matched and thecolours accurately represented inyour design boards.

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Illustration board or design board

Fashion illustration boards are animportant part of any fashion studentor designer’s portfolio and are usuallyamong the last to be viewed in thesequence of a portfolio presentation.In one sense they may even beconsidered to be the finale of adesigner’s presentation since theyserve a more artistic role than theother boards and can add a wowfactor to a portfolio. Some designersmay include flats with their figurativedrawings, while others may adopt amore illustrative format. Determiningthe format for a fashion illustration isimportant and should be planned.This includes whether the illustrationwill be arranged in landscape orportrait format as well as whether to draw more than one figure on the

board. Arranging multiple figures canbe visually enhancing but should beconsidered in relation to individualmodel poses, gender and targetmarket or occasion. For example,illustration boards for bridal wear andhigh evening wear should emphasisethe uniqueness of the design and theoccasion, so individual illustrationsare more appropriate. Fashion figurescan be cropped and framed onillustration boards depending on the desired effect. Composing yourillustration is important and, given the variety of approaches to fashionillustration today, you should play toyour strengths and emphasise what you can do best.

Development board

Some tutors and college professorsask their students to prepare adevelopment board, which visuallypresents key stages of theirdevelopment in the studio. Thisenables students to extract some oftheir best sketchbook work andcombine it with photographic imagesof toiles/muslins as evidence of theirwork in progress. Developmentboards are useful; they can link amood board to the artwork or finaldesign boards. Although there is norule on how formally they should bepresented, some students includethem in their final portfolios.

1–3 Concept board (1),flats/development board (2)and illustration/design board(3) by Miranda Folett-Millard.

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Digital presentations

It is interesting to note the increasing popularity of websites andblogs in which fashion drawings and illustrations are shared anddisplayed alongside fashion photography and other associatedfashion imagery. These digital formats have extended the reach offashion drawing and presentation styles to a global audience, as wellas assimilating them into a digital cultural mix that appears open andreceptive to the variety of fashion drawing styles that exist today.

Blogs are also being taken up by fashion students who are activelyusing them to network and promote their work through onlineforums and digital gallery spaces. These developments areconsistent with the advances in digital graphics software, meaningthat fashion drawings are increasingly being viewed through screen-based platforms as well as through a range of print media formats.The continuing influence of digital media for fashion drawings andpresentations is likely to remain strong in the foreseeable future.Graphics software, scanners and digital cameras are becoming moresophisticated and a growing number of successful illustrators anddesigners are using digital media either exclusively or in combinationwith hand-rendering techniques. If fashion is about creating an idealand capturing the current mood and spirit of its age, then the digitalpresentation of fashion artworks will continue to exert a powerfulinfluence over popular culture.

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1 Fashion designer andillustrator Richard Haines’s blog <www.designermanwhatisawtoday.blogspot.com>

2 The work of fashionillustrator Danny Roberts is frequently featured onblogs and websites.

3 Fashion illustrator GladysPerint Palmer showcasesher work on her website<www.gladysperintpalmer.com>

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Cecilia Carlstedt, fashion illustrator

Please describe your current jobI work as a freelance illustrator.

What artistic training have you had?I have always drawn since I was a young girl, but I began my formalstudies in art at a school calledSödra Latins Gymnasium inStockholm. I continued with moretheoretical education, studying arthistory for a year at StockholmUniversity. In 1998 I was accepted on to the Graphic Design Foundationcourse at the London College ofPrinting. This led to a BA in the samesubject specialising in experimentalimage-making. The course alsooffered a five-month exchangeprogramme at The Fashion Instituteof Technology in New York.

How would you describe yourfashion illustration style?Experimental, eclectic and with a love for contrasts.

What type of media do you like to use?I mix traditional media like pencil and ink in combination with moderntechniques including Illustrator,Photoshop and photography.

How important are computergraphics in your work?It has become increasingly important over time. I still prefer a handmade look, but I have toadmit to being quite reliant on thecomputer in the process.

What advice do you have for astudent who wants to work as a fashion illustrator?Experiment a lot with different mediato create your personal style. Alwayskeep updated on what’s going on inthe field.

What makes a great fashion illustration?For me it’s when you can see that the creator has captured theessence of the piece in a unique,confident way.

What or who inspires you?When I see something that triggers the nerve to create; thatcould be anything really, an unusualcolour combination, an interestingface, and so on.

Artists who inspire me are many, but to name a few: Elizabeth Peyton,Luc Tuymans, Aubrey Beardsley,Hokusai and Gustav Klimt.

1–2 Illustrations by Cecilia Carlstedt.

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Please describe your current job as an illustratorI am currently working on differentmedia projects based in differentcountries. I usually work with fashion magazines, newspapers and textbooks. Basically I try to getas close as I can to each targetaudience; not only do I adapt mystyle to each one of them, but I also preserve the same essenceaccording to my own style andtechnique.

What artistic training have you had?Illustration has always been a hobby for me. I remember loving todraw when I was younger and eversince I have been furthering myinterest in it. This was by learningseveral techniques such as painting,watercolouring, charcoal drawingand so on. However, I believe thatmy degree in graphic design perhapshas helped me the most in thecreation of images, not only tocompose and colour them but alsoto interpret and reflect them inimages, ideas or concepts.

