“I’m passionate to be a fashion designer,” Roberto Cavalli once told CNN, “because fashion is part of our life… Fashion is our mind. That is the reason I love being a fashion designer because I can use it to measure your mood, your life. I love being a fashion designer.”

Being a fashion designer is probably one of the most diverse and exciting professions imaginable. Every day is different, and every day brings a new challenge and a new adventure. It’s definitely ‘life’, rather than ‘work’. What’s the average week like? Well, there’s never an average week in fashion, but it will probably mean everything from designing new garments to being interviewed for a magazine, and from choosing models for a catwalk show to meeting with the buyers of a department store.

Designing a new collection usually occurs over time, drawing in different influences, and being broken up by other demands of the business. While fashion designers will usually spend time sketching out designs, and making notes about color and fabric, they’ll also want to go shopping, to explore what’s in the stores. Usually that means an opportunity for lunch with an assistant, to discuss how the collection is developing, or how it should develop. Or, if the designer is especially busy, lunch might mean meeting a business contact, discussing the look of a new website or promotional campaign, or being interviewed for a magazine – trust me, a lot happens at lunch.

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Later, back at the studio, the designer will be fitting the newest garments on ‘fit models’, making sure that they are comfortable and look hot. Working with the pattern cutter and assistants, the designer will want to make alterations, and will probably want to develop new garments from those that are working well – for example, designing an ankle-length skirt from a shorter one. The fashion designer will direct, while staff pin and tack the garments the fit model is wearing. Once the designer has chosen the fabric, it can be made up.

While the new collection is just getting underway, the previous collection might be about to hit the catwalk or the stores. If dozens or hundreds of boxes have arrived back for the garment manufacturer, they’ll need to be checked over. Later, buyers can be met, and shown the collection.

If the fashion show is approaching, the fashion designer will be looking through dozens of models’ books, and getting model agencies to send the selected few to the studio to see how they look in the flesh. A lot of designers will also have the models walk the length of the studio – in a kind of practice run – to make sure they have the right ‘presence’ for the show. Once the designer has decided exactly which models to use, they will be back on the phone to the model agencies, as well as booking a photographer for the website, look book, and ad campaign. As anyone who’s been around a successful fashion designer knows, all of this is going to happen while the designer’s mobile phone is ringing off the hook, and other important meetings and events are arranged.

If you think all of this means never getting out of the city, think again. A fashion designer might have to fly to Paris, Milan, Tokyo or any other international city for anything from staging a fashion show, visiting a trend and fabric show to find out about the latest developments, or just to go shopping for the weekend, and getting a little more inspired. As Michael Harper, co-founder of www.Startingaclothingline.com says, “fashion design is demanding and rewarding. And there’s never a dull moment.”

Hiring a home decorator – What you should know

Hiring a professional interior decorator aids you in transforming your home into a truly special living space. Unfortunately, the task of choosing and hiring a home decorator can be as daunting as doing the actual home decorating work themselves. By asking several key questions when interviewing interior designers, you can find the right person to give you the home decorating plan of your dreams.
Portfolio
Ask to see the interior designer’s portfolio. No other factor matters if you don’t like the person’s home decorating sensibilities. You may not see exactly what you envision for your home decorating in the portfolio, but if the general aesthetic suits your taste the interior designer should be able to come up with some ideas that will meet your needs. Be sure to ask if the photos in the home decorator portfolio are of rooms that the interior designer personally designed and not simply rooms that he or she assisted on.
Experience and Background
If you’re looking for a truly professional interior designer, you’ll want to know the extent of their professional experience. Perhaps professional experience is not important if you like the look of the person s work, but you will want to know the extent of the interior designer’s training and experience when it comes to determining fees. Obviously a professionally trained interior designer will be able to charge more than a hobbyist looking to branch out.
Certification
You may want to ask if your home decorator is state certified. Certification means that the home decorator will be completely familiar with building codes and general rules of design. Certified designers are generally also more experienced and will be able to complete your project more efficiently and with fewer mistakes.
Rates
Obviously, the question of payment must be discussed. Ask your potential decorator for a rough estimate, based on a general outline of your plans. Once you hire a home decorator, he will give you a more detailed and accurate estimate. Make sure you discuss what will happen if the interior designer ends up spending more than the agreed estimated price.

