FDTM-05

FS001-02
ANNAI INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE
FASHION THEORY

FASHION DESIGNING
ANNAI INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE,
VELLORE.
 ANNAI INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE
FASHION THEORY

ANNAI INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE

THEORY MANUAL

DEPARTMENT OF FASHION DESIGNING

SUBJECT: FASHION THEORY

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SYLLABUS

UNIT I
1. History of Fashion
2. History of Costume

UNIT II
Fashion Design terms
1. Areas of Fashion
2. Fashion flow chart
3. Fashion in cloth

UNIT III

Classification of Fashion
1. Style
2. Basic and classic
3. Fad
4. Fashion forecasting
5. Trends
6. Chic
7. Made collection / Mannequin

UNIT IV

Fashion Shows
1. Formal Fashion show
2. Designer fashion show
3. Department fashion show
4. Informal fashion

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UNIT V

Fashion Cycle
1. Factors affecting fashion
2. Economic factor
3. Social factor
4. Psychology factor
5. Theories of fashion adoption
6. Trickle Up , trickle down, trickle across

UNIT VI

Fashion leaders and followers

1. Designing a collection
2. Designing a Garment
3. Areas of work
4. Areas of Fashion Design
5. Elements of design ( Lines, shapes, space, colour, and texture)
6. Types of Design

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UNIT I

HISTORY OF FASHION

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HISTORY OF COSTUMES

Dress during this period goes through a massive shift. Late 18th Century women's dress
collapses from it's padded and puffed look to a thin, often translucent silhouette. As the French
Revolution progressed, different women's styles were adopted that appeared to have reference to
the revolutionary politics, social structure and philosophy of the time. In the early 1790's, for
example, the "English" or man-tailored style was favored as it hinted towards the leanings of
constitutional monarchy. There was a brief fashion for plain dresses in dark colors during the
Terror of 1792, but when the Directory took over French fashion again went wild, trying out
"Rousseauesque" fashions in "Greek", "Roman", "Sauvage" and "Otaheti" (Tahitian) styles.

Dress a'la Greque (Hoey)

The Psudo-"Greek" look proved most popular and was adopted as the standard style in Europe in
the late 1790's

While Men's Costume in the 1790's also becomes thinner in line, it separates it's style from
women's dress by beginning to lose nearly all forms of surface decoration, lace and bright color,
as "irrational" and feminine effluvia. This change is slow, but it completely alters men's dress by
the mid 19th Century into dull dark uniform dress.

Other major changes include the adoption of trousers from the dress of sailors and the urban
proletariat of the French Revolution, the passing of the fashions for wigs and hair powder, and
the (very temporary) demise of the corset.
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The bonnet is invented as a hat that is meant to look like a Greek helmet, but it quickly is altered
in style out of all resemblance to the original.

Bonnets from "Wiener Zeitschrift", Vienna, 1820 in Max von Boehn's Modes
and Manners of the 19th Century

The Neoclassical Period 1800-1825

Probably due to post Revolutionary backlash against female influence in politics, later reinforced
by the German Philosopher Schopenhauer (who promoted the view that men were supposed to
be rational and women emotional), the sexual dichotomy in dress becomes more pronounced in
this era, a trend which continues through the 19th Century. The direction of fashions towards
Neo Classic dress for women, and increasingly drab utilitarian dress on men, continue in a steady

manner in this very stylistically stable period. 1807 1809

Women's dress locks into a pattern of light colored muslin gowns, high waisted with little puffed
sleeves, and psudo-Greek hairstyles, which achieved an apex at the coronation of the Emperor
Napoléon in 1804.

Napoleon's sisters at his coronation.

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As the period proceeds, the originally simple lines of these gowns are increasingly decorated
with ruffles and puffs, the skirts get puffed out with petticoats, the waist lowers and tightens with
corsets, until by 1825 it is hard to see how the style worn was ever imagined to look Greek.

1822 Vienna from Max von Boehn's Das Beiwerk der Mode, 1928

Men's dress also keeps on a fairly steady course towards increasing dullness. Fashion magazines
continue to push men's dress towards foppish extremes, but men who actually count in the
fashionable world tend to push for plainer styles. Beau Brummell, the leader of male sartorial
fashion in England in this period was noted for wearing only black with a white shirt for formal
evening wear, a marked departure from the style of the previous century. Tubular and fitted
trousers also move from a radical fashion statement to everyday wear for most men of the upper
classes.

Clothing from 1825-1850 The "Romantic" Period

The trend towards sexual dimorphism in dress reaches an absurd apex in this period. Men's
fashion becomes a series of undecorated black tubes, like the smoke stacks of the The Industrial
Revolution (an analogy they were even conscious of at the time), while women's dress continues
to balloon out with ruffles, decorations and petticoats until women look like ambulatory wedding
cakes.

Fashion Plates from Le Folliet c.1839-1840

Both men's and women's dress becomes more complex during this era due to the invention of the
Sewing Machine, and the popular dissemination of pattern books and systems for garment
cutting. Men's clothing construction, while outwardly simple, begins to acquire the internal

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padding, interfacings and complex structure that makes modern men's suits fall so smoothly even
over an object as lumpy and mobile as the human form.

early Hand crank sewing machine

Elias Howe, the inventor of the first mass produced, practical sewing machine, originally
demonstrated it's utility to a group of prospective investors by holding a sewing race between
himself and his machine, and ten professional hand stitchers. He easily won, and the economic
situation of stitchers (mostly female) declined as a consequence of the adoption of the invention.
With a sewing machine, a stitcher could produce ten times the output as before, with greater
quality, but the stitcher rarely could afford the machine, and with so many stitchers out of work,
stitchers were easily replaceable. Industrialists would invest in the machines, hire the stitchers
cheaply, and then swallow the profits that their increased output produced. With profits so high,
soon competition between manufacturers of clothes got fierce, and so producers tried to
"improve" their product by adding more sewing decoration, such as ruffles, pleats, and top
stitching, to lure customers. The end result was that fashionable Women's dress became
incredibly over decorated in the 19th Century.

Another result of this increased output in clothing manufacture was that poor people's clothing
got better, and the rags of earlier eras were replaced by cheaply made mass manufactured work
clothes. The middle classes were able to afford more than clean simple clothes, and began to
actively indulge in fashion for it's own sake.

"The Last of England" by Ford Maddox Brown, showing the dress of

poor English people as they emigrate to Australia.

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Fashionable women's dress grew more and more cumbersome and impractical during the 1830's
and 1840's. The visual line of 1840's gowns, hats and headdress all point down, and the eyes of
women depicted in fashion plates are demurely cast to the floor. The increasing size of the
skirts, held out only with voluminous and usually unsanitary crinoline (horsehair canvas)
petticoats, made the weight of the skirts oppressive, and movement awkward. Tight laced
Corsets of a waist-cinching style, pinched the waist without providing the back supporting
properties of corsets of other eras.

This is the time of the tortured and victimized Bronte heroines, not to mention the tortured and
victimized Bronte Sisters themselves. The 1840's proved such a low point for women in
Western history, that the worm finally turned, and women began to organize and agitate for the
vote, dress reform, and the right to enter schools and professions closed to them.

After the War in 1918 the Suffragettes finally won the vote in the UK, and in America voting for
women was won in 1920. Fashion trends towards a more casual look continued in the 1920's. In
the aftermath of the war, people questioned the values of the older generation that had led to the
conflict. To a great extent people believed that those values were discredited, along with the
generation that spawned it. American culture in particular became very youth oriented, and
fashion began to look towards teen and college-age kids for it's inspiration. The "College Man"
and "The Flapper" became the new icons of all that was young and fashionable. Women in
particular began dieting to mold their bodies into a slimmer, flatter teenage shape and dress
waistlines dipped to hip length to minimize the appearance of adult curves. The Brassiere, in
breast flattening styles, replaced corsets almost completely.

Evening dress showing typical "Spanish" embroidered shawl, and huge ostrich
feather fan, the man is wearing "black tie" always worn with a Tuxedo c. 1925

Art - Gout - Beaute 1926

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Women's hemlines got shorter until 1925-6 when they peaked at just below the knee. The
influence of Hollywood Silent Pictures made makeup, particularly lipstick, increasingly
fashionable. Early versions of "permanent wave" hair curling also spawned a new industry of
"Beauty Shops" where women could meet in groups while having hair cut and curled. Western
women began growing their nails long, and even painting them with colored enamels, an idea
that would have seemed indescribably foreign, decadent and erotic to the previous generation.

Rayon (acetate) invented by Briton Charles Frederick Cross in 1895 (and first manufactured in
the US in 1910) began to be commonly available in the 1920's, and was a staple fabric for
stockings and women's dresses by the end of the decade.

Shorter hairstyles necessitated hat shapes that held to the head without benefit of hatpins, so the
head-hugging cloche was popular.

c.1928 Cloche hats

Short skirts and college fashions reigned in a booming US economy that kept wildly spending
and expanding on credit until the Great Stock market Crash of 1929 put a halt to the prosperity
and the fun.