How would you describe yourfashion illustration style?I would not define it as just one pure style. To my understanding,fashion is in constant progress,always changeable, and my workacclimatises to it. The same would apply to the designers –transformation and evolution isunstoppable. I would say that thereal challenge is to reproduce thatevolution on a piece of paper.

Luis Tinoco, fashion illustrator

1–2 Illustrations by Luis Tinocofor Glamour Germany.

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Luis Tinoco, fashion illustrator

What type of media do you like to use?I like using any possible methodwhen illustrating. To achieve that, Iexplore new ways of expression. Themixture (or collage) of different plastictechniques is my main instrument.The results are more rewarding andinnovative if I show certain versatility.

How important are computergraphics in your work?I use the computer together withother methods. I do use it but notprimarily. In order to get hold ofrealistic results and postures withpersonality and individuality the useof drawing is needed.

What advice do you have for astudent who wants to work as a fashion illustrator?Try to find a unique style that you feel comfortable with and stick to it.It will become your trademark and itis what will make you different fromthe rest. Also try to build a type ofwork that would suggest yourpersonality and your life’s vision.

What makes a great fashion illustration?Elegance and strength are twoessential elements that need to be considered when working on fashion-related illustrations.Moreover, they are key to makingsomeone stop, pay attention to itand hopefully, keep it in the mind. At the end of the day, it is all aboutthe transmission of feelings beyondwhat is merely visual.

Who or what inspires you?I always try to be aware of absolutelyeverything that takes place aroundme. Anything could be an inspirationto me: people I see in the street,music, TV, photo sessions...

I also love to pay attention to artistswho have lived in a different period. I think that if we still remember themit must be because they have donesomething good with their lives andthe job they did. Perhaps this is whymy illustrations have been definedsometimes as being a bit ‘retro’,which is a real compliment to me.

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Sandra Suy, fashion illustrator

Please describe your current job as an illustratorI work with different types of clients,basically related to fashion, andusually with very tight deadlines so I have to work quickly.

What artistic training have you had?I studied art and fashion design forfive years. The rest of my training has been on my own.

How would you describe yourfashion illustration style?It’s influenced by classic fashionillustration and I like thinking it’selegant and reflects beauty in a good way.

What type of media do you like to use?In the beginning I used all kind ofartistic media, but now I’ve achievedthe same effects with my computer,and it’s more comfortable.

1–2 Illustrations by Sandra Suy.

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How important are computergraphics in your work?Very important, I use a computer in all my work processes.

What advice do you have for astudent who wants to work as a fashion illustrator?The most important thing is to findyour own style and promote yourwork a lot so people can see it. The internet is a good tool for this.

What makes a great fashionillustration?Something I can’t describe thatmakes you feel like you’re in front of something special.

Who or what inspires you?My inspiration depends on themoment; it could be an idea or aperson who is different from the rest.I try to impregnate my illustrationswith the attitude of the moment.

1–2 Illustrations by Sandra Suy.

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The final chapter considers the assembly and organisation of fashion drawing and associated artwork boards as part of a visual portfolio. Practical considerations, such as theselection and size of a portfolio case, are discussed alongwith approaches to the selection and organisation of workwithin a portfolio. The evolving nature of what may beconsidered as a fashion portfolio in today’s rapidly changingdigital media age is also considered, with a speculative eyeon the future of fashion. The chapter concludes with aninformative interview with the owner and director of a UK-based fashion careers company that offers support and advice on fashion portfolios to students, recentgraduates and industry professionals.

Fashion portfolios

1 Illustration by Sandra Suy.

You are only as good as the people you dress.’

Halston

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Fashion portfolios

1–3 Portfolio work by Harald Helgessen.

What is a fashion portfolio?

Nearly all fashion students will be familiar with the term fashionportfolio. There is really no such thing as a ‘one size fits all’ model for defining a portfolio: they come in a variety of sizes and formatsand contain individual presentations and statements of work thatreflect achievement, growth and ambition.

Accepting that fashion portfolios do vary, we might also concludethat they serve a variety of functions. A portfolio is an important visual self-promotion and sales tool for any designer, fashion studentor creative individual. There are areas of good practice that we shallconsider in relation to preparing and editing a portfolio; as anunderlying principle the portfolio should be a key indicator of yourcreative abilities, strengths and subject interests. In this way it should demonstrate what you do best.

A portfolio should evolve and remain relevant to your experiencesand interests. For students they represent a record of learning andachievement that will support career planning and preparation. It isprobably fair to say that without a portfolio, a fashion design studentwould find it almost impossible to secure employment within thefashion industry.

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Presentation cases

Selecting a portfolio presentationcase is a matter of individual choicefor students and designers alike.Fashion students would be welladvised to invest in a suitableportfolio case before entering theirfinal year as this will enable them tostart organising and collating theirproject work.

Portfolio cases come in a variety ofsizes including A4 and A2 (see page166 for a conversion table). Fashiondesign students will use A3 themost. Black cases are generallypreferred as they appear business-like and professional. Most portfoliocases are sold in leather-effect PVCwith protective gilt corners and straphandles. Additional features mayinclude a shoulder strap, retractablehandle, multi-ring mechanism forinserting clear plastic wallets orsleeves and a strong, all round zipper and internal pocket forinserting documents such as aCV/résumé. It is worth rememberingthat while your portfolio shouldappear smart and functional it shouldnot upstage the work inside it. Adeluxe portfolio case cannot makeup for inferior artwork.

