Creating a Mood Board for Fashion Design

Fashion is all about big ideas. When you see the latest catchy couture sashaying down the runway at New York Fashion Week, it didn’t simply appear from nowhere. Inspiration stems from everywhere. That’s why it’s crucial that any fashion designer, both emerging and established, use a mood board when planning out their next clothing line.

What is a Fashion Mood Board?

A fashion mood board, also known as an inspiration board, is a design tool used in the planning process of a creative project. Photographers, interior designers, and clothing manufacturers use a mood board to convey ideas and plan for the future.

This could include anything from magazine clippings of a certain style, to color palettes you want to include in your brand. Think of something like a Pinterest board, and you’ll have a clearer idea of what a fashion mood board can be.

In short, you’re compiling materials you want to use, the direction you want to move in, and the look and feel of your clothing line.

Mood boards come in two main forms: physical and digital.

Physical vs. Digital Mood Boards

Depending on your personal preference, you could opt to use a tangible, physical mood board. If you choose a physical mood board, you’ll spend time with fellow designers poring over fashion design sketches and photos, choosing the ones to pin to the mood board. Physical mood boards are perfect for those that want to feel like they’re in the thick of it. It’s great for designers who like touching photos, clipping images, and compiling the perfect-looking collage.

Or, if you’re not into the hands-on approach of compiling images and palettes, digital may be more your style.

After all, it’s a lot easier to try and collect the images that best convey your clothing line with a simple internet search. Digital mood boards are perfect for sharing ideas with others on the fly. ANd there are some great programs like Canva for simple, stylish interaction.

With a digital mood board, emerging designers don’t need to spend hours hunting down that perfect magazine page with a particular color on it. Instead, they can conjure up colors, pictures, and text to inspire their next design.

Why Use a Mood Board?

Using a mood board for fashion design is a great way to visualize and set goals for your new clothing line. A tool like a mood board is great for organizing existing ideas and starting on new ones when designing clothing.

A Mood Board Helps Communicate Ideas

When you’re working with a clothing manufacturer to make a clothing line, communication is key. With mood boards as a visual design tool, you can help a talented design team create clothing through effective communication.

It’s one thing to verbally state that you want to follow a certain visual theme or create a particular garment. It’s an entirely different thing to give the design team the images to nail the look and feel of a project.

A Mood Board Encourages Improvement

Another great way that mood boards help the design process is by improving on old ideas. This is where a team like TEG’s design experts can really help. Maybe you overlooked a design choice or chose an image that doesn’t have the right color.

Through communication with others, the mood board can see improvement.

The bottom line?

It’s a fantastic way to compile your different inspirations, design elements, fashion sketches, work from your favorite designers, and more.

How Clothing Manufacturers Use Mood Boards for Custom Clothing

When a clothing manufacturer helps an independent fashion designer start a clothing line from scratch, there needs to be a solid foundation of ideas. This is where a vital tool like a mood board comes in.

With The Evans Group, fashion mood boards are an integral part of the clothing line design process. The designer communicates various thoughts, ideas, and goals, which allow the entire TEG team to help build upon existing ideas.

During the detailed ‘Design & Source’ phase of starting your own clothing line, the TEG Creative Services team holds various strategy meetings, including the extensive use of mood boards. This is where mood boards play a crucial role in the early stages of developing a clothing line.

The great thing about fashion mood boards is the sheer possibilities for improvement, further inspiration, and unfettered creative freedom.

The mood board guides creative sessions. Mood boards help the team add themes, words, fonts, notes, and layouts to craft the perfect clothing line.

Essential Visual and Creative Tools for Your Next Project

The clothing design process is a fluid one, compiling ideas, colors, images, and more. It’s fun to think of stunning fashion ideas coming out of the blue. But realistically, there’s a ton of planning involved.

With TEG, we make it easy. The seamless inclusion of mood boards on design projects allows clients to see what they want to accomplish.