As soon as the great Stock Market Crash of 1929 hit the US economy, fashion took a more
conservative turn. Women's hemlines dipped back down to mid calf length for daywear, and full
length for eveningwear. Waistlines moved back to the waist and adult female curves again
became fashionable. "White tie" full dress with a tailcoat popped back into men's evening
fashion. It is as if the world felt that the Great Depression was a judgment on the fast times and
youth culture of the 1920's, and prepared to grow up and do penance in the 1930’s.

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Spring 1934 Sears Catalog Selected Fashions

Men's suits became sharper edged, with more shoulder padding, looking less youthful and more
masculine, a style trend that continued through the 1940's.

Chicago Woolen Mills 1937 Catalog

late 1930's suit

African American tailors in Harlem even revived the long frock coat, re-cut and re-invented as
the "Zoot suit". This modernized version had a colorful spin, and was popularly made of
brighter suitings, and light cottons in summer. This style swept jazz and swing clubs in major
cities, was worn out in California by Hispanics, and eventually by disaffected and musically
daring teens of all races in the US and Europe.

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c.1930 hats. Images kindly provided by ACarter of eBay, seller of Antique prints
and Magazines

Women's Hairstyles got longer, and fuller, due to the increased popularity and availability of
permanent Marcel Waves. Women's hats grew less substantial and more feminine and
impractical throughout the 1930's. Ruffles, banished from female fashion in the mid 1920's,
returned with a vengeance, and were combined with Bias cut gowns (first made popular in the
late 1920's by Madeleine Vionnet) to make clinging ultra feminine frocks.

La Familia Magazine Fashion Illustrations of 1938

War broke out in Europe in 1939, the same year the first true artificial fiber, Nylon, was
introduced at the World's Fair in New York. For the duration (1939-1945), fashion veered
between exiting innovations like this, and the shortages, price controls and rationing created by
war. Often, shortages directly created the innovations: Men's suits bought before the war
typically came with jacket, vest and two pairs of matching trousers. During the war this dropped
to just a jacket and one pair of trousers, where it has stayed ever since. Leather and rubber
shortages caused shoemakers to experiment with wood and cork soled, stylishly elevated,
Platform shoes.

War Production Board guidelines for garment manufacture 1942

Women's clothing went through the greatest changes in this era, both due to shortages, and due
to large numbers of women engaging in work outside the home during the war. Bias cutting was

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promptly dropped as a waste of fabric, and "Make Do And Mend", wartime advice centered on
sewing old clothes in to new ones. Men's suits were re-cut into women's suits, complete with the
tailored details and shoulder padding previously found in the garments. Shoulder pads quickly
became stylish in all women's garments, not only suits, and stayed in fashion until 1949.

1945 pattern

"The suit that bought a bond": Woman's suit made from an old man's suit.
1942

Most governments issued either construction guidelines, or rationing to curtail fabric use, yet
even in Europe men and women managed ways to stay fashionable during the conflict. "The
Little Black Dress" was a popular method suggested by style magazines: Having a simple, short
(knee length) black dress, which one varied each day and evening with sets of color-matched
accessories. Fashion that was not rationed, like hats, and hairstyles, grew creatively elaborate.
Women and girls were actively encouraged to wear pants, both for war work and warmth.

1942

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Fabric conserving alterations to make small old dresses fit a larger figure 1946

Men's clothing, when out of uniform, was increasingly casual. In addition to dropping vests
from suits, ties became wildly festive in pattern, color and style. Aloha Shirts for casual wear
came to the mainland with servicemen returning from the Pacific theatre. Suit wearing
increasingly was confined to work in offices, going to church, and formal occasions.

Illustration from Punch, 1857, showing the complete understructure of a

fashionable woman's wardrobe.

An American suffragist and reformer, Amelia Bloomer led the forefront of dress reform in the
1850's propagating what became known as The Bloomer Costume (originally designed by
Elizabeth Smith Miller), a very modest ensemble consisting of a knee length gown worn over
demure Turkish trousers. It is a measure of how severely cumbersome and repressed mid-19th
Century Western women's clothes were that a garment worn by conservative Moslem women
was so comparatively freeing in style that it actively shocked most contemporary observers.

1851, Mrs. Bloomer in the costume she wore as a response to the restrictive
petticoats of the 1840's-50's.

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Only a small percentage of the female population ever wore The Bloomer Costume, but periodic
attempts at dress reform continued throughout the rest of the 19th Century, exerting a growing
influence on fashionable dress.

The Crinoline (hoop petticoat), c.1860 from Karl Kohler's Kostumewerk

Fashionable women enjoyed a slight dress "reform" of their own in the 1850's by the adoption of
the Hoop Skirt. The hoop (or Crinoline as it was named after the former petticoats of horsehair),
liberated women of the weighty, hot unsanitary bulk of petticoats, and gave free movement to the
legs.

The tendency of the hoop to flip up showing the legs, also required women adopt a version of the
bloomer trousers as underwear. The earliest hoops were rigid iron that had a tendency to thwack
the unhooped sex in the shins. As a consequence, when added to the horror of seeing one's
female dependents wearing (oh!) bifurcated garments beneath the hoop, men were appalled, and
tried to put a stop to the fashion by decrying them from newspapers and the pulpit, ridiculing
them in song and poetic lampoon, and mercilessly caricaturing them in cartoons.

Second Empire Fashion plates from Petit Courier des Dames 1852-5
provided by Acarter of eBay

The benefits of the hoop for the wearers, however, insured that women defied disapproving
fathers and husbands in droves, and iron quickly gave way to more forgiving spring steel wire,
which made larger and larger skirt foundations light enough to be possible.

Women's dress in the era 1850-65 gets progressively larger and more horizontal in outline. Gone
are all the lines pointing down, and women in fashion illustrations get a slightly more assertive
look in their expressions, more often looking out at the viewer at eye level.

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1865. Images courtesy of Aquarian Gallery Antique Prints and Maps

By 1860, the hoop itself was so large and awkward it was in itself oppressive. The shape of the
hoop began to become ovoid, with the bulk of the skirt trailing behind the wearer. In 1866 the
size of the hoop began to diminish somewhat, and the ovoid trend continued, slowly turning, by
1870, into what they called the Tornure or Bustle. The result was to give the female figure a
forward leaning stance, rather like the prow of a ship.

Men's dress in this era continued the trend towards decreased individuality of style, crossed with
increased technical perfection of manufacture.

Man in frock coat with plaid vest, 1855. from Karl Kohler's Kostumewerk

Facial hair gained in popularity in the 1850's, 60's and 70's, not really going out of fashion until
after 1900, and then only gradually.

Pianist A. Thalberg in an overcoat and vest, 1860's from Karl Kohler's

Kostumewerk

Men's dress found the form that it has held in modified form to this day in this era, formalizing
the suit into a uniform worn by men in all strata of income in varying degrees of quality.

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Dress in The First and Second Bustle Periods

Fashionable women's dress in the era of the 1870's and 1880's, while looking quite modest to
modern eyes, was viewed as unashamedly erotic in it's own day. The bustle, the cornerstone on
which women's dress depended, focused the majority of the decoration and clothing focus on a
woman's backside, and emphasized the movement of that body part to heroic proportions.

1872 1873

The dress of the first bustle period (1870's) is noted for the lightness of it's material and
decoration, swathing the lower reaches of a woman's body in numerous ruffles and pleats, often
in light colors using the new and vibrant aniline dyes.

1874 1877. Image courtesy of Aquarian Gallery

Antique Prints and Maps

1879

Late in this decade (1878-79) was the "Fishtail" style, where the lower part of the skirt was tight,
and ended in a train.

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1880

The second bustle period (the 1880's) is heavier, with decoration more resembling upholstery
style. Colors get more Jewel-toned and velvets, heavy satins and brocades replace the taffetas
and cottons of the 1870's. Surface decoration is often of passementarie or jet beads, giving the
whole ensemble a more mature flavor.

c. 1885 1886

Men's dress in this era continues in it's general dullness but begins to be enlivened with
sportswear, an area that continues to provide the most intriguing variants of men's dress.

Dress during the 1870's and 1880's came more and more under the influence of the Rational
Dress Movement and the Aesthetic Movement. Dress reform from artists, feminists and
socialists provided a continuous counterpoint to the more frivolous dress of fashionable women,
and the more tedious dress of fashionable men.

Anti-corset caricature

Dress reformers of the Aesthetic movement such as Oscar Wilde promoted jewel-toned velvet
suits with breeches for men, but only found a lasting audience among mothers who dressed small
boys in "Little Lord Fauntleroy" suits in this style. Caricaturists such as George du Maurier
simultaneously lampooned the Aesthetic dress even as they spread it's influence. The Gilbert
and Sullivan opera Patience spread the Aesthetic style to America, with costumes from Liberty

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Co. where it was transformed in the following decades into the Arts and Crafts Movement.
Women's aesthetic dress, with it's semi medieval lines and uncorseted waists were transformed
by popular taste into the Teagown, a fashionable lady's at home garment.