1 Portfolios on display atGraduate Fashion Week,London.

2 Portfolio Open Day at theBritish Fashion Councilcolleges forum.

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Content and organisation

Content and organisation are key to a successful portfolio. Consideringhow you present your work is just as important as deciding what toinclude. Both are inextricably linked and can demonstrate yourpresentation and organisational skills.

Some interviewers flick throughportfolios quickly or even work fromthe back to the front. It is frustratingbut it happens so you should makesure that all your work is presentableand that everything has impact.Students are sometimes advised tostart and finish with a strong project.For fashion design students theirmost recent project, or finalcollection, is likely to be presentedfirst, and it is worth considering agood project to end with too.

The content of a portfolio should flow from one project to another and demonstrate the scope of yourselected work to its best advantage.This includes your ability to edit yourwork. Addressing content andorganisation is also about tailoringyour portfolio to a defined audience.Although there are no fixed rules on how many projects should beincluded within a fashion portfolio(and your tutors or professors can offer specific guidance),approximately five or sixaccomplished projects in varying styles and formats shouldengage the interest of an interviewer.Additional projects may need to be held back and targeted foranother interview.

Try colour coding projects bymounting artwork on to a particularcolour of cardstock to frame it; thiscan make a presentation appearmore cohesive and define theprojects within your portfolio.Consider the visual impact ofportfolio sleeve pages that face each other; for example, choosingtwo illustrations that complementeach other, or a line-up of figuresarranged across the open spread ofthe sleeves, will create a wow factor.

Ultimately, your portfolio shouldrepresent you in the best possibleway but should also be an honestrepresentation of who you are, inrelation to your interests, previousexperiences and your future goalsand aspirations.

Portfolio dos and don’ts

DoMake sure that your artwork willactually fit into the sleeve pages of your portfolio. It may soundobvious, but some students canoverlook this and find themselvestrimming or remounting work.

Check that the sleeves within the portfolio are spotlessly cleanbefore you insert your artwork.Good artwork will lose its appeal if the sleeve is marked or dirty.

Be consistent with presentationformats within a project; try not to mix landscape format withportrait format.

Make sure that any digital printartwork is properly pixelated.

Don’tIt is a common mistake to thinkthat the more you add to yourportfolio the better your chancesof someone responding to yourwork. Your interviewer mayactually remember the weakerwork over the stronger pieces andit could also be interpreted as anindecisive approach.

Artwork with raised surfaces, suchas some types of mixed mediaartwork with sharp peaks orpoints, may not be suitable forinsertion into a portfolio sleeve.

Fold-out presentations may lookappealing when they’re standingupright on a table surface but donot work within the sleeve of aportfolio so are best avoided.

Try to avoid including isolatedmood boards.

Finally, if you’re not happy withyour work you shouldn’t include itin your final portfolio as it is nevergood practice to apologise forwork during an interview.

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Fashion portfolios

1 Chew Magazine is an onlinemagazine; this issuefeatures the illustrations of Sandra Suy.<www.dripbook.com/chewthemagazine>

2 Example of designer’s digital portfolio on host site Coroflot.<www.coroflot.com>

Digital portfolios

As we have seen, documenting and presenting fashion artwork andassociated imagery across a variety of digital formats is becomingincreasingly widespread and better understood in the context ofdeveloping a portfolio.

Both the development of digital photography and the growth of fashion websites have raised the profile of fashion imagery across a variety of digital platforms. The emergence of online fashion magazines, such as Chew Magazine, has also extended the reach and accessibility of fashion images. This includes thepresentation of drawings and artwork through screen-based ratherthan print-based platforms. Today, fashion illustrators, designers andstudents are populating the internet and presenting examples of theirwork through digital media such as websites, blogs and Flickr imagepages. This is leading to some interesting developments, which arebeginning to extend the idea of what a fashion portfolio is and what it might look like in the future.

The term e-portfolio is gaining acceptance in a business networkingcontext. Design-orientated websites such as <www.coroflot.com>specifically cater for creative professionals and students across areasof design, including fashion, by enabling them to present digitalportfolios of their work with microblogging and profile-linkingcapabilities, as well as enabling direct access to their portfoliosettings and visitor traffic statistics.

The efficient nature of e-portfolios, combined with their rapid digital communication capabilities, makes them highly versatile and compatible with a 24/7 global fashion culture in a way that may not be achieved through a physical portfolio alone. It remains,however, that some of the more tactile human elements of originalhand-drawn artwork cannot be conveyed by the digitisation process.

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Please outline your currentjob and your career pathMy current role is owner and directorof The Fashion Careers Clinic, whichis the first specialist careers adviceservice in the UK dedicated tohelping fashion, textiles andaccessories designers. Based inLondon, the Clinic providesguidance, direction and support toeveryone from new graduatesthrough to experienced designerswho are looking for their next (or first)role in the industry. We cover a widerange of topics, including portfoliopresentation, CV writing, interviewtechnique, and how to networkeffectively. As we all know, this issuch a competitive industry, thereforedesigners must equip themselveswith all of the necessary tools andinformation required in order for themto stand a better chance of gaining asolid role in design.

