to realize art in living forms.

So join us today as we learn what it takes to create such art for your own collection of designer fashion.

We'll learn where inspiration comes from, why it varies individual to individual, and why such differences are a good thing.

Then we'll focus on the importance of selecting fabrics and learn what to consider when making those choices.

And finally, we'll look at how many pieces should be in a collection.

Today on Fit 2 Stitch.

(bright melodic music) - [Narrator] Fit 2 Stitch is made possible by Britex Fabrics Vogue Fabrics.

Evanston, Illinois.

Bennos Buttons Kai Scissors Sew Steady O.C.

Sewing Buena Park, Fullerton, Garden Grove and Irvine, California.

Richland Sewing Center Dallas, Texas and the Metroplex.

Cynthia's Fine Fabrics and Mike Gunther Industries.

- At this point in my life, I've realized how lucky I was to have a father that said, "Do what you love in life, just get a degree."

In 1980, I graduated from design school and somehow thought all the world knew what I had just learned.

In recent years, after landing and teaching forums, I've learned that many who sew do not have the base fundamentals that influence solid, good design decisions.

And thus the title of the series: 101 Things I Learned in Design School.

My goal is to educate you on the basics of fashion design so your choices will be more informed.

There are two requirements.

You must be present for all classes and you must be on time.

Just like I had to be in design school.

Remember back to the beginning of Fit 2 Stitch.

I used the analogy of the architect, the engineer, and the builder.

The analogy was that the fashion designer is the architect, the pattern maker is the engineer, and the seamstress is the builder.

Our new series will follow the same order.

Design first, then patterns, then sewing machine details.

Julia Child has said, "Have your tools and your rules and you're free."

Let's get started and we'll start at the very beginning with making your design collection.

Our real college professor, Laura, is here to make us experts on fashion collections.

And I am ready to start and somehow I'm not sure quite where do I start.

Where do I start?

How do I make this design collection?

- You first have to get inspired and excited about what you're gonna be creating.

- I'm excited!

I'm inspired!

How do I do that?

- Start looking around for inspiration.

You might go to a museum, you might go walk in the woods.

- I did that!

So you gave me an assignment and my assignment was, what do you call this?

- A concept board.

- Okay, so my assignment was to make a concept board and you told me I needed to go all these different places and just grab everything I saw.

And I did that.

- Yeah, so tell me about what you found.

- Alright, so I went to the museum.

I went to a wedding And I was snapping pictures everywhere, but then I thought okay and then I actually went in nature because I love texture, is what I noticed, I love texture.

So is this concept, or this goal, is to kinda bring out what I enjoy?

- Exactly, and to give you a focus for your collection and a source of inspiration cause you can't design in a vacuum.

You need to kinda fill your brain with sources of inspiration.

- So this allows me to take my brain and get it onto paper.

- Exactly.

- Is that what I was doing?

- Exactly, yes.

- It felt like I was doing cause I even have a gardenia on there.

There was a gardenia that bloomed!

So all of these ideas really were just as I was flipping through things but I did have one thing that I wanted.

I really wanted it to be a lighter tone, like a monochromatic.

- Right, it has that feel to it.

I see a lot of neutrals and softer colors.

- Neutrals!

So when I go to neutrals, can I go neutral with beige and neutral with black or can I go both of those directions?

- Sure, and grays.

Yeah, absolutely.

- Okay, so any of those neutrals with do.

This was really fun for me.

- Good, I'm glad.

- When you told me to do it I thought "why am I doing this?"

I probably am like all of your students because I remember thinking "why am I doing this?"

But I really had fun!

- Well, good I'm glad.

- I really enjoyed it.

And I decided to really, I have fabric swatches here, so I really took a lot of different things that I saw.

And then I went ahead and did some weird trims too.

- I love your trims.

I see trims here.

You've got some fantastic buttons.

I love the swirly pattern in the buttons, which I see... - It goes back to texture - really connects with some of the images you've chosen for your concept board, absolutely.

- And then I decided I could even use selvages of fabrics, I could do that too.

So some of my fabrics actually had some selvages on them.

So I think at first, and I have to say it again, I almost thought it was a waste of time and I feel really bad saying that.

- Really?

- But its not.

I just couldn't really get the feel for why this needed to be done, but as I did it I did understand.

It was really what was inspiring me.

- I'm glad to hear that.

A lot of students say that too - I'm sorry to say that.

- No its okay, I hear that from students that haven't designed before.

They want to start sketching right away.

- They do, or I just want to go pick some fabric that I like, I want to get there.