Rational dress advocates like George Bernard Shaw tried to popularize Jaeger combination suits
(which resembled woolen long johns), but were laughed off the streets. Dr Jaeger's more
conservative ensembles of wool knickers and a Norfolk jacket however were accepted as men's
sportswear even among the fashionable.

Hunting suits of the 1870's

Dress at The Turn of the 20th Century

La Belle Époque 1890-1914

Women's dress in the 1890's continued to be built in a sturdy, heavy, upholstered style, but the
silhouette changed to that of an hour glass. Female bodies were corseted to a small waist, and
then padded in the buttocks, hips, bosom and sleeves to exaggerate the apparent wasp-waisted
effect.

1895

Hats began to grow larger in the 1890's, a trend that continued steadily until 1911.

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1891 1896

1902 1909 1911

Men's Dress in the 1890's took a turn towards greater formality and dandyism in Europe, and
went in the opposite direction in the U.S. where the popular mode was brightly colored
sportswear.

Highly fashionable Russian gentlemen from cigarette advertising of the 1890-1910 period.

Arrow Shirt Ad. by J.C.Leyendecker

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American men of around 1900 tried to emulate the image of the "Arrow Shirt Man" drawn by
J.C.Leyendecker, with brightly colored shirts and hard white tubular collars worn under the
sporty Sack Suit jackets, that had recently moved up from sport clothes to business wear. During
this period in the US, the European fashion for Frock coats like the Prince Albert Coat and the
Cutaway is gradually displaced by the sack, so much so that even rich American men sport an
evening version of the sack, the Tuxedo, to male only parties and semi formal events.

The Hourglass shape of the woman of the 1890's transformed after 1897 into the "S" curve of
1897-1908. This change came from longer lined "health" corsets that supported the spine and
abdomen, especially when they were over-laced by the fashionable. Fashionable women in this
period seem to be leaning into a wind. The curvaceous clothing line of this period meshes
perfectly with the curving lines of the dominant decorative style of the day, known as "Art
Nouveau".

1903 an over-laced corset

Most women's dress in this era was highly influenced by the advancing feminist cause, which
after 1903 escalated to widespread civil disobedience by "Suffragettes" (radical suffragists).
Women modeled their behavior and appearance upon the Gibson Girl the popular image of the
"New Woman". Men's clothing styles such as the suit, shirt, hard collar and tie were worn by
women forcing themselves into professions formerly occupied by men. Health fads of the 1890's
and 1900's also encouraged women's sporting activities, particularly bicycling, which, in turn
promoted sport clothing as a fashion.

Aesthetic dress worn for a recital "In a Berlin Singing Academy" in Max Von
Boehn's Modes and Manners of the 19th Century

Dress reform, continued to be a hot topic in this period, even gaining such notable adherents as
Mark Twain.

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Artists such as Mariano Fortuny in Italy and the Wiener Werkstaette group in Austria continued
to design Aesthetic reform costumes such as Fortuny's Delphos Dress, and dress became
progressively more comfortable, practical and aesthetically pleasing in this whole era.

Orientalist fashions continued to be popular, and were eventually stylized into a form which
came to be know as Art Deco, the dominant style for fabric decoration and interior design until
WWII. Notable European designers like Erte, Poiret, Chanel, Barbier, Vionnet, Zamora and
Delaunay all worked in this style through the succeeding decades.

Clothing in India varies from region to region depending on the ethnicity, geography, climate
and cultural traditions of the people of that region. Historically, men and women clothing has
evolved from simple Langotas, and loincloths to cover the body to elaborate costumes not only
used in daily wear but also on festive occasions as well as rituals and dance performances. In
urban areas, western clothing is common and uniformly worn by people of all strata. India also
has a great diversity in terms of weaves, fibers, colours and material of clothing. Colour codes
are followed in clothing based on the religion and ritual concerned. For instance, Hindu ladies
wear white clothes to indicate mourning, while Parsis and Christians wear white to weddings.

History[edit]

The Didarganj Yakshi depicting the dhoti wrap

India's recorded history of clothing goes back to the 5th millennium BC in the Indus Valley
civilization where cotton was spun, woven and dyed. Bone needles and wooden spindles have
been unearthed in excavations at the site.[1] The cotton industry in ancient India was well
developed, and several of the methods survive until today. Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian
described Indian cotton as "a wool exceeding in beauty and goodness that of sheep". [2] Indian
cotton clothing was well adapted to the dry, hot summers of the subcontinent. The grand epic
Mahabharata, estimated to be written between 3000-4000 BC, has a mention of an uneding saree
gifted to Draupadi to protect her dignity.[3] Most of the present knowledge of ancient Indian
clothing comes from rock sculptures and paintings in cave monuments such as Ellora. These
images show dancers and goddesses wearing what appears to be a dhoti wrap, a predecessor to
the modern sari.The upper castes dressed themselves in fine muslin and wore gold ornaments[4]
The Indus civilisation also knew the process of silk production. Recent analysis of Harappan silk

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fibres in beads have shown that silk was made by the process of reeling, a process known only to
China until the early centuries AD.[5]

According to the Greek historian Arrian:[6]

The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist style, 1st–2nd century CE, Gandhara(Modern eastern

Afghanistan).

"The Indians use linen clothing, as says Nearchus, made from the flax taken from the trees, about
which I have already spoken. And this flax is either whiter in colour than any other flax, or the
people being black make the flax appear whiter. They have a linen frock reaching down halfway
between the knee and the ankle, and a garment which is partly thrown round the shoulders and
partly rolled round the head. The Indians who are very well-off wear earrings of ivory; for they
do not all wear them. Nearchus says that the Indians dye their beards various colours; some that
they may appear white as the whitest, others dark blue; others have them red, others purple, and
others green. Those who are of any rank have umbrellas held over them in the summer. They
wear shoes of white leather, elaborately worked, and the soles of their shoes are many-coloured
and raised high, in order that they may appear taller."

Evidence from the 1st century AD shows some cultural exchanges with the Greeks. Indo-Greek
influence is seen in the Greco-Buddhist art of the time. The Buddhas were portrayed as wearing
the Greek himation, which is the forerunner of the modern saṃghāti that forms a part of the
Kasaya of Buddhist monks.[7] During the Maurya and Gupta period, the people continued to wear
the three piece unstitched clothing as in Vedic times. The main items of clothing were the
Antariya made of white cotton or muslin, tied to the waist by a sash called Kayabandh and a
scarf called the Uttariya used to drape the top half of the body. [citation needed]

New trade routes, both overland and overseas, created a cultural exchange with Central Asia and
Europe. Romans bought indigo for dyeing and cotton cloth as articles of clothing. Trade with
China via the Silk road introduced silk textiles into India. The Chinese had a monopoly in the
silk trade and kept its production process a trade secret. However, this monopoly ended when,
according to legend, a Chinese princess smuggled mulberry seeds and silkworms in her
headdress when she was sent to marry the king of Khotan (present day Xinjiang).[8] From there,
the production of silk spread throughout Asia, and by AD 140, the practise had been established
in India. Chanakya's treatise on public administration, the Arthashastra written around 3rd
century BC, briefly describes the norms followed in silk weaving. [9]

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Painting on wooden panel discovered by Aurel Stein in Dandan Oilik, depicting the legend of the
princess who hid silk worm eggs in her headdress to smuggle them out of China to the Kingdom
of Khotan.

A variety of weaving techniques were employed in ancient India, many of which survive to the
present day. Silk and cotton were woven into various designs and motifs, each region developing
its distinct style and technique. Famous among these weaving styles were the Jamdani, Kasika
vastra of Varanasi, butidar and the Ilkal saree.[citation needed] Brocades of silk were woven with
gold and silver threads and were deeply influenced by Persian designs. The Mughals played a
vital role in the enhancement of the art, and the paisley and Latifa Buti are fine examples of
Mughal influence[10]

Dyeing of clothes in ancient India was practised as an art form. Five primary colours (Suddha-
varnas) were identified and complex colours (Misra – varnas) were categorised by their many
hues. Sensitivity was shown to the most subtlest of shades; the ancient treatise,
Vishnudharmottara states five tones of white, namely Ivory, Jasmine, August moon, August
clouds after the rain and the conch shell. [11] The commonly used dies were indigo(Nila), madder
red and safflower.[12][a] The technique of mordant dyeing was prevalent in India since the second
millennium BC.[13] Resist dyeing and Kalamkari techniques were hugely popular and such
textiles were the chief exports.