What is a fashion portfolio?A fashion portfolio is a body of workthat brings together a selection of thedesigner’s ideas to demonstrate acertain style or vision. A portfolio can include research, sketches,illustrations, photographs and fabricsamples and, presented as a whole,should deliver a very clear messageas to what the designer is all about.

What advice would you offer to a student to help them prepare a fashion portfolio?The most important thing to consider is ‘does this work have aclear message?’ Think about exactlywhat sector of the market you areappealing to, and consider if yourwork is genuinely suitable for thismarket. The style of your projectscan be changed drastically by howyou do your figure illustrations – bychanging the hairstyle, make-up,shoes and accessories. All of these

things combine to influence howothers view your ability to work at acertain market level. Think aboutwhat message your work gives out,and also consider how memorableyour work is. What makes it standout? What’s different about it? Thebest portfolios are the ones peoplecan remember even years later – Irecall a great womenswear designerwho had a very distinctive way ofpresenting her work and she wasfantastic at figure illustration. Sixyears later, her work still stands out.Each portfolio should have that clearmessage, be memorable, cohesive,and projects should flow well fromone to another. Focus on quality, notquantity, and make sure that everyproject is one that you’re proud of.

On a practical note, students shouldremember to include all of therequired elements clients andrecruiters like to see: mood boards,

Stephanie Finnan, fashion careers adviser

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then design development, then finaldesigns (pages should ideally includefigure illustrations with flats placedalongside). Try to keep each projectbalanced with a similar number ofpages in each – it doesn’t look greatto have one project with 15 pagesand others with just four pages.Finally, keep your portfolio up todate, and remember that a portfoliois never finished – it should evolve asthe months and years go by; it is anongoing body of work.

How should a fashion student goabout choosing a portfolio?Most professional designers work to A4, which is easiest to present atinterview; for some reason, work canlook better when it is slightly smaller.Going larger than A3 is impractical interms of portability. A4 or A3 is alsomuch more user-friendly for therecruiter to flip through, and easier to look at if interviewing in a location

such as a restaurant or cafe (bear inmind that interviews don’t alwayshappen at the company HQ, or evensomewhere with a nice big table tospread all of your work out on!).Choose a style of portfolio thatallows you to add and edit workquickly and easily. Some studentspresent their work in a book format,bound into material or casing, or in a box or container. These ways ofpresentation aren’t necessary (theywon’t make you stand out for the right reasons) and throw updifficulties when having to photocopypages to send to agencies. The best and most professional-lookingportfolios are the leather ones withplastic sleeves already inserted intothe spine. The ring binders, whereyou have to place the plastic sleevesin yourself, invariably look messy assoon as you open them, with somepages falling out or the pages notturning correctly.

1 Stephanie’s company TheFashion Careers Clinic.<www.fashioncareersclinic.com>

2 Stephanie offers career andportfolio advice to students.

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What are the most commonmistakes fashion students makewhen preparing a portfolio?There are quite a few commonmistakes! No clear message is awful.Others include too much or too littlework – both as bad as each other.As a general guide, approximately six full projects is about right. Blankpages are not acceptable, nor tattyor messy pages. Check for gluemarks, torn pages, smears on plasticsleeves, and make sure that thespelling is correct on all titles, logosand text – clients and recruitmentagents do notice all of these things,so double-check everything beforeyou present it.

What is the most important pieceof advice you would offer to afashion student preparing aportfolio for a job interview?The most important element by far is to make sure that the workpresented is actually suitable for thecompany that is interviewing. Toomany designers take a ‘one size fitsall’ approach and take along thesame work to lots of different

companies. The most successfulcandidates are those who really thinkabout the style of the company theyare interviewing with, research theirtarget market well, and prepare theirportfolios accordingly. The bestapproach would be to create a smallproject for each company, to presentat first interview stage. It doesn’thave to be a lot – perhaps a moodboard, page of design developmentand a page of final illustrations. Thiswill show that the candidate has puttime and effort into preparing for theinterview, rather than assuming thattheir work will be suitable as it is andgoing to every interview with thesame standard projects.

What role do electronic portfolios serve in fashion?Electronic portfolios are interesting inthat they allow designers to presenttheir work to a much wider audiencethan ever before. Many designers arechoosing to have their own websiteto promote their work, as well asuploading work to portfolio sitessuch as Coroflot or StylePortfolios.This allows for a much more

immediate and accessible way ofpresenting work to companies and recruiters globally; it is quitestaggering to think that as soon asdesigners have posted their work onthese sites, they could be noticedand contacted by prospectiveemployers on the other side of theworld. Electronic portfolios havereally changed the face of jobhunting for the current generation ofdesigners. However, I do feel that acertain type of work lends itself tothis way of presentation more thanothers; for instance, fashion graphicsand print, kidswear and sportsweartends to look better electronicallythan knitwear, embellishment andwork for the luxury market. Somedesigners are choosing to take alaptop to interviews to present theirwork, but some companies stillprefer to see hard copies of work in a traditional portfolio. Also,presenting with a laptop can bringanother set of concerns to theinterview situation, such as if thecomputer crashes, battery dies, fileswon’t open and so on – not an idealstart to an interview!