- You end up going in multiple directions.

- That's, I see that all the time.

- Yeah and your end result is you don't have a focused collection.

You don't have pieces that work together.

You don't have a color story that works together.

So this process is what helps you focus your direction.

And if you're working with a design team, this also keeps all members of the design team on the same page.

- Oh, so if I am working with a design team is it fair to say they all will add to this?

- Yeah you'll work together on your boards.

- Because a lot of times if I've gone into designer's offices, you always see this board that's like this total mess.

(laughs) And has just got - Swatches and... - Yeah they'll say, "Oh this was here in 1980 when I went to - Vintage gloves and random things.

- So this doesn't have to have any organized pattern.

Again I know this sounds funny to you but I was also feeling like it had to have some organized presence.

That the way I put the pictures was right or not right or - It's just about collecting your inspiration and your sources of inspiration.

- So this is how I'm pulling all my ideas together of what I'm wanting to do.

I love it.

- Exactly, I do too.

- Now where do I go?

What do I do now?

- So you've got your source of inspiration and I see you've already pulled your materials and your trims, your buttons, all your different fabrics as well and you can start to build your color story at the same time.

- So right here with color, like I came across like somehow I always was going neutrals and it was no problem finding those neutrals but all of a sudden I came across this.

- It's a beautiful emerald.

- It's a really pretty color.

It just kinda stuck out.

Is that legal to do that?

- Sure, you might decide that a pop of color is called for in this collection.

- So with a button or something?

- Sure, yeah or a little trim.

It could be a little, like a piping.

A little touch of color.

- Alright so follow your inspiration.

And I thought it interesting too like there was a food in there.

- I saw that, the texture yeah.

That's great, see how that relates to some of these fabrics?

The boucles and the textures.

- So I guess I'm hearing from you there's no wrong.

- No, not at this stage.

- Does any one of your students ever do this to where you say "Nope, that's not acceptable" or everything's acceptable because it's their?

- Well, once we go from here and then start to develop the collections, say a student did a neon colored collection then I would say "That's wrong" because that's not what your concept board's about.

This concept board is about these softer neutrals and these interesting textures.

- I see, okay so then let's move on.

And we're go where?

- So, we have some more fabrics here.

We've got some different weights so that's important as well.

They kind of refine your fabric story.

And select fabrics that could work for blouses and tops.

And then maybe some heavier weights like we have here and over here that you might make jackets and trousers out of.

So it's important to then go through your fabrics and make sure you've got a good variety that can work with each other.

- Because obviously I've gotta have a whole collection.

- Yes, exactly!

So you might have I love this knit, this has got a great pattern to it, a lot of nice stretch.

So you can make some wonderful tops out of this.

We have this really nice gray flannel.

This would work really nicely for a pair of slacks.

This obviously would not work for a knit or long top Right, cause it has no stretch.

So it's important that you get a variety of fabrics going for your collection - So in this process do you think that, you know, I'm always trying to get out of my box type thing and how do you do that when you're picking stuff you like?

- I think you have to always be thinking of your customer.

So I mean if that's who you are then I think it's important to select fabrics and a direction that you like.

And maybe, like you said earlier, maybe you throw in a pop of color.

But maybe for you if that's not your thing you stick more with the neutrals or a monochromatic story.

- You know I think it's funny because I've gone through this process before but I don't think I've ever really started with the whole inspiration.

And so I think where that made a difference for me was where I add that pop of color I now have some direction as to what color I like and maybe just to bring it in with these colors.

Otherwise I think I might leave it out.

So I think that really played an important role in kinda bringing that to the surface.

- Right, when you look at your board you see that color and it reminds you "Hey, I've gotta "incorporate that somehow" - Exactly.

Okay, alright, this is really great.

So I've selected fabrics.

Probably more than I'm going to use.

- Probably, yes.

- So its okay to overbuy.

- Absolutely, yes.

(laughs) - They always say no you shouldn't.

- A lot of choices right?

I mean this may not work out in the end, you know.

So you have some other options there.

- Okay, alright.

So let's maybe go look at fabrics?

- Is that the next step?

And I love that.

I love fabrics.

I think that's the favorite part of all of this.

Don't you think?

- Yeah, that is.

That often is the source of inspiration.

So you had some beautiful bolts pulled out over here.

I think we've cut some swatches up on the table.

- And this was my favorite.

- Yes, I loved that.

- This really was my favorite.

So texture-wise, I felt like knit-wise it could really do everything I wanted it to do and so I'm just gonna stick with one right now just because I want to get the first garment made.

And so how do you do that?