Integral to the history of Indian clothing is the Kashmiri shawl. Kashmiri shawl varieties include
the Shahtoosh, popularly known as the 'ring shawl' and the pashmina wool shawls, historically
called pashm. Textiles of wool finds mention as long back as the Vedic times in association with
Kashmir; the Rig Veda refers to the Valley of Sindh as being abundant in sheep, [citation needed] [b]
and the god Pushan has been addressed as the 'weaver of garments', [14] which evolved into the
term pashm for the wool of the area. Woolen shawls have been mentioned in Afghan texts of the
3rd century BC, but reference to the Kashmir work is done in the 16th century AD. The sultan of
Kashmir, Zain-ul-Abidin is generally credited with the founding of the industry. [15] A story says
that the Roman emperor Aurelian received a purple pallium from a Persian king, made of Asian
wool of the finest quality.[citation needed] The shawls were dyed red or purple, red dye procured from
cochineal insects and purple obtained by a mixture of red and blue from indigo[16] The most
prized kashmiri shawls were the Jamavar and the Kanika Jamavar, woven using weaving spools

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with coloured thread called kani and a single shawl taking more than a year for completion and
requiring 100 to 1500 kanis depending on the degree of elaboration. [14]

Indian textiles were traded from ancient times with China, Southeast Asia and the Roman
Empire. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea mentions mallow cloth, muslins and coarse
cottons.[17][c] Port towns like Masulipatnam and Barygaza won fame for its production of muslins
and fine cloth. Trade with the Arabs who were middlemen in the spice trade between India and
Europe brought Indian textiles into Europe, where it was favored by royalty in the 17th–18th
century.[18] The Dutch, French and British East India Companies competed for monopoly of the
spice trade in the Indian Ocean, but were posed with the problem of payment for spices, which
was in gold or silver. To counter this problem, bullion was sent to India to trade for the textiles, a
major portion of which were subsequently traded for spices in other trade posts, which then were
traded along with the remaining textiles in London. Printed Indian calicos, chintz, muslins and
patterned silk flooded the English market and in time the designs were copied onto imitation
prints by English textile manufacturers, reducing the dependence on India. [19]

The British rule in India and the subsequent oppression following the Bengal Partition sparked a
nationwide Swadeshi movement. One of the integral aims of the movement was to attain self-
sufficiency, and to promote Indian goods while boycotting British goods in the market. [20] This
was idealised in the production of Khadi. Khadi and its products were encouraged by the
nationalist leaders over British goods, while also being seen as a means to empower the rural
artisans.[21]

Woman's clothing[edit]

In India, woman's clothing varies widely and is closely associated with the local culture, religion
and climate.

Traditional Indian clothing for women in the north and east are saris or ghagra cholis and
(lehengas)[citation needed] while many south Indian women traditionally wear sari and children wear
pattu langa.[citation needed] Saris made out of silk are considered the most elegant. Mumbai,
formerly known as Bombay, is one of India's fashion capitals. [citation needed] In many rural parts of
India, traditional clothing is worn. Women wear a sari, a long sheet of colourful cloth, draped
over a simple or fancy blouse. Little girls wear a pavada. Both are often patterned. Bindi is a part
of women's make-up.[citation needed] Indo-western clothing is the fusion of Western and
Subcontinental fashion. Churidar, dupatta, Khara Dupatta, gamchha, kurta, mundum neriyathum,
sherwani are among other clothes.

The traditional style of clothing in India varies with male or female distinctions. This is still
followed in the rural areas, though is changing in the urban areas. Girls before puberty wear a
long skirt (called langa/paawada in Andhra) and a short blouse, called a choli, above it.

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Traditional clothing

Sari

The actress Vidya Balan wearing a silk sari.

Main article: Sari

A saree or sari[22][23] is a female garment in the Indian subcontinent.[24] A sari is a strip of

unstitched cloth, ranging from four to nine meters in length, that is draped over the body in
various styles. There are various traditional styles of saree: Sambalpuri Saree from East, Mysore
silk and Ilkal of Karnataka and, Kanchipuram of Tamil Nadu from South, Paithani from West
and Banarasi from North among others.[25] The most common style is for the sari to be wrapped
around the waist, with one end then draped over the shoulder baring the midriff. [24] The sari is
usually worn over a petticoat.[26] Blouse may be "backless" or of a halter neck style. These are
usually more dressy with a lot of embellishments such as mirrors or embroidery and may be
worn on special occasions. Women in the armed forces, when wearing a sari uniform, don a half-
sleeve shirt tucked in at the waist. Teenage girls wear half-sarees, a three piece set consisting of a
langa, a choli and a stole wrapped over it like a saree. Women usually wear full sarees.

Saris are usually known with different names in different places. In Kerala, white saris with
golden border, are known as kavanis and are worn on special occasions. A simple white sari,
worn as a daily wear, is called a mundu. Saris are called pudavai in Tamil Nadu. In Karnataka,
saris are called Seere.[27]

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Ghagra Choli (lehenga choli)

Indian Actress Shriya Saran in a fully embroidered pink Ghagra Choli

Main article: Ghagra choli

A Ghagra Choli or a Lehenga Choli is the traditional clothing of women in Rajasthan and
Gujarat.[citation needed] Punjabis also wear them and they are used in some of their folk dances. It is
a combination of lehenga, a tight choli and an odhani. A lehenga is a form of a long skirt which
is pleated. It is usually embroidered or has a thick border at the bottom. A choli is a blouse shell
garment, which is cut to fit to the body and has short sleeves and a low neck.

Different styles of ghagra cholis are worn by the women, ranging from a simple cotton lehenga
choli as a daily wear, a traditional ghagra with mirrors embellished usually worn during navratri
for the garba dance or a fully embroidered lehenga worn during marriage ceremonies by the
bride.

Popular among unmarried women other than shalwar kameez are Gagra choli and Langa voni.[28]

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Salwar Kameez

Sonakshi Sinha in salwar kameez

Main article: Salwar kameez

Salwar is a generic description of the lower garment incorporating the Sindhi suthan, Dogri
pajamma and the Kashmiri suthan.

The Salwar kameez is the traditional wear of women in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
The suthan, similar to the salwar is common in Sindh and Kashmir.[29] The salwar kameez has
become the most popular dress for females. It consists of loose trousers (the salwar) narrow at
the ankles, topped by a tunic top (the kameez).[29] It is named as "Punjabi suit" or simply
"shalwar" in the north and "churidaar" in Southern India. [30] Women generally wear a dupatta or
odani (Veil) with salwar kameez to cover their head and shoulders.[29] It is always worn with a
scarf called a dupatta, which is used to cover the head and drawn over the bosom. The material
for the dupatta usually depends upon that of the suit, and is generally of cotton, georgette, silk,
chiffon among others.[citation needed] This dress is worn by almost every teenage girl in lieu of
western clothes. The salwar kameez is most common in the northwestern part of India. Many
actresses wear the salwar kameez in Bollywood movies.[citation needed]

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Churidaar Kurta

Plain Churidaar kurta (left) Anarkali style churidaar kurta (right)

Main article: Churidaar

Churidaar is a version of salwar, which is loose up to knees and then fits the calf below. A
salwar is a baggy pyjama with pleats which gets narrow at the ankles whereas churidaar fits
below the knees with horizontal gathers near the ankles.[31] Usually a long kurta, which goes
below the knees, is worn with the churidaar.

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Pattu Pavadai/Reshme Langa

Girl wearing Pattu Pavadai

Main article: Pattu pavadai

Pattu Pavadai or Langa davani is a traditional dress in south India and Rajasthan, usually worn
by teenage and small girls. The pavada is a cone-shaped garment, usually of silk, that hangs
down from the waist to the toes. It normally has a golden border at the bottom.

Girls in south India often wear pattu pavadai or Langa davani during traditional functions. Girls
in Rajasthan wears this dress before marriage (and after marriage with sight modification in
certain section of society. )

Langa - Voni/Dhavani

This is a type of South Indian dress mainly worn in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu also in
some parts of Kerala and Karnataka. This dress is a 3- piece apparel where Langa or Lehanga is
the cone shaped long flowing skirt

Mundum Neriyathum

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A painting depicting a Woman in Mundum Neriyathum

Main article: Mundum Neriyathum

Mundum Neriyathum is the oldest remnant of the ancient form of the saree which covered only
the lower part of the body, a traditional dress of women in Kerala, South India.[32][33] The basic
traditional piece is the mundu or lower garment which is the ancient form of the saree denoted in
Malayalam as 'Thuni' (meaning cloth), while the neriyathu forms the upper garment the
mundu.[32][33]

Mekhela Sador
Main article: Mekhela chador

Mekhela Sador (Assamese: মেখেলা চাদৰ) is the traditional Assamese dress worn by women. It is
worn by women of all ages.

There are three main pieces of cloth that are draped around the body.

The bottom portion, draped from the waist downwards is called the Mekhela (Assamese: মেখেলা).
It is in the form of a sarong—very wide cylinder of cloth—that is folded into pleats to fit around
the waist and tucked in. The folds are to the right, as opposed to the pleats in the Nivi style of the
saree, which are folded to the left. Strings are never used to tie the mekhela around the waist,
though an underskirt with a string is often used.

The top portion of the three-piece dress, called the Sador (Assamese: চাদৰ), is a long length of
cloth that has one end tucked into the upper portion of the Mekhela and the rest draped over and
around the rest of the body. The Sador is tucked in triangular folds. A fitted blouse is worn to
cover the breasts.