Are you an up-and-coming designer with a unique vision for the nightclub of the future? Heineken invites you to co-create a concept nightclub that will be unveiled to the world during Milan Design Week in April 2012. For your chance to enter go to www.heineken.com/opendesign-theclub
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Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, or as many know her as, Coco Chanel, was born August 19th, 1883 in Saumur, a small city in France.  She was born in a poorhouse to traveling salesman Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle.  She had two sisters, Julie and Antoinette and three brothers, Alphonse, Lucien and Augustine.

When Coco was just twelve years old her mother died, leaving her father to care for the six children.  He left a short time latter, and for the next seven years, Coco was in the orphanage of the Catholic monastery of Aubazine.  Here she learned the trade of a seamstress.

During school vacations female relatives, in the provincial capital of Moulins, taught Coco how to sew much more elegant, than the nuns at the monastery were able to teach.

At the age of eighteen, she left the orphanage and began work for a local tailor.  While working at the tailor shop she met Etienne Balsan, an English playboy, and began having an affair with him.

While working as a cafe and concert singer, Chanel adopted the name, Coco.

While Coco was living with Balsan, she began to design hats as a hobby.  Her hats quickly caught the attention of the female Parisian elite.  In 1909, with the help of Balsan and Arthur “Boy” Capel, another rich lover, Coco was able to open her own millinery, or hat shop called ”Chanel Modes.”  It was located at 31 rue Cambon in Paris.

French actresses wore the hats Coco made.  This helped her to get a reputation established.  In 1913 at her new boutique in Deauville, France, Coco introduced her sportswear for women.

In 1923, the Chanel suit was launched.  It was a boxy jacket made of woven wool with gold buttons and black trim, warm with a large pearl costume necklace.  The skirt was of knee length with trim.  A truly elegant suit.

In 1925, she introduced her signature cardigan jacket.  Coco also brought out the little black dress in 1926 and not only made it very popular, but also versatile.  Depending on how it was easily accessorized, it could be worn day or night.

Coco also introduces the bobbed hair style, pants for women, skiing accessories, she eliminated the use of the corset from women’s fashion, added the use of knit jersey and unvailed the women’s bathing suit.  These are only a few of her accomplishments.

Coco also was a Hollywood fashion director.  To attract women to the theater, Coco was asked to design costumes that would appeal to the women.

In 1923 Coco launched the first perfume to bear a designers name, Chanel No. 5.  Pierre Wertheimer became her partner in the perfume business and the Wertheimers continue to control the perfume company today.

Her fashion empire, until her death, brought in over 0 million dollars a year.

In 1938, Coco decided to retire and for the next fifteen years, she moved back and forth between Vichy and Switzerland.  During this time, she began seeing a Nazi officer named Hans Gunther Von Dincklage.

In 1954, she decided to make a come back and the Chanel suit once again caught the eyes and the pocket book, of women.  Coco also introduced the pea jacket and bell-bottom pants for women.

In 1969, Katharine Hepburn, played Coco in a Broadway musical, “Coco” based on Coco Chanels life.

Coco Chanel worked up until her death.  Coco died on January 10, 1971, in Paris, France at the age of 87.

Sources:
wikipedia online
womenshistory.about.com
time.com

Fashion typically follows the statements of each season and guides men and women to dynamically express themselves. Although fashion cannot solve the global warming issue nor can it be a solution for world hunger, it can make people feel better and improve their psychology. It is widely accepted that good appearance can profoundly impact one’s psychological state as well as the broader environment.

Fashion designers are people who have spent most of their youth devouring fashion magazines and making clothes for their dolls in the hope of becoming the next Jean Paul Gaultier or Calvin Klein. In majority, they are attracted at an early age by the fascinating expressions of fashion that reflects the beat of society at any particular time. However, it takes a series of careful steps and thorough knowledge of employment prospects to forge a successful career in fashion design.

Duties performed by fashion designers

Every piece of clothing and every accessory is a means to make people feel more confident or powerful. Fashion designers think of clothing and accessories as artistic expressions that project people’s perception of the world. To that direction, they study fashion trends on a regular basis to anticipate the kinds of clothing people are expected to wear over the next season, namely menswear, women’s fashion and children’s apparel or accessories including belts, hats, and handbags.