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What do you think fashionportfolios will look like in tenyears’ time?As we have seen over the pastcouple of years, the use of CADwork has become much moreprevalent and is now widelyrequested by the majority of clients.Work created on the computer canlook amazing if done correctly; at themoment it is best mixed with otherways of rendering fabric andpresenting illustrations, combinedwith hand-drawn work. I think CADpackages are becoming ever moresophisticated in terms of the effectsthat can be created, ease of use,and how realistic the final imageslook; this will continue at a fast pace.In ten years’ time the majority of, if not all, portfolios will be createdusing CAD. Sadly, this may furthercontribute to the loss of traditionalmethods of hand drawing andillustration. Following on from the lastquestion, I think that the traditionalway of presenting work in a solidportfolio will die out and mostdesigners will present electronicportfolios. Technology will havemoved on so much that I’m surethere will be easier and slicker waysfor candidates to present their work.

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Conclusion

Fashion drawing encompasses a vibrant and diverse visualvocabulary. We have taken an introductory journey from itsbeginnings in the 19th century to the variety of styles andapplications that constitute fashion drawing in the early 21st century.It is clear that both fashion and drawing continue to be shaped by an evolving aesthetic, by technological advances in computergraphics and by the practical requirements of the fashion industry.

Fashion drawing enables us to define and redefine the way that wesee others and ourselves. While drawing remains a practical meansfor generating or communicating an idea, it should also allow us todream and to imagine what we want to share with others. Fashiondrawing may therefore be considered as a journey of self-discoverythat is fed by our imagination and ideas and refined with regularpractice. It is important to practise drawing in order to be able toconfidently express ideas and test the boundaries.

Of course, it has only been possible to include a select number ofdrawings by contemporary designers and illustrators in this book,alongside examples by talented students who are setting out on their careers, but their work offers us a slice of contemporary fashion practice. A number of insightful interviews has helped us to understand the motivations and inspirations behind a range of different approaches to fashion drawing and illustration. I hope this book has stimulated your interest in fashion drawing and that it will inspire you to draw.

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Further resources

In this book we refer to A4 and A3 paper sizes, which are part of theISO (International Organization for Standardization) A-series. Thismetric-based system is used throughout the world, except in the USand Canada. For the benefit of North American readers, the tablebelow shows both imperial and metric measurements of the A-series.

Sheet name mm inches

A0 841 x 1189 33 x 46 3⁄4

A1 594 x 841 23 3⁄8 x 33

A2 420 x 594 16 1⁄2 x 23 3⁄8

A3 297 x 420 11 3⁄4 x 16 1⁄2

A4 210 x 297 8 1⁄4 x 11 3⁄4

A5 148 x 210 5 7⁄8 x 8 1⁄4

A6 105 x 148 4 1⁄8 x 5 7⁄8

A7 74 x 105 2 7⁄8 x 4 1⁄8

A8 52 x 75 2 x 2 7⁄8

US Letter is the closest equivalent to A4:

mm inches

A4 210 x 297 8 1⁄4 x 11 3⁄4

Letter 216 x 279 8 1⁄2 x 11

US Tabloid/Ledger is the closest equivalent to A3:

mm inches

A3 297 x 420 11 3⁄4 x 16 1⁄2

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I would like to thank all the contributors who have so generously and willingly agreed to include examples of their work in this book. Thank you for your cooperation and open-handedness. Through the process of writing this book I have been fortunate to meet some inspiring and creative practitioners as well as having the opportunity to renewexisting contacts and acquaintances.

In alphabetical order, I would especially like to thank all my interviewees for their professionalism and generous spirit:Petra Börner, Lovisa Burfitt, Cecilia Carlstedt, Stephanie Finnan, Elmaz Hüseyin, Tomek Sowacki, Sandra Suy, Howard Tangye and Luis Tinoco.

I would also like to thank Lectra®, SnapFashun© and Trendstop® for their additional cooperation and support byproviding me with a selection of images for this book.

Special thanks also to Holly-Mae Gooch and Helena Kruczynska who both produced original artwork and drawings for this book. It was great working with both of you. My sincere thanks to Richard Haines for generously supplying me with images of his work desk and for his inspiring blog! And thanks to Wendy Plovmand for her generouscooperation and inspirational collages!

Additional thanks to Heather Holford, Sachiko Honda, Cecilia Langemar and David Potts for their help with facilitating contacts for inclusion in this book, and to Carl and Daniel at Sifer Design.

Finally a special thank you to my editor Rachel Netherwood for her tireless help and support. It’s been an inspiring journey.