How do you decide how many pieces you want to start with?

- You need to start thinking in terms of your line or planning your line and I think 10 pieces might be a good place to start, it's not too overwhelming.

- And even if I'm deciding for myself?

10 pieces is just the beginning of a season?

- Sure, yeah.

- So maybe I can take some out of my closet, I can kind of mix and match.

- Sure, absolutely.

- But see again I think where this helped me is it kept me focused.

Exactly what you said.

Instead of going all over the place.

I really like this idea and I still feel guilty that I was like cussing you when you said to me, "Hey I need you to do XYZ" and I'm like okay.

- It's a really good habit to get into and it is one of the hardest things for students to begin to do first.

But I think selecting your concept and your fabrics has to come first so that you design for those fabrics.

That's really critical.

- So now we're going to take away our fabrics since we've got all those and we're going to - So we have some little doll shapes, I guess you could say, that were cut out to represent different types of garments.

So we have some dresses, skirts, pants, jackets, and tops.

So in a 10 piece collection probably we'd want to have about three to four tops.

People tend to wear more tops.

So we could spread those out.

And then we might have three to four bottoms, we don't usually - How hard is it to stay to 10 pieces?

- Oh, it's well it may be hard.

We may be throwing in some extras, right?

Especially when you find a great top and you want to make it in five different fabrics cause it fits so well so that could be the case.

But you know we tend to wear more tops.

They fit more easily, they frame the face, I think so many people can relate to having a couple of great fitting pants they wear over and over again.

So bottoms we tend to repeat more and we usually throw in more tops into the collection.

It's always nice to have a couple of dresses.

They could be a great print vehicle.

And then definitely a couple of jackets or coats.

- Okay so of all these pieces, let's stick to just 10.

Let's try to stick to just 10.

- Alright, okay.

- Yeah let's say, which 10?

How would you mix them up?

Now do you make it about, I know as a designer you've gotta make it about your customer.

But let's just say we only have to make it about ourselves, we have that wonderful luxury.

We have to go to dresses or skirts or how do we decide what to eliminate?

- Well that would definitely - This was a trick cause what I did is I made more than 10 because I thought - I noticed it didn't quite add up.

(laughs) - Well what I was thinking is it's hard for me to only make 10 sometimes because that's not really very many.

And it sounds like a lot and when you're shopping nobody buys 10 pieces at one time.

- Right, because it's all in your closet at home.

- Right, so how do we narrow this down?

Narrow this down to 10 for me.

- Alright, if this was me I would probably have two bottoms and a skirt, and then maybe a dress.

I'd keep my four tops and my two jackets.

And let's see, does that add up?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

- You've done this before.

- Well yeah, but this is for me so it's easy.

- Okay cause you have to know your lifestyle.

You have to know who you are and where you go.

- I'm more of a pants person unless I'm dressing up for something.

- But you still had a dress - I did, yeah, I did.

- So these tops will have a tendency to come with these?

- Yeah, or the skirt.

And then I'd want a jacket of course that I could wear with the top and the skirt or the top and the pants.

- So let's go back to fabrics for just a second.

I'm gonna take and put these here.

And because why is, let's say we only have the 10.

Do we have 10?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

We had two jackets?

- Yes.

- Yes, okay.

Tell me how I do fabrics into those 10 pieces.

- So, again, if it's for me - Yeah, this is you.

- So I love a beautiful - But can I ask you a question just on that?

Let's just say, if you're a designer, do you kind of design for yourself and then hope others like it?

- No, you're not supposed to do that.

I think we all do a little bit.

I mean there's always a part of you in your designs but you always need to be thinking of your customer.

Your customer comes first, their lifestyle, how do they - Earlier we said you have to know yourself you really have to know your customer.

- Yes, your customer.

- Their lifestyle, all of the people you're designing for.

- Yep, how are they gonna wear your collection?

Where are they gonna wear the collection?

You know a mom with kids is gonna have a very different lifestyle than say a young professional right out of school.

- That has no children.

Sure.

- Yeah, exactly.

- Okay, so now we're designing for our, no we're designing for you.

Let's design for you.

- I am a mom.

- But a working professional also, full-time at the university.

So we love glass fabric.

You did that once.

That was one of your blouses.

So this is how you take your fabrics and decide what to do with them.

- And for another top, you might wanna consider using a knit like this.

I think this would be a great piece as well.

For another top we might wanna have a nice cotton, like a woven shirting fabric with some texture to it, with these stripes.

- So the texture of the fabric is lighter on the top.

- Yeah, in that one.