The third piece is called a Riha, which is worn under the Sador. It is narrow in width. This
traditional dress of the Assamese women are very famous for their exclusive patterns on the
body and the border. Women wear them during important religious and ceremonious occasions
of marriage. Riha is worn exactly like a Sador and is used as Orni.

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Male clothing

A Chakravartin wears a pancha in an ancient style. Circa first century BCE/CE. Amaravati,
Andhra Pradesh. Musee Guimet

Mahatma Gandhi at Dandi, 5 April 1930, at the end of the Salt March

Traditional clothing

For men, traditional clothes are the Sherwani, Lungi, Kurta and Dhoti or Pajama. Also, most
recently Pant and shirt have also been accepted as traditional Indian dress by the Government of
India.[34]

Dhoti
Main article: Dhoti

A dhoti is from four to six feet long white or colour strip of cotton. This traditional attire is
mainly worn by men in villages.[35] It is held in place by a style of wrapping and sometimes with
the help of a belt, ornamental and embroidered or a flat and simple one, around the waist. [36]
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In south India men also wear long, white sarong like sheets of cloth known as Mundu. Its called
dhotar in Marathi. In north and central Indian languages like Hindi, and Oriya, these are called
Mundu, while in Telugu they are called Pancha, in Tamil they are called veshti and in Kannada it
is called Panche/Lungi. Over the dhoti, men wear shirts.

Panche or Lungi

A person togged in a mundu

A Lungi, also known as sarong, is a traditional garment of India. A Mundu is a lungi except that,
it is always white.[36] It is either tucked in, over the waist, up to knee-length or is allowed to lie
over and reach up to the ankle. It is usually tucked in when the person is working, in fields or
workshops, and left open usually as a mark of respect, in worship places or when the person is
around dignitaries.

Lungis, generally, are of two types: the open lungi and the stitched lungi. The open lungi is a
plain sheet of cotton or silk, whereas, the stitched one has both of its open ends stitched together
to form a tube like structure.

Though mostly worn by men, elderly women also prefer lungi to other garments owing to its
good aeration.[37] It is mostly popular in south India, though people of Bangladesh, Brunei,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Somalia also can be seen in lungis, because of the heat and
humidity, which create an unpleasant climate for trousers, though trousers have now become
common outside the house.[38]

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Sherwani
Main article: Sherwani

Sonu Nigam wearing sherwani at his concert

A Sherwani is a long coat / jacket that usually sports exposed buttons through the length of the
placket. The length is usually just below the knees and the jacket ends around high on the calf.
The jacket has a Nehru collar,[39] which is a collar that stands up.[citation needed] The Sherwani is
worn with tight fitting pants or trousers called churidars. Churidars are trousers that are loose
around the hips and thighs, but are tight and gathered around the ankle.[34] Sherwani is usually
worn during the wedding ceremonies by the groom and is usually cream, light ivory, or gold
coloured.[citation needed] It may be embroidered with gold or silver. A scarf called a dupatta is
sometimes added to the sherwani.

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Headgear
The Indian turban or the pagri is worn in many regions in the country, incorporating various
styles and designs depending on the place. Other types of headgear such as the Taqiyah and
Gandhi cap are worn by different communities within the country to signify a common ideology
or interest.

Dastar
Main article: Dastar

A Sikh wearing dastar

The Dastar, also known as pagri, is a turban worn by the Sikh community of India. Is a symbol
of faith representing values such as valour, honour and spirituality among others. It is worn to
protect the Sikh's long, uncut hair, the Kesh which is one of the Five Ks of Sikhism.[40] Over the
years, the dastar has evolved into different styles pertaining to the various sects of Sikhism such
as the Nihang and the Namdhari.[41]

Pheta
Main article: Pheta (turban)

Pheta is the Marathi name for turbans worn in the state of Maharashtra. Its usually worn during
traditional ceremonies and occasions. It was a mandatory part of clothing in the past and have
evolved into various styles in different regions. [42] The main types are the Puneri Pagadi,
Kolhapuri and Mawali pheta.[42]

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Mysore Peta
Main article: Mysore Peta

Bharat Ratna Mokshagundam Vishveshwaraiah in traditional Mysore Peta

Originally worn by the kings of Mysore during formal meeting in durbar and in ceremonial
processions during festivals, and meeting with foreign dignitaries, the Mysore peta has come to
signify the cultural tradition of the Mysore and Kodagu district.[43] The Mysore University
replaced the conventional mortarboard used in graduation ceremonies with the traditional
peta.[44]

Rajasthani pagari
Turbans in Rajasthan are called pagari. They are distinctive in style and colour, and indicate the
caste, social class and region of the wearer. In the hot and dry regions, turbans are large and
loose. The paggar is traditional in Mewar while the safa is to Marwar.[45] The colour of the
pagaris have special importance and so does the pagari itself. In the past, saffron stood for
valour and chivalry. A white turban stood for mourning. The exchange of a turban meant
undying friendship.[46][47]

Gandhi cap

Main article: Gandhi cap

Bose Gandhi 1938 wearing a gandhi topi

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The Gandhi cap, a white coloured cap made of khadi was popularised by Mahatma Gandhi
during the Indian independence movement. The practice of wearing a Gandhi cap was carried on
even after independence and became a symbolic tradition for politicians and social activists. The
cap has been worn throughout history in many states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh
and West Bengal and is still worn by many people without political significance. In 2013, the cap
regained its political symbolism through the Aam Aadmi Party, which flaunted Gandhi caps with
"I am a Common Man" written over it. This was partly influenced by the "I Am Anna" caps used
during Anna Hazare's Lokpal movement. During the Delhi Legislative Assembly election, 2013,
these caps led to a scuffle between Aam Aadmi Party and Congress workers, based on the
reasoning that Gandhi caps were being used for political benefits.[48]

Contemporary clothing

Actress Parineeti Chopra wearing casual western clothing

Western clothing made its foray into the Indian society during the times of the British Raj. Indian
professionals opted to wear western clothing due to its relative comfort or due to regulations set
then. By the turn of the 21st century, both western and Indian clothing had intermingled creating
a unique style of clothing for the typical urban Indian population. Women started wearing more
comfortable clothing and exposure to international fashion led to a fusion of western and Indian
styles of clothing. Following the economic liberalisation, more jobs opened up, and created a
demand for formal wear.

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Women's clothing nowadays consist of both formal and casual wear such as gowns, pants, shirts
and tops. Traditional Indian clothing such as the kurti have been combined with jeans to form
part of casual attire. Fashion designers in India have blended several elements of Indian
traditional designs into conventional western wear to create a unique style of contemporary
Indian fashion. Both mini skirts and shorts are now worn by girls in bigger urban areas

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UNIT II

Fashion Design terms

Scope

1. Areas of Fashion
2. Fashion flow chart
3. Fashion in cloth

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AREAS OF FASHION

Fashions are social phenomena common to many fields of human activity and
thinking. The rises and falls of fashions have been especially documented and examined in the
following fields:

· Architecture, interior design, and landscape design

· Arts and crafts

· Body type, clothing or costume, cosmetics, grooming, hair style, and personal adornment

· Dance and music

· Forms of address, slang, and other forms of speech

· Economics and spending choices, as studied in behavioral finance

· Entertainment, games, hobbies, sports, and other pastimes

· Etiquette

· Management, management styles and ways of organizing

· Politics and media, especially the topics of conversation encouraged by the media

· Philosophy and spirituality (One might argue that religion is prone to fashions, although official
religions tend to change so slowly that the term cultural shift is perhaps more appropriate than
"fashion")

· Social networks and the diffusion of representations and practices

· Sociology and the meaning of clothing for identity-building

· Technology, such as the choice of programming techniques Of these fields, costume especially
has become so linked in the public eye with the term "fashion". The more general term
"costume" has been relegated by many to only mean fancy dress or masquerade wear, while the
term "fashion" means clothing generally, and the study of it. This linguistic switch is due to the
so-called fashion plates which were produced during the Industrial Revolution, showing novel
ways to use new textiles. For a broad cross-cultural look at clothing and its place in society, refer
to the entries for clothing and costume.

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FASHION FLOW CHART

FASHION IN CLOTHS
Fashion in clothes has allowed wearers to express emotion or solidarity with other people for
millennia. Modern Westerners have a wide choice available in the selection of their clothes.
What a person chooses to wear can reflect that person's personality or likes. When people who
have cultural status start to wear new or different clothes a fashion trend may start. People who
like or respect them may start to wear clothes of a similar style.

Fashions may vary significantly within a society according to age, social class, generation,
occupation and geography as well as over time. If, for example, an older person dresses
according to the fashion of young people, he or she may look ridiculous in the eyes of both
young and older people. The terms " fashionista" or "fashion victim" refer to someone who
slavishly follows the current fashions (implementations of fashion).

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UNIT III

Classification of Fashion

Scope

1. Style
2. Basic and classic
3. Fad
4. Fashion forecasting
5. Trends
6. Chic
7. Made collection / Mannequin

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STYLE
Style is always constant. It does not change whereas fashion changes. It is not
constant. It is the modification of fashion. Style is the basic outline of any garment. When we ass
a different neckline and different sleeves with some trimming here and there over a basic
garment then the basic garment is modified into a different look or a different outfit, this
modification ferment will become fashion, when it is accepted by people.