Picture credits

Cover image courtesy of Cecilia Carlstedt; p 3 courtesy of Lovisa Burfitt; p 6 courtesy of Lovisa Burfitt; p 10 courtesy of Gudrun Kloepsch; pp 14–18 courtesy of SlidePresentationDVD; p 19 courtesy of Richard Rosenfeld; pp 20–1 courtesy of Paul Roberts and Amanda Evans; p 22 courtesy of Richard Haines; pp 24–5 courtesy of Helena Kruczynska; p 26 courtesy of Jenny Hong; p 27 courtesy of Richard Haines;pp 28–9 courtesy of Wei Lu; p 30 courtesy of Gudrun Kloepsch; p 31 courtesy of Harald Helgessen; p 32 courtesy of Ruth Beatty; pp 33and 34 courtesy of Iacopo Calamandrei; p 35 courtesy of Ruth Beatty; pp 36–7 courtesy of Helena Kruczynska; pp 38–9 courtesy of IacopoCalamandrei; pp 40–1 courtesy of Janine Cloke; pp 42–3 courtesy of Elmaz Hüseyin; pp 44–7 courtesy of Lovisa Burfitt; p 48 courtesy ofHolly Mae Gooch; pp 50–1, 53 and 54–5 courtesy of Helena Kruczynska; p 57 courtesy of Holly Mae Gooch; pp 58–68 courtesy of HollyMae Gooch; p 69 courtesy of Lovisa Burfitt; p 70 courtesy of Fiona Hillhouse; p 71 courtesy of Thomas Rothery; p 72 (1) courtesy of AaronLee Cooper; p 72 (2) courtesy of Holly Mae Gooch; p 73 courtesy of Richard Haines; pp 74–5 courtesy of Howard Tangye; p 78 copyrightLectra (www.lectra.com); p 80 courtesy of Elmaz Hüseyin; pp 82–3 courtesy of SnapFashun; p 84 courtesy of Emma Frame; p 85 courtesyof Nuttawan Ness Kraikhajornkiti; p 86 courtesy of Jenny Hong; p 87 courtesy of Nuttawan Ness Kraikhajornkiti; p 88 courtesy of ElmazHüseyin; p 89 courtesy of Aaron Lee Cooper; pp 90–1 courtesy of Nuttawan Ness Kraikhajornkiti; pp 92–3 copyright Lectra(www.lectra.com); pp 94–5 courtesy of Tomek Sowacki; p 96 courtesy of Wendy Plovmand; p 99 courtesy of Catwalking.com; pp 100–101courtesy of Gavin Ambrose; pp 102–103 courtesy of Trendstop; p 105 courtesy of Howard Tangye; p 106 courtesy of Claire Bushey; p 107(3–4) courtesy of Fiona Hillhouse; p 107 (5) courtesy of Miyuki Kitahara; p 108 courtesy of Wendy Plovmand; p 109 courtesy of HowardTangye; p 110 courtesy of Holly Mae Gooch; p 111 courtesy of Wendy Plovmand; p 112 (1) courtesy of Wendy Plovmand; p 112 (2) courtesyof Aaron Lee Cooper; p 113 courtesy of Wendy Plovmand; p 114 courtesy of Gavin Ambrose; p 115 courtesy of Witney Cramer; pp 116–19courtesy of Petra Börner; p 120 courtesy of Luis Tinoco; p 122 (1) courtesy of Timothy Lee; pp 122–3 (2–3) courtesy of Tahsin Osman; pp 124–5 courtesy of Anna Walker; p 126 courtesy of Chi Hu; p 127 courtesy of Thomas Rothery; pp 128–131 courtesy of Lucy Chiu; pp 132–3 courtesy of Miranda Folett-Millard; pp 136–9 courtesy of Cecilia Carlstedt; pp 140–3 courtesy of Luis Tinoco; pp 144–8 courtesy of Sandra Suy; pp 150–1 courtesy of Harald Helgessen; pp 152, 158 and 159 (3) courtesy of John Hopkins; pp 157 and 159 (2) courtesy of Stephanie Finnan; p 161 courtesy of Lovisa Burfitt; pp 162–5 courtesy of Helena Kruczynska; p 167 courtesy of Lovisa Burfitt.

Acknowledgements and picture credits




SIF AVABK5 Ethics_169-176 8/27/09 9:59 PM Page 169

The subject of ethics is not new, yet its consideration within the appliedvisual arts is perhaps not as prevalentas it might be. Our aim here is to help anew generation of students, educatorsand practitioners find a methodologyfor structuring their thoughts andreflections in this vital area.

AVA Publishing hopes that theseWorking with ethics pages provide a platform for consideration and a flexible method for incorporatingethical concerns in the work ofeducators, students and professionals.Our approach consists of four parts:

The introduction is intended to be an accessible snapshot of theethical landscape, both in terms ofhistorical development and currentdominant themes.

The framework positions ethicalconsideration into four areas and poses questions about the practicalimplications that might occur. Marking your response to each of these questions on the scale shown will allow your reactions to be furtherexplored by comparison.

The case study sets out a real project and then poses some ethicalquestions for further consideration. This is a focus point for a debate ratherthan a critical analysis so there are nopredetermined right or wrong answers.

A selection of further readingfor you to consider areas of particularinterest in more detail.

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Working with ethics





Ethics is a complex subject thatinterlaces the idea of responsibilities to societywith a wide range ofconsiderations relevant to the characterand happiness of the individual. Itconcerns virtues of compassion, loyaltyand strength, but also of confidence,imagination, humour and optimism. As introduced in ancient Greekphilosophy, the fundamental ethicalquestion is what should I do? How we might pursue a ‘good’ life not only raises moral concerns about the effects of our actions on others, but also personal concerns about our own integrity.

In modern times the most importantand controversial questions in ethicshave been the moral ones. Withgrowing populations and improvementsin mobility and communications, it is not surprising that considerationsabout how to structure our livestogether on the planet should come to the forefront. For visual artists and communicators it should be nosurprise that these considerations willenter into the creative process.

Some ethical considerations are already enshrined in government lawsand regulations or in professional codesof conduct. For example, plagiarismand breaches of confidentiality can be punishable offences. Legislation invarious nations makes it unlawful toexclude people with disabilities fromaccessing information or spaces. Thetrade of ivory as a material has beenbanned in many countries. In thesecases, a clear line has been drawnunder what is unacceptable.