- Definitely, I mean I know that sounds like, really elementary 101.

But I've seen people make tops that are just not the best.

- The fabric's too heavy.

It's so important to look at the weight of the fabric and you know how heavy it is, choosing bottom weights and top weights.

Absolutely.

- So I love these because these are all everything I've picked.

- Oh okay, well perfect.

- So it makes sense that I'm gonna like what I picked.

I like this whole process.

- Absolutely.

Then we also have some heavier weights, with this might be a nice pant over here.

I love this flannel, this brushed flannel.

- And look, that can go with that.

- Yeah, it makes a great pant.

- So this is where, look at this, it really starts to build.

- Beautifully.

Maybe we throw in a texture in the skirt.

I could see that more in a skirt than say a pant or even a jacket.

This is another one that I think is really nice.

So we can really start to play with which fabrics go where.

This piece also I think would be a gorgeous top or a jacket.

- So it gives you an ability to almost visualize where you're going with it all?

- You can start planning your line and allocating fabrics to certain styles.

- So the only thing that's right or wrong is if it doesn't sell.

(chuckles) - Well sure, in the end yes that is true if it doesn't sell.

- If you're making it for yourself than you don't really have that, I think I had a line back in the 80's and I noticed that there was a lot of things I really liked that I found out nobody else but me did.

- Yeah, I know.

I think we've all been there as designers.

- The worst thing is though when you do it for yourself but nobody will tell you.

(laughs) I think that's the hard part of design.

You like something and recognize it's not liked by others.

That's a learned process.

- That's true, yeah.

- Even if you go through rules, even if you follow all of that, we just find that you wear it and it just didn't work.

- Maybe it doesn't work.

- It doesn't.

Bad design.

- That does happen.

- We can sum it up as bad design.

Alright so I've got my inspiration.

And I still can't say how much I liked that job.

- I'm so glad to hear that.

I want you to tell my students - (laughs) I'll tell your students.

I'll come in on each time.

And then I've got now my 10 pieces.

- Yes.

- Now what?

Am I ready to sew?

- Now you're ready to start designing your silhouettes.

Coming up with what the pieces are gonna be.

You know what is the blouse gonna look like in that fabric?

How can you design a blouse perfect for this crinkled silk chiffon?

- So this is so contrary to what we do.

What most of us do, we grab a pattern and then we go find the fabric.

- And we go shopping for the fabric which doesn't exist.

And then we find something and we force it, right?

- That's very true.

Because we want to make this pattern.

We get a little crazy about it.

- It's so important to design for the fabric.

- So now once I have the fabric, I find the silhouette that will match this fabric.

- Exactly.

- You wouldn't want to make a tailored shirt out of this.

Whereas that might work beautifully in this fabric.

- So you have to be open to what your fabrics are that you've selected.

- Absolutely, and the properties of the fabric.

- Alright well let's do silhouettes.

How do I do that?

- Well then you would start sketching and then start developing your patterns based off of your sketches.

You might want to consider varying necklines, varying sleeve shapes, pant leg shapes, pant lengths, waist-line treatments, all those details come into play in terms of planning your silhouettes.

So we have these pieces over here.

Let me move some of these fabrics out of the way.

And you know here's a standard neckline created with the French curve like this.

We could come into that same silhouette though and maybe bring the neckline down in kind of a lower V-shape that might be more appropriate for the collection, the direction you're going.

- And so just with a neckline change like that it doesn't even have to be anything major.

- No it doesn't.

And you can repeat silhouettes from previous projects and just come in and change.

- And I've seen designers do that a lot.

You'll see a silhouette for season after season.

- It's a best seller, over and over again.

- They just change the fabric.

- Updated with fabric, maybe change the neckline a little bit.

- So we can do that in our own closet.

- Absolutely, if you've got a great sitting blouse than yeah, why not?

- It's kind of permission to - Give it a short sleeve for summer and go back to the long sleeve for winter.

- So even if we do struggle with what these patterns are we can repeat the same patterns rather than feeling like we need to change them.

It's the fabric that will differentiate them.

- Exactly, yep.

You don't need to reinvent the wheel each season.

- Wow that gives me great relief.

(laughs) - I think because the pattern is that challenging part for most people I think the pattern is the challenging part.

- And once you've perfected it, it's nice to be able to get more mileage out of it by developing new styles and new fabrics.

- Absolutely.

And I really have seen it used over and over.

Color wheel just plays a part of neutrals bringing together.

- Absolutely, yeah.

I mean back to color story.