The term style is a popular word in fashion and refers to a sub-division within fashion. By
definition, it is that which has certain characteristics that distinguish it from other designs. For
example, the fashion could be pleated skirt, yet the style is box pleat. It is a common fallacy to
believe that the famous designers create fashions. They create styles which they hope will be
accepted. When and if there is consumer support the style then becomes fashion. It is repetitious
but important to stress that fashion is synonymous with acceptance.

BASIC OR CLASSICS
When a fashion is constant or long lasting, such as, salwar kameez and saree, it is
called Basic or Classic. It is similar to a standard music. The salwar kameez and saree are part of
fashion scene. A customer has one or more in her wardrobe, to be worn to suit different
occasions. In certain times, the basic becomes the most important promotable fashion, but, in or
out, they remain as a part of the fashion secne. Threre are many outfits that fall into this
classification, such as, chudidhar, kurta, dupattas, shirt and trousers, plain or pleated skirts and
denims, etc. there are general fashions that lasts for years, such as, the saree, the single breasted
men’s suit

Basics or Classics are the outfits which stays in the fashion scene for a long period of time that is
from past to present and even in future it stands

When we watch old movies as well as the new movies which are released just, we can see the
saris and salwar kameez worn in it may be with a slight change or modification accordingly.

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FAD
A Fad is something which can either make a designer’s life more interesting or tenser.
Very often something appears on the fashion scene tat captures the imagination, only to fizzle
out in short duration.

Overall, Fad can be defined as short lived fashion, lasting for a very little time or period,
acceptable by only a certain group of people. For example, hippies – their clothing, accessories,
hairstyles, etc.

As Fad is short lived fashion, it stays for a very short period, because they are very costly and
every one cannot afford to buy it. For example, dhoti salwar, tube shirts and so on.

A fashion expert is a selection for consumers – selecting what is more likely to be accepted
going overboard for short lived fashion – Fad can be costly

FASHION FORECASTING
This is the important part of fashion scenario because when any new garment is
designed by the designer and worn, it will not create fashion by itself. It needs the media to
spread fashion and this media which spread fashion and gets the fame and name to the designers
is Fashion Forecasting.

Fashion Forecasting is done through many communicating media, such as, cinema, fashion
shows, press, magazines, newspapers and window display.

It includes

· Market research

· Consumer research o Surveys o Consumer focus groups o In-store informal interviews

· Shopping

· Sales Records

· Evaluating the collections

· Fashion Trends

· Trend for Target Markets

Fashion Forecasting is done where crowd is formed in such occasion, so that it can create
fashion.
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TRENDS
Fashion trends are the styling ideas that major collections have in common. They
indicate the direction in which fashion is moving. Fashion forecasters look for the styles they
think are prophetic, ideas that capture the mood of the times and signal a new fashion trend.

Several designers may use a similar fashion idea because they have been inspired by common
sources. The trend may appear in a fabrication, a silhouette, or another design element that
appears in several collections. Very often, a new trend appears in small doses until it spreads to
other collections. As the press notices similarities between collections and highlights them, the
media exposure also helps establish the trends.

Evaluating the collections becomes one way a designer, working for a mainstream manufacturer,
can research fashion direction. As designers are not invited to the shows, they must evaluate by
shopping in major fashion capitals or using design services, magazines, and newspapers.

For retail buyers, it is becoming a huge challenge to figure out which trends will become fashion
basics, like capris, and which are only fads, such as pony prints. Buyers have to become very
flexible in their buying patterns and cautious about inventory management. If the market
becomes flooded with a new trend, consumers may react negatively to the overexposure.

Empowered by the Internet and television, global trends are moving at an accelerating pace. The
life-span of a trend is now about five months instead of a year. For the junior market, the span is
only three months.

CHIC
Chic is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s, that has come to
mean smart or stylish. Over the years "chic" has been applied to, among other things, social
events, situations, individuals, and modes or styles of dress. Recurring generic terms included
designer chic (associated with the styles of particular coutouriers - the 1980s became known as
the "designer decade") and retro-chic (adopting elements of fashion from the past: e.g. "Victorian
chic", "sixties chic", "Georgian chic", "1920s Riviera chic"

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COLLECTION
Each season, the design and merchandising departments of each division are
responsible for creating a new line, the seasonal collection that the manufacturer will sell to retail
store buyers. The terms are synonymous: Collection is used primarily in Europe and for high-
period apparel in the United States. Line is used more often in the United States for moderately
and popularly priced fashion.

MANNEQUINS
Mannequins change with fashion trends and are made in the image of the current
ideal of beauty. For elegant fashion, perfectly coiffed, traditional life-like Mannequins are
preferred. However, they are very expensive to buy and to maintain. To save money, many stores
have replaced them with less expensive papier-mâché torsos or unpainted ―Mannequins
alternatives.‖

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UNIT IV

Fashion Shows

Scope

1. Formal Fashion show

2. Designer fashion show
3. Department fashion show
4. Informal fashion

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FASHION SHOWS:
Fashion shows are special events that communicate a fashion story. The selection
and organization of the fashions and model bookings may be done by the fashion office, whereas
invitations and other arrangements may be handled by the special events department. There are
four possible ways to organize these presentations: formal shows, department shows, designer
trunk shows, or informal modeling.

FORMAL FASHION SHOWS

Formal fashion shows take a great deal of advance planning involving booking
models and fittings and arranging for a runway, scenery, lighting, microphones, music, seating,
and assistants. Clothes are generally grouped according to styling, color, or other visual criteria.
Models and music are selected to complement the clothes and set a mood.

DESIGNER TRUNK SHOWS

Designer trunk shows are done in cooperation with a single vendor and are a popular
way to sell expensive collections. Invitations are sent to the best customers according to records
kept by sales associates. The designer or a representative travels from store to store with the
collection, which is usually shown on models in the designer collections department. Customers
get to see the entire collection unedited by a buyer and may order from the samples in their size.
Although some designers and retailers do 50 percent of their total business through trunk shows,
others find them time-consuming, exhausting work, and have given them up.

DEPARTMENT FASHION SHOWS

Department fashion shows, on a much smaller scale, are produced in store to
generate immediate sales. Usually, a platform is set up directly in the department that carries the
clothes.

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INFORMAL FASHION SHOWS

Informal fashion shows are the easiest to produce. A few models walk through
the store showing the fashions that they are wearing to customers who are shopping or having
lunch in the store’s restaurant. The models can take their time, and customers enjoy asking them
questions. This is often done in conjunction with a trunk show or special promotion.

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UNIT V

Fashion Cycle

Scope

1. Factors affecting fashion

2. Economic factor
3. Social factor
4. Psychology factor
5. Theories of fashion adoption
6. Trickle Up , trickle down,trickle across

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FASHION CYCLES
Consumers are exposed each season to a multitude of new styles created by designers. Some are
rejected immediately by the press or by the buyer on the retail level, but others are accepted for a
time, as demonstrated by consumers purchasing and wearing them.

The way in which fashion changes is usually described as a fashion cycle.

It is difficult to categorize or theorize about fashion without oversimplifying. Even so, the
fashion cycle is usually depicted as a bell shaped curve encompassing five stages: introduction,
rise in popularity, peak of popularity, decline in popularity, and rejection. The cycle can reflect
the acceptance of a single style from one designer or a general style such as the miniskirt.

1. Introduction of a style: Designers interpret their research and creative ideas into appeal or
accessories and then offer the new styles to the public. Designers create new designs by
changing elements such as line, shape, color , fabric, and details and their relationship to one
another. New creations referred to as the ―latest fashions‖ may not yet be accepted by anyone.
At this first stage of the cycle, fashion implies only style and newness.

Most new styles are introduced at a high price level. Designers who are globally respected for
their talent may be given financial backing and be allowed to design with very few limitations on
creativity, quality of raw materials, or amount of fine workmanship. Naturally, production costs
are high, and only a few people can afford the resulting garments. Production in small quantities
gives a designer more freedom, flexibility, and room for creativity.

2. Increase in popularity: If a new style is purchased, worn, and seen by many people, it may
attract the attention of buyers, the press, and the public. In self-defense, most couture and high –
priced designers now have secondary bridge and or diffusion lines that sell at lower prices, so
that they can sell their designs in greater quantities.

The popularity of a style may further increase through copying and adaptation. Some designers
or stylists may modify a popular style to suit the needs and price range of their own customers.
Some manufacturers may copy it with less expensive fabric and less detail it order to all the style
at lower prices.

3. Peak of popularity: When a fashion is at the height of its popularity, it may be in such
demand that many manufacturers copy it or produce adaptations of it at many price levels. Some
designers are flattered by copying and others are resentful. There is very fine line between
adaptations and knockoffs.

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Volume production requires a likelihood of mass acceptance. Therefore, volume manufacturers

carefully study sales trends because their customers want clothes that are in the mainstream of
fashion.