Introduction

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But most ethical matters remain open to debate, among experts and lay-people alike, and in the end we have to make our own choices on the basis of our own guiding principles or values. Is it more ethical to work for a charity than for a commercialcompany? Is it unethical to createsomething that others find ugly oroffensive?

Specific questions such as these may lead to other questions that aremore abstract. For example, is it onlyeffects on humans (and what theycare about) that are important, or might effects on the natural worldrequire attention too?

Is promoting ethical consequencesjustified even when it requires ethicalsacrifices along the way? Must there be a single unifying theory of ethics(such as the Utilitarian thesis that the right course of action is always the one that leads to the greatesthappiness of the greatest number), or might there always be many differentethical values that pull a person invarious directions?

As we enter into ethical debate and engage with these dilemmas on a personal and professional level, we may change our views or change our view of others. The real test thoughis whether, as we reflect on thesematters, we change the waywe act aswell as the waywe think. Socrates, the‘father’ of philosophy, proposed thatpeople will naturally do ‘good’ if theyknow what is right. But this point mightonly lead us to yet another question:how do we know what is right?

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A framework for ethics

Your clientWhat are your terms?

Working relationships are central to whether ethics can be embeddedinto a project and your conduct on a day-to-day basis is a demonstrationof your professional ethics. Thedecision with the biggest impact iswhom you choose to work with in the first place. Cigarette companies orarms traders are often-cited exampleswhen talking about where a line mightbe drawn, but rarely are real situationsso extreme. At what point might youturn down a project on ethical groundsand how much does the reality ofhaving to earn a living affect your ability to choose?

Using the scale, where would you place a project? How does thiscompare to your personal ethical level?

YouWhat are your ethical beliefs?

Central to everything you do will be your attitude to people and issuesaround you. For some people theirethics are an active part of thedecisions they make everyday as aconsumer, a voter or a workingprofessional. Others may think aboutethics very little and yet this does notautomatically make them unethical.Personal beliefs, lifestyle, politics,nationality, religion, gender, class or education can all influence yourethical viewpoint.

Using the scale, where would you place yourself? What do you take into account to make your decision?Compare results with your friends or colleagues.

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Your specificationsWhat are the impacts of yourmaterials?

In relatively recent times we are learning that many natural materials are in short supply. At the same time we are increasingly aware thatsome man-made materials can haveharmful, long-term effects on people or the planet. How much do you knowabout the materials that you use? Do you know where they come from,how far they travel and under whatconditions they are obtained? Whenyour creation is no longer needed, will it be easy and safe to recycle? Will it disappear without a trace? Arethese considerations the responsibilityof you or are they out of your hands?

Using the scale, mark how ethical yourmaterial choices are.

Your creationWhat is the purpose of your work?

Between you, your colleagues and an agreed brief, what will your creationachieve? What purpose will it have insociety and will it make a positivecontribution? Should your work result in more than commercial success orindustry awards? Might your creationhelp save lives, educate, protect or inspire? Form and function are two established aspects of judging a creation, but there is little consensuson the obligations of visual artists and communicators toward society, or the role they might have in solvingsocial or environmental problems. If you want recognition for being thecreator, how responsible are you forwhat you create and where might thatresponsibility end?

Using the scale, mark how ethical the purpose of your work is.

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Case study Case study

Traditional Hawaiian feather capes (called ‘Ahu’ula) were made fromthousands of tiny bird feathers andwere an essential part of aristocraticregalia. Initially theywere red (‘Ahu’ulaliterally means ‘red garment’) butyellow feathers, being especially rare,became more highly prized and wereintroduced to the patterning.

The significance of the patterns,as well as their exact age or placeof manufacture is largely unknown,despite great interest in theirprovenance in more recent times.Hawaii was visited in 1778 by Englishexplorer Captain James Cookand feather capes were amongstthe objects taken back to Britain.

The basic patterns are thought to reflect gods or ancestral spirits, familyconnections and an individual’s rank or position in society. The base layerfor these garments is a fibre net, withthe surface made up of bundles offeathers tied to the net in overlappingrows. Red feathers came from the‘i’iwi or the ‘apapane. Yellow featherscame from a black bird with yellowtufts under each wing called ‘oo’oo,or a mamo with yellow feathers aboveand below the tail.

One aspect of fashion design thatraises an ethical dilemma is the waythat clothes production has changedin terms of the speed of deliveryof products and the now internationalchain of suppliers. ‘Fast fashion’ givesshoppers the latest styles sometimesjust weeks after they first appearedon the catwalk, at prices that meanthey can wear an outfit once or twiceand then replace it. Due to lower labourcosts in poorer countries, the vastmajority of Western clothes aremade in Asia, Africa, South Americaor Eastern Europe in potentiallyhostile and sometimes inhumaneworking conditions. It can be commonfor one piece of clothing to be madeup of components from five ormore countries, often thousandsof miles apart, before they endup in the high-street store. How muchresponsibility should a fashion designerhave in this situation if manufactureis controlled by retailers and demandis driven by consumers? Even ifdesigners wish to minimise the socialimpact of fashion, what might theymost usefully do?

