What Is Fashion Design? A Deep Dive For Independent Designers

With the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, it’s easy to put off your interests until later. However, for us, fashion design is something you can’t put on hold. But first, what is fashion design?

And how does it play an integral role in our day-to-day lives?

Let’s take a dive into fashion design, and we’ll throw in some helpful clothing manufacturing resources to launch a fashion career!

What Is Fashion Design?

Fashion design is the act of taking creative designs, concepts, ideas, and fabric and applying them to clothing.

You’ll likely see the latest trends at iconic shows like New York Fashion Week, the CFDA Fashion Awards, and Milan Fashion Week. However, those trends in high fashion don’t define what’s ‘good.’

Of course, that’s subjective and depends on the designer’s audience and design prowess.

Whether it’s designing a summer dress or a comprehensive fashion collection of avant-garde outerwear, the clothing you see daily is due to fashion design.

And you don’t need an advanced degree from school to become a fashion designer either. While there are certificates and degree programs that home in on specific, practical skills, becoming an artist requires no hard credentials.

However, if you’re a fashion designer who wants an education in fashion design, there are excellent schools to explore and expand your skill set.

The Best Fashion Schools

Here are some famous fashion schools where you can pursue a fashion design education. According to CEO World Magazine, these were some of the highest-rated fashion schools in the world.

• Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City, NY, USA
• Westphal College of Media Arts & Design at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA, USA
• London College of Fashion in London, UK
• Parsons School of Design in New York City, NY, USA
• Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, GA, USA

These institutions of fashion design help people research, test, and experiment with different designs, patterns, ideas, and more.

In short, wherever you are in the world, there’s always a wealth of knowledge of fashion design and creative opportunities only a distance away.

Types Of Fashion

Fashion isn’t a one-size-fits-all industry.

Just like fashion designers themselves, the world of fashion is unique and contains multitudes. Let’s see the different types of fashion and how they impact the world.

Fast Fashion

Let’s get the ugly side of design out of the way first. Fast fashion is the practice of creating massive amounts of clothing for cheap.

Fast fashion is all about cheap labor, cheap materials, and cheap retail prices.

As such, it’s no surprise that fast fashion items are of shoddy quality and quickly require replacing. These discarded, low-quality materials end up in landfills, polluting the soil and waterways of the world. In fact, around 85% of clothing ends up in these landfills. That’s no way for fashion to thrive. And that’s not why designers enter the industry.

Moreover, fast fashion requires cheap labor, which directly harms textile workers in the Global South.

We’re unabashedly anti-fast fashion at The Evans Group, and we hope you are too!

Made-To-Measure Clothing

Made-to-measure speaks for itself. It’s made specifically for the wearer. You can also consider this bespoke clothing.

When a designer creates made-to-measure clothing, they’re following a strict template. With the help of a pattern maker, clothing manufacturers crank out wonderful and ambitious designs.

At TEG, we specialize in this type of clothing manufacturing. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that made-to-measure clothing is the polar opposite of fast fashion. This clothing type often uses more sustainable materials like organic cotton, hemp, and Tencel.

Haute Couture

Haute couture is the cream of the crop.

Requiring approval from the French government, creating haute couture is the gold standard of French Maisons. Brands like Gucci, Chanel, and Christian Dior have the privilege of designing haute couture, and the designers have put their hearts and souls into their work.

You’ll often see haute couture on fashion runways.

Quality Fashion Design With The Evans Group

While iconic fashion houses like Gucci deliver quality clothing, you don’t need to be a veteran designer to create great and memorable fashion.

At The Evans Group (TEG), clothing design experts work alongside independent fashion designers.

Fashion designers harness the raw talent and skills of Los Angeles pattern makers, seamstresses, and fashion industry experts to launch a clothing line.

With that in mind, founder Jennifer Evans, committed to helping fashion designers with zero prior experience, launched the TEG fashion mentorship program.

The TEG Mentorship Program

The fashion mentoring program is a tailor-made, comprehensive program that aims to assist independent fashion designers without experience.

The fashion industry can seem daunting and has a lot of gatekeeping, whether through high clothing manufacturing costs or high minimum order quantities.

Jennifer Evans wanted to extend a helping hand to people who have always had a passion for fashion design. As such, she developed this program to pair designers with fashion experts.

Wherever you are in your fashion design journey, fashion mentors at TEG work diligently with you to launch a clothing line you’re proud of.

Final Thoughts On Fashion Design

Fashion design is such an integral part of our everyday lives, encompassing art, textiles, manufacturing, and creativity.

With that in mind, anyone has the potential to become a fashion designer. There has never been a more opportune time to dig into your passion and create something extraordinary.

To learn more about what’s possible in the world of fashion design, fill out the forms below and get in contact with the TEG team!