4. Decline in popularity: Eventually, so many copies are mass produced that fashion –
conscious people tire of the style and begin to look for something new. Consumers still wear
garments in the style, but they are no longer willing to buy them at regular prices. Retail stores
put such declining styles on sale racks, hoping to make room for new merchandise.

5. Rejection of a style or obsolescence: In the last phase of the fashion cycle, some consumers
have already turned to new looks, thus beginning a new cycle. The rejection or discarding of a
style just because it is out of fashion is called consumer obsolescence. As early as 1600,
Shakespeare wrote that ―fashion wears out more apparel than the man‖.

LENGTH OF CYCLES

Although all fashions follow the same cyclical pattern, there is no measurable
timetable for a fashion cycle. Some fashions take a short time to peak in popularity, others take
longer; some decline slowly, other swiftly. Some last a single selling season, others last several
seasons. Certain fashions fade quickly; others never completely disappear.

1. Classics:

Some styles never become completely obsolete, but instead remain more or less
accepted for an extended period. A classic is characterized by simplicity of design, which keeps
it from being easily dated. An example is the Chanel suit, which peaked in fashion in the paris,
as well as other manufacturers, have produced variations of these suits for a small, dedicated
clientele.

Other examples of classics include blazer jackets, twin sets, polo shirts, jeans, ballet flats, and
loafers.

2. Fads:

Short – lived fashions, or fads, can come and go in a single season. They lack the
design strength to hold consumer attention for very long. Fads usually affect only a narrow
consumer group, begin in lower price ranges, are relatively simple and inexpensive to copy and
therefore flood the market in a very short time. Because of market saturation, the public tires of
them quickly and they die out.

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3. Cycles within Cycles:

Design elements (such as color, texture, silhouette, or detail) may change even though
the style itself remains popular. Jeans became a fashion item in the late 1960s and remained
classics. Therefore, their fashion cycle was very long. However, various jean silhouettes –
including bell and baggy – came and went during that time.

4. Interrupted Cycles:

Consumer buying is often halted prematurely because manufacturers and retailers

no longer wish to risk producing or stocking merchandise that will soon decline in popularity.
This is obvious to consumers who try to buy summer clothes in August.

Sometimes the normal progress of a fashion cycle is interrupted or prolonged by social upheaval,
economic depression, or war. Consider the large shouldered, wedge shaped silhouette in
women’s fashion which began in the 1930s. Because people were concerned with things more
important than fashion during World War II, the same silhouette continued, without the normally
expected decline, for the duration of the war. The new look of 1947 with its sloping shoulders
tiny waists and longer skirts was a radical change because the old cycle had been unnaturally
prolonged.

5. Recurring Cycles:

After a fashion dies, it may resurface. Designers often borrow ideas from the past.
When a style reappears years later, it is reinterpreted for a new time, a silhouette or proportion
may recur, but it is interpreted with a change in fabric and detail. Nothing is ever exactly the
same – yet nothing is totally new. As the century and millennium draw to a close, designers are
showing many nostalgic looks of the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and even the 1980s. However,
the use of different fabrics, colors, and details make the looks unique to the turn of the century.

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UNIT VI

Fashion leaders and followers

Scope

1. Designing a collection
2. Designing a Garment
3. Areas of work
4. Areas of Fashion Design
5. Elements of design ( Lines, shapes, space, colour, and texture)
6. Types of Design

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FASHION DESIGN
Fashion design is the applied art dedicated to the design of clothing and lifestyle
accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time.

Fashion design differs from costume design due to its core product having a built in
obsolescence usually of one to two seasons. A season is defined as either autumn/ winter or
spring/ summer. Fashion design is generally considered to have started in the 19th century with
Charles Frederick Worth who was the first person to sew their label into the garments that they
created.

DESIGNING A COLLECTION ·
Planning a collection: Every collection is very carefully researched and planned so
that all the items in it complement each other, and have the particular fashion look which the
company is known for. · Predicting trends: One of the hardest skills a fashion designer has to
master is predicting future trends. To do this, they look at what the fashion directions have been
in previous seasons, keep an eye on what others in the fashion business are doing, and read
fashion forecasting magazines. They also rely on knowledge of their own customers to see which
styles succeeded and which were less popular in past seasons. Perhaps most importantly,
designers use their imaginations to come up with new ideas. They often choose a theme to
provide inspiration. · Choosing a theme: The theme of a collection can be a period in history, a
foreign place, a range of colors, and a type of fabric - anything which has a strong visual impact.

DESIGNING A GARMENT ·
The design: Different designers work in different ways. Some sketch their ideas
on paper, others drape fabric on a dress stand, pinning, folding and tucking it until the idea for a
garment emerges. A third method is to adapt their own patterns from previous seasons (this
method can give continuity to a fashion studio's output). · Making a toile or muslin: After
making a rough paper pattern, or life-size 2-D plan, of the garment, a sample machinist (or
skilled sewing machine operator) then makes a trial version of the garment from plain-colored
calico. The toile (called a muslin in the U.S.) is put on to a dress stand (or a model) to see how it
fits and whether it hangs properly. · Making a card pattern: When the designer is completely
satisfied with the fit of the toile (or muslin), they show it to a professional pattern maker who
then makes the finished, working version of the pattern out of card. The pattern maker's job is

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very precise and painstaking. The fit of the finished garment depends on their accuracy. · The
finished dress: Finally, a sample garment is made up in the proper fabric.

AREAS OF WORK
There are three main ways in which designers can work:

1. Working freelance: Freelance designers work for themselves. They sell their work to
fashion houses, direct to shops, or to clothing manufacturers. The garments bear the
buyer's label.
2. Working In-house: In-house designers are employed full-time by one Fashion Company.
Their designs are the property of that company, and cannot be sold to anyone else.
3. Setting up a company: Fashion designers often set up their own companies. Many
designers find this more satisfying than working for someone else, as their designs are
sold under their own label.

AREAS OF FASHION DESIGN

Many professional fashion designers start off by specializing in a particular area
of fashion. The smaller and the more specific the market, the more likely a company is to get the
right look and feel to their clothes. It is also easier to establish oneself in the fashion industry if a
company is known for one type of product, rather than several products. Once a fashion
company becomes established (that is, has regular buyers and is well-known by both the trade
and the public), it may decide to expand into a new area. If the firm has made a name for the
clothes it already produces, this helps to sell the new line. It is usually safest for a company to
expand into an area similar to the one it already knows. For example, a designer of women's
sportswear might expand into men's sportswear. The chart below shows the areas of many
designers choose to specialize in.

Area Brief Market

Women's Day wear Practical, comfortable, Haute couture, ready-

fashionable to- wear mass market

Women's Evening wear Glamorous, sophisticated, apt Haute couture, ready-

for the occasion to-wear, mass market

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Women's Lingerie Glamorous, comfortable, Haute Couture, ready-

washable to-wear, mass market

Men's Day wear Casual, practical, comfortable Tailoring, ready-to-

wear, mass market

Men's Evening wear Smart, elegant, formal, apt Tailoring, ready-to-

for the occasion wear, mass market

Boys' Wear Practical, hard-wearing, Ready-to-wear, mass

washable, inexpensive market

Girls' Wear Pretty, colorful, practical, Ready-to-wear, mass

washable, inexpensive market

Teenage Wear Highly fashion-conscious, Ready-to-wear, mass

comfortable, inexpensive market

Sportswear Comfortable, practical, well- Ready-to-wear, mass

ventilated, washable market

Knitwear Right weight and color for Ready-to-wear, mass

the season market

Outerwear Stylish, warm, right weight Ready-to-wear, mass

and color for the season market

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Bridal wears Sumptuous, glamorous, Haute couture, ready-

classic to-wear, mass market

Accessories Striking, fashionable Haute couture, ready-

to-wear, mass market

ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
In creating a design one of the components which interact is the Art Elements

The elements and principles of design are flexible and should be interpreted within the context of
current fashion. A design can be defined as an arrangement of lines, shape, colours and texture
that create a visual image. The principles of design are the rates that govern how elements are
combined. The elements are therefore the raw materials that must be combined successfully. The
following are the different elements of Design:

1. Line
2. Form
3. Shape
4. Texture and
5. Colour

These elements are considered as ―Plastics‖ in art language because they can be manipulated
or arranged by the designer to create desired illusions.

LINE
It provides the visual dimensions of length and width. When lines combine, space is
enclosed and forms and shapes are defined. Lines offered a path of vision for the eyes when is
wearing an object/outfit. The arrangement of lines in clothing design can cause to appear heavier
or thinner than what actually is

1. Horizontal line

2. Vertical line

3. Oblique line

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4. Diagonal line.

5. Curved line etc.

Lines within a garment are created by darts seams and decorative details. Each kind of
line produces its own special effect. Straight line’s and shapes denote force and strength and
have a masculine quality; curved lines are the lines of nature, they are gracefully and gives a
feminine effect.

Lines are the greatest devices of fashion designers. Since lines create illusion of height and
width, they can be used to one’s requirement to tone down or exaggerate a particular figure type.