Feather Capes

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Thousands of feathers were usedto make a single cape for a high chief(the feather cape of King Kamehamehathe Great is said to have been madefrom the feathers of around 80,000birds). Only the highest-ranking chiefshad the resources to acquire enoughfeathers for a full-length cape, whereasmost chiefs wore shorter ones whichcame to the elbow.

The demand for these feathers wasso great that they acquired commercialvalue and provided a full-time job forprofessional feather-hunters. Thesefowlers studied the birds and caughtthem with nets or with bird limesmeared on branches. As both the‘i’iwi and ‘apapane were covered withred feathers, the birds were killed andskinned. Other birds were capturedat the beginning of the moulting season,when the yellow display feathers wereloose and easily removed withoutdamaging the birds.

The royal family of Hawaii eventuallyabandoned the feather cape as theregalia of rank in favour of military andnaval uniforms decorated with braidand gold. The ‘oo’oo and the mamobecame extinct through the destructionof their forest feeding grounds andimported bird diseases. Silver and goldreplaced red and yellow feathers astraded currency and the manufactureof feather capes became a largelyforgotten art.

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Is it more ethical to create clothing for the masses ratherthan for a few high-rankingindividuals?

Is it unethical to kill animalsto make garments?

Would you design and make a feather cape?

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Fashion is a form of uglinessso intolerable that we have toalter it every six months.

Oscar Wilde



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Further reading

AIGADesign Business and Ethics2007, AIGA

Eaton, Marcia MuelderAesthetics and the Good Life1989, Associated University Press

Ellison, DavidEthics and Aesthetics in European Modernist Literature:From the Sublime to the Uncanny2001, Cambridge University Press

Fenner, David E W (Ed)Ethics and the Arts:An Anthology1995, Garland Reference Library of Social Science

Gini, Al and Marcoux, Alexei MCase Studies in Business Ethics2005, Prentice Hall

McDonough, William and Braungart, MichaelCradle to Cradle:Remaking the Way We Make Things2002, North Point Press

Papanek, VictorDesign for the Real World: Making to Measure1972, Thames and Hudson

United Nations Global Compact The Ten Principleswww.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/index.html



Basic

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The Basics Fashion Design seriesfrom AVA Publishing’s Academiaimprint comprises a collection oftitles that, together, cover the keyelements of fashion design:Research and Design, Textiles andFashion, Construction, Developing a Collection, Fashion Drawing andKnitwear. The series provides anessential introduction to the subjectand forms a comprehensivereference tool for students andanyone interested in the art offashion design.

To become a successful fashiondesigner you will need to developyour drawing skills, but for anycareer in fashion it is important tohave an understanding of the basicprinciples of good fashion drawing.

Basics Fashion Design: FashionDrawing provides a visuallyorientated introduction to the subjectby considering the different styles,techniques and approaches used inthe fashion industry. Packed withinterviews and work by talenteddesigners and illustrators, this bookwill both inform and inspire you.

Ethical practice is well known, taughtand discussed in the domains ofmedicine, law, science and sociologybut was, until recently, rarely discussed in the terms of the AppliedVisual Arts. Yet design is becoming an increasingly integral part of our everyday lives and its influence on our society ever-more prevalent.

AVA Publishing believes that our world needs integrity; that theramifications of our actions upon others should be for the greatesthappiness and benefit of the greatestnumber. We do not set ourselves out as arbiters of what is ‘good’ or‘bad’, but aim to promote discussion in an organised fashion for anindividual’s understanding of their own ethical inclination.

By incorporating a ‘working with ethics’ section and cover stamp on all our titles, AVA Publishing aims to help a new generation of students,educators and practitioners find a methodology for structuring theirthoughts and reflections in this vital area.

John Hopkins is Head of Fashion andTextiles at Winchester School of Art,University of Southampton, in the UK.He studied fashion at Central SaintMartins College of Art and Design,London, before graduating with amasters degree in fashion design. Soon after graduating from SaintMartins he gained extensiveprofessional experience as awomenswear designer with Jaeger and Burberry, where he worked for over ten years, as well as working as a freelance illustrator for the FashionService in London and New York.

John’s teaching career began in theUnited States, where he served as Chair of Fashion at Savannah College of Art & Design. During this time heextended his international experienceworking with illustrators and designersbefore returning to the UK to take up his position as Programme Leader for Fashion at Winchester, where hecontinues to share his knowledge andexpertise to support and encouragedesign students and develop hisresearch interests in fashion.

Featured topicsa brief historyart supplies and materialsthe fashion sketchworking drawingssketchbooksfashion proportionsdrawing from lifecreating posesheads, faces and hairhands, legs and feetdrawing menunderstanding garmentsfashion flatstechnical specificationsvector graphics and bitmapsfashion softwarecollage and mixed mediadigital colouring fabric renderingfashion illustrationpresentation boardsmood boardsdevelopment boardsline-up sheetsdigital presentationsportfoliostemplates

Featured contributorsPetra BörnerLovisa BurfittCecilia CarlstedtStephanie FinnanHolly Mae GoochRichard HainesElmaz HüseyinHelena KruczynskaWendy PlovmandTomek SowackiSandra SuyHoward TangyeLuis Tinoco

ava publishing sa [email protected]

BASICS

05FASHION DESIGN

FASHIONDRAWING

BASICS

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na popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration or behaviour

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ISBN-13: 978-2-940411-15-3

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