Patricia Wooster - Fashion Designer

Published in the United States of America by
Cherry Lake Publishing, Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.cherrylakepublishing.com

Content Adviser

Clara Henry, Director, Fashion Design Program, School of Engineering and Textiles, Philadelphia University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Credits

Cover and page 1, CandyBoxPhoto/Shutterstock, Inc.; pages 4 and 28, Frances M. Roberts/Alamy; page 6, iStockphoto.com/CandyBoxPhoto; page 9, Media Bakery; pages 10, 19, and 26, iStockphoto.com/talymel; page 13, Levaent Konuk/Shutterstock, Inc.; page 14, iStockphoto.com/leezsnow; page 15, Tetra Images/Alamy; page 16, iStockphoto.com/robcruze; page 20, Image Source/Alamy; page 21, Nyul/Dreamstime.com; page 22, Dmitriy Shitonosov/Shutterstock, Inc.; pages 24 and 25, Lebrecht Music and Arts Photo Library/Alamy

Copyright 2012 by Cherry Lake Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wooster, Patricia.

Fashion designer/by Patricia Wooster.

p. cm.(Cool arts careers)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-61080-131-7 (lib. bdg.)

ISBN-10: 1-61080-131-8 (lib. bdg.)

1. Fashion designJuvenile literature. 2. Fashion designersJuvenile literature.

1. Title. II. Series.

TT507.W667 2012

746.92dc22 2011001581

Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge

the work of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.

Please visit www.21stcenturyskills.org for more information.

Printed in the United States of America

Corporate Graphics, Inc.

July 2011

CLFA09

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Excitement flled the air as bright lights lit up the stage. Young men and women walked down the runway in beautiful clothing, capturing the audiences attention. The first show of New York Citys seven-day Fashion Week celebration had begun!

New York City hosted the first Fashion Week in 1943. The show was set up to let American designers show off their collections. New Yorks fashion industry soon grew to become one of the largest in the world. It offered even more job opportunities than the famous fashion industry of Paris, France. In 1993, Fashion Week was moved to Bryant Park. This park is located very close to the studios of many fashion designers. The designers could actually push their fashions to the shows on clothing racks. But the event outgrew its location as it became more popular.

On September 9, 2010, the fashion industry and media gathered at a new location for Fashion Week. The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts offered more space for the 10,000 people who attended each day. This runway show is held twice each year. It is the most important fashion event in the country. More than 100 fashion designers show off their collections during the week. Celebrities, models, buyers, and the media all attend.

Technology plays an important part at fashion events. Runway shows, interviews, and news are recorded for streaming video. People at home can view these video clips on the Internet. This helps fashion designers reach new audiences.

Fashion designers create the clothing, shoes, and accessories that people wear every day. They may produce several collections each year. Usually there is a new collection for each season. Designing clothes is a long process. It can take about 6 months to go from a designers first sketches to a finished garment. Many people are involved in this process. Each one specializes in a diferent part of the job.

Pattern makers bring a fashion designers vision to life. They turn the designers sketches into a paper pattern. This takes great skill. A three-dimensional sketch must be converted into a two-dimensional pattern. Pattern makers need math skills to do this. They must also be familiar with sewing and draping. The pattern is used to create the first sample of the garment.

Cutters use the paper pattern to cut fabric into the right shapes. They have to pay attention to the design on the fabric to make sure the edges will line up when they are sewn together. Many designers use expensive fabrics, so cutters must be careful to avoid mistakes. New designers are often on tight budgets. They may only have enough money to purchase just enough fabric to complete the samples. When the cutter is done, the cut pieces are bundled and ready for sewing.

Sample sewers assemble the cut pieces and sew the first sample of the design. Once the sample is sewn, it is time for a fitting. At a fitting, live models wear the clothes for the first time. The designer may decide to make changes after seeing what the garment looks like on a real person. A pair of pants may need to be shortened. A fabric color or texture might need to be changed. A fitting could take 20 minutes or several hours. It depends on the number of changes the designer wants to make. One garment may need several fittings for the designer to get it right. After the sample sewer makes the changes, the garment is sent out for production.

21 ST CENTURY CONTENT

Haute couture (French for high fashion) clothing is custom-made using a persons specific measurements. A lot of work goes into creating a single garment. One dress can take more than 1,000 hours of work if there is a lot of detail. Everything is sewn by hand. Haute couture clothing is considered art.

In the last 20 years, designer clothing has become more accessible to the average person. Many designers now have lower-priced clothing lines at major chain stores. Do you think this will cause the haute couture business to grow or get smaller? Why?

Fashion designers enjoy being creative. They get to work with many different people. Every day is different. They are always working on new collections and designing for different seasons. How would you like to see a shirt you designed in a clothing store? Or on a person walking down the street? Maybe somebody famous will wear your designs someday!

Nick works for a large design company in New York City. It designs clothing that is sold in department stores and boutiques around the world.

Nick is a fashion designer. He has been working in the industry for 30 years. He spends every day doing something different. A mood board hangs on the wall of his office. A mood board contains photos, sketches, and color samples that show a designers ideas for a clothing collection. For example, a mood board could show a photograph of a painting, some fabric samples, and a sketch of a dress. Every clothing collection has its own mood board to serve as inspiration.