1) Vertical line
These produce an illusion of added height to the outfit design by adding and
contrasting coloured vertical bank in the centre or a centre panel added with vertical line
gives an added height to the outfit. These lines end to make a short person look tall.

These produce an illusion of added height to the outfit design by adding and contrasting coloured
vertical bank in the centre or a centre panel added with vertical line gives an added height to the
outfit. These lines end to make a short person look tall.

2) Horizontal lines

These lines adds width to the garment and decrease the apparent height, for example a
wide contrasting coloured belt shortens the height of the figure by cutting the garment into two
segments, however the belt has the effect of slimming the waist line, the coloured will not
shorten the height of the outfit as well as the wearer.

3) Diagonal lines

These lines can add or decrease the height of the wearer depending on their slope.
Long uninterrupted diagonals tilting almost vertically are the most lengthening and most
dramatic of all lines.

Diagonal lines should be combined with vertical or horizontal lines. If they are used alone for the
entire dress the effect will be disturbing.

4) Curved lines

These lines are more romantic and pensive by nature. Curved lines can be a full circle
or may even appear almost straight. Curved lines are considered graceful and feminine; those in
a diagonal direction are the most graceful and can be seen in the soft folds of material in a draped
dress or a ruffled collar.

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5) Line movements

The arrangement of vertical, horizontal and oblique lines produce line movements
characterized by opposition, transition or radiation.

6) Opposition

In a design where the vertical line is opposed by a horizontal line opposing oblique
lines are used.

7) Transition

When one line direction slips smoothly into another, the movement is transitional (e.g., curved
lines). Curved lines should not be over done. They are at their best when stiffened by some
straight lines, example round yoke with vertical pin tucks within it.

8) Radiation

When a design is created with radiating lines at the neckline, it will attract attention to
the face. These radiating lines are produced by stitching decorative darts on the right side of the
garment.

9) Form

It is an object having three dimensions like length, width and depth.The human body is a
form and by viewing it analytically, its various perspectives are revealed. The human form
changes visually with clothing, especially as fashion changes.

SHAPES
It describes the outer dimensions or contour of an object. Shape also encloses space and
imparts a certain character to the object viewed. Through clothing design, the shape of the
human body is often revealed in a natural way, but sometimes even distorted. The shape of
clothing in a human body, communicates silently, the messages about the wearer.

Every fashion period, a shape emerges slowly or evolved suddenly, whatever it is, every period
has a specific shape of garment which once determined can be modified and re-styled fir
variation in design without changing the basic shape of the garment, it is either flare or tight,
circular or straight, a line or raglan. It has been observed that an easy fitting shape of the garment
is easily accepted and largely varies as well as has longevity of stay; where as a tight fitting
garment is generally short lived since it is suitable to only perfect figure types. It is therefore
advisable that the designer chooses an easy silhouette to keep on creating for a longer duration.

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BASIC SHAPES
In dress designing there are seven basic shapes — each season adaptations of one or more
of these predominates the fashion picture. They are as follows:

Fig 3.3 Fig 3.4 Fig 3.5 Fig 3.6

Fig 3.7 Fig 3.8 Fig 3.9

1. Rectangle (Fig 3.3)

Examples: Long, straight, hanging in loose, graceful folds, such as in Greek and Roman styles;
straight line sheaths; tailored suits. Styles with these lines are slenderizing and suitable for the
well proportioned, heavier woman.

2. Triangle (Fig 3.4)

Examples: Spanish styles. Fitted bodice, bell shaped gently widening skirt.

3. Inverted Triangle (Fig 3.5)

Examples: Wide shoulders, narrow skirt, dolman or raglan sleeves. Good fashion design style
for large bust.

4. Oval (Fig 3.6)

Examples: Draped and softly molded, very feminine and decorative. Good for well proportioned,
ideal figure. Suitable especially for afternoon and evening wear.

5. Square (Fig 3.7)

Examples: Straight or boat shaped neckline, boxy jackets, capes. Generally this style is very
good for the very thin figure, however, with proportions well planned and good design, can
camouflage various figure irregularities.

6. Round (Fig 3.8)

Examples: Wide, crinoline lined skirts, petal shapes, puffed sleeves. Suitable for formal wear or
afternoon frocks. This fashion design is the most attractive on the very young and the very thin
figure.

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7. Hourglass (Fig 3.9)

Examples: Wide shoulders, leg of mutton sleeves. Natural or wasp waist. Smooth fit over hips
and full skirt at bottom. Good fashion design for the tall, thin figure.

8. Combinations

Examples: Outline of any current fashion silhouette can be altered and combined with another,
and adapted for the specific figure type. Thus irregularities or lack of ideal figure proportions can
be minimized while the general effect of current fashion design style is preserved.

SPACE
It is generally considered to be the area seen between the shapes. Busy space in clothing
becomes distractive and fatiguing to view where an interesting space may go unnoticed or appear
monotonous.

Lines in a costume provide a path of vision along which the eye travels. Curving lines relates
more naturally to human bodies. Vertical lines tend to slenderize the body. Horizontal lines
suggest width. Both repetition and extreme contrast of a line, shape, space or form produce
emphasis.

COLOUR AND TEXTURE

When we talk of principles of designing, or when we start off with a given design
theme the first thing to occur to our minds is the co lour and texture of the fabric. Every season
or now and then a co lour emerges in the fashion scene which is decided by the leading
manufacturers, exporters and textile experts of the fashion world. It is advisable to the amateur to
work on the co lour in vogue: and to add to its creativity, collaborate with a textile designer and
develop a new dimension to the existing patterns. To co-ordinate with an idea of creation will be
infinite. Also while choosing a co lour one must be utmost careful as co lour creates the first
impression and hence can glorify or destroy ones appearance. Even simple silhouette may be
enhanced by using effective co lour schemes. As texture is the feel, drape and degree of stiffens
and softness of the fabric, it also creates a visual effect upon the wearer, given a small swatch of
fabric, the designer can visualize the texture and the fall of fabric which helps him to design
further.

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TYPES OF DESIGN
There are two kinds of design.

1. Structural design

2. Decorative design

1. Structural design When an objects structure is an integral part of the design is structural
design. Structural design is those that are made wide the size for colour, texture of an
object.
For eg: weaving different kinds of weave as examples of structural design. Structural
design details in a dress include collar sleeves, yokes, pockets, skirts, position of seam
lines etc.

Requirements of Good Structural Design: Ø It should be suited to the purpose Ø It should be

simple. Ø It should be well proportion Ø It should be suited to the material with which it is
made. Ø It is far more importance than decorative design because it is essential to every object or
garment whereas decorative is the luxury of design. Structural design depends on the form and
fabric. It is also created by the construction details as a design. It is inherit in all garments.
Because it creates in construction details together including seams, collars, pockets and texture
of the fabric. Any detail that is an integral part of the garment is a structural design. It may be
very simple or to be very elaborate simple or to be very elaborate.

The basic requirements of a good structural deign for clothing are as follows: Ø Silhouette
pleasingly related to the body structure and expressive of that time. Ø Design appropriate to its
use and to the needs of the wearer. Ø Well proportion individual parts that offer unity with
variation. Ø Character and individuality in line, form or texture.

2. Decorative Design It is the surface enrichment of structural design any line, colour of
material that has been applied on structural design for the purpose of adding a richer quality is a
decorative design. Beauty is the structure of design. Decorative design is only the luxury.

e.g.: After weaving, when the impart design it is decorative:

e.g.: Applique, embroidery, painting or any trimmings.

Requirements of Good Decorative Design: Ø It should be used in moderation Ø It should be

placed at a structural points and should strengthen the shape of the object Ø The decorative
design should be suitable for the material and for the type of service it must give. Ø There should

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be enough background space to give an effect of simplicity and dignity to design. Ø Surface
pattern should cover the surface quietly

Types of Decorative Design:

They are 5 types of decorative design.

a. Naturalistic

b. Conventional

c. Abstract

d. Historic

e. Geometric

a. Naturalistic Design: When objects from nature are selected and are reproduced exactly
with photographic correction it is known as naturalistic design. eg: Flowers, leaves, animals and
landscape.

b. Conventional Design: When an object from nature s adopted to suit the purpose of the
object and be decorative the motif ceases to be naturalistic.

c. Abstract Design: Motif which does not have the nature as the source but the combination
of lines producing irregular form i.e. not easily recognized. The modern art is an abstract design.

d. Historic Design: It refers to the famous monuments or building of historic importance. eg:
Temple, Taj Mahal

e. Geometric Design: It is not derived from nature. It is derived from circles, rectangle,
triangle, parallel lines and so on.

The basic requirements of a good decorative deign for clothing are as follows:

Applied and design should reinforced the basic design concept created in the construction of the
garment. This is achieved when the placement of trims is created to the structural design.
Decorative design is very attractive when it is created in size and structure to the textile of the
garment. Suitable combination of textures includes: Ø Fine embroidery for fine fabric Ø Ricrac
for medium weight cotton Ø Sequence for shiny fine material

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