You know we were talking about how this is more monochromatic and neutrals but you could kinda go in a different direction and play with complementary colors.

Maybe you want to have some muted colors for a fall winter collection, pastels for summer.

It's really up to you and your concept and the direction you establish with your board.

- And then when I'm using silhouettes I know you were telling me, keep me away from making a few mistakes.

What are just some basic rules?

- Well, you wanna definitely think about the use of volume and how that's gonna flatter the body.

So I love this piece with this really fitted top working with this fuller skirt, these inverted pleats I think add a really nice touch in terms of this added volume.

- And the size, again, doesn't matter.

- No.

And then over to this piece.

We have this really nice full jacket with all this volume here in the middle paired with this full top with the gathers from the neckline would look great with a real, close-fitting legging.

So you get that contrast with volume on the top no volume on the bottom, skinny on the bottom exactly.

Over here I think this is a great example of maybe a little bit too full on the top and the bottom.

So maybe too much volume for most people is not necessarily flattering.

It's important to think about what is gonna flatter your individual body shape, or if you're a designer, your customer's body shape.

But these basic rules really will go for everybody regardless of the shape.

I think so.

- Because I've seen a lot of women who say, "Well I can't wear this, I can't wear that."

But they can they just have kind of put themselves out.

- Right, in a box.

There's usually a way to work around any limitations you think you have, I think.

- So as I took this whole entire journey, what I did is I did everything you told me to do.

And I'm hoping for an A. I don't know you'll see.

- Okay, so far so good.

- But I took my I took my inspiration, and again, that was really helpful.

I took all the different fabrics, I broke it down to the 10, because that's hard to do.

I found what 10 was I gonna do?

And when I come back to this, if I don't want to wear a skirt, I don't have to have a skirt in my collection - No, take the skirt out.

Put in another pant.

- Okay.

And yet, it's great to have one dress but if I've already got one in my closet I don't need to bring it in this particular season.

And then I could change up my necklines and then I still landed on my exact same favorite top.

This just kind of really stole me.

And I really decided that I just had to make something up with it.

So I want you to grade my final thing (laughs) and see if you like it or what you thought.

- Alright, so this is the end result of your concept process right?

- Of my whole, entire thing.

- I love this.

- This was the end concept of what I was doing - I like how you used the edge of your fabric, of the trim.

- So I did, I used the selvage and that way I was trying to kinda show off.

It was soft.

The little patterns even are soft.

And so I decided something with a soft neckline.

And then it had a little more structure as we went to the back, so what I saw in the back is it just kind of had that V we talked about.

And kind of tried to, at least, pull all those concepts together.

- And I see these interesting effects you have right here in this sort of asymmetric hem as well.

- Give me a grade, you know.

- Well, A+ (laughs) - No, you don't have to give me that good of a grade.

As long as, my dad said, you made an A you were good to go.

- Yeah, I think this is a very good example though of starting with your concept, developing some ideas based on that concept with fabrics, and then here's your end result.

The real test would be what your other nine pieces look like.

- Yes, I know.

- And if they work with this top, that's what makes it a collection.

- That's intimidating, but you just do it.

You just do it.

Just go forward and just do it.

- We'll sometimes sew three or four of something before we get to the right piece.

- So and I loved this fabric next.

This is gonna be the next one that I get to start with.

- Okay, what are you gonna make out of that?

- Well, you know what?

You mentioned a skirt and I don't think I would've - a shorter skirt I think could be cute.

- I don't think I would've come up with that.

So I think that's where you said.

It's nice to have a team or even if you don't have a team it's great to just ask.

Even if somebody doesn't have to sew, just say, "Hey, what do you think of this and if I make a skirt?"

And if they look at you like you're crazy then maybe you could go to plan B.

But I also love the selvage.

- Yeah, the selvage on that's really nice.

- And I'm a selvage freak And this looks really the back of that is really interesting too.

- So today so many contemporary fabrics they use both sides I think that's a really fun thing to try to input.

I'm not great at the color wheel but you don't have to be because you just have to really develop the board first and then all the colors... - That will really lead you.

- will flow from there, perfect.

Thanks so much, Laura, for being here.

I know it's helpful for all of us.

Next we'll learn all about the fiber industry.

It will change how you look at fabrics forever.

Be sure to be here next time on Fit 2 Stitch.

(gentle piano music) - [Narrator] Fit 2 Stitch is made possible by Britex Fabrics Vogue Fabrics.

Evanston, Illinois.

Bennos Buttons Kai Scissors Sew Steady O.C.

Sewing.

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Dallas, Texas and the Metroplex.

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