Besides producing innovative concepts and developing patterns, fashion designers are responsible for the right choice of colors and fabrics. With their creative eye for color and texture, they are able to make the right color – fabric combination in order to visualize their designs in 3D shape. In doing so, they project their concepts in real form and with their enhanced technical skills they transform trends into fashion. Finally, in order to ensure that their ideas will be correctly transformed into the proper clothing and accessories, fashion designers often oversee production and supervise a design team.

Other core tasks of fashion designers include the selection of fabrics; the adjustment of on hand designs for mass consumption; the close cooperation with sales teams to decide on customer base, target market and pricing; the negotiation with customers and suppliers; and the management of marketing and finance activities if they are self-employed.

Skills required for fashion designers

Overall, fashion design is one of the fastest growing careers. A major requirement for being part of this fascinating career is creativity. Creative people with the ability to design innovative patterns and follow fashion trends are highly likely to become successful fashion designers. Moreover, the ability to demonstrate effective communication skills and express themselves can help them convey the inner message of their designs to salespeople, suppliers, and customers.

Finally, working as a fashion designer requires ability to meet deadlines and work under extreme pressure. The world of fashion is quite demanding and glamorous and unfortunate mistakes can cost a fortune. Therefore, successful fashion designers know how to perform under pressure, prioritize their tasks and cooperate with all kinds of people to produce the best of their abilities.

Sources:

http://www.citytowninfo.com/education-articles/career-guides/how-to-become-a-fashion-designer

http://www.fashion.net/howto/fashiondesigner/

http://www.allartschools.com/faqs/fashion-design-job

In other words: if you want to be the next Yves Saint Laurent, it helps to be completely and utterly obsessed with fashion.

However, there are many aspects of the profession. Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sportswear company as producing a label under your own name. Although the former career may not seem as glamorous as the latter, it certainly will make your life less stressful. To create your own label takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work. Not to mention living just above the poverty line for several years.

Choosing a strategy

There are as many different ways to embark upon a fashion career as there are styles of design. Ralph Lauren’s Polo empire was founded on a small tie collection that he sold to Bloomingdales. Helmut Lang decided to open his own clothing store when he couldn’t find a t-shirt that he liked. Michael Kors built up a network of customers by selling clothes in a trendy NYC boutique. However, most people find that the best foundation for a design career is to get a fine arts degree in fashion at a prestigious school. Besides teaching you the craft, a good school will also add credibility to your resumé. “We live in a brandname society, and having the name of a good school behind you really does help,” says Carol Mongo, Director of the Fashion Department at Parsons School of Design in Paris.

Applying to a school

There are a lot of colleges that have fashion programs, but only a handful has the kind of reputation that can really push your career. It’s hard to enter these schools as competition is high, and they tend to be very selective. You apply by sending a portfolio of drawings of your designs. “We can’t teach you how to be creative – you have to bring your creativity to us and let us lead you on your way,” says Carol Mongo. She recommends students to get some sewing experience before they apply. Drawing is also an important skill for a designer – it is the way you communicate your ideas. In order to build an impressive portfolio it’s a good idea to have some experience in sketching; taking art classes will help you understand form and proportion. But you don’t have to be an expert drawer to get accepted to a school. “The most important quality that we look for in our students is that they are truly passionate and exuberant about fashion,” says Mongo. “If you have wonderful ideas but can’t draw, there are always ways to get around it. You could for example put your designs on a mannequin and take pictures of it.”

What school will do for you

Most fashion programs are three to four years long. During that time you will take fine arts classes and study drawing, color composition and form. You will also learn pattern making, draping and cutting techniques. One of the most important advantages of design schools is that they work really closely with the industry. Parsons, for example, have “designer critic projects” where successful designers like Donna Karan and Michael Kors work directly with the graduating students. Ambitious students also have the chance to win prestigious awards and grants, which bring them a lot of attention as well as financial support. One very important event is the fashion show at the end of the last semester, when graduating students show their collections. A lot of important people from the fashion industry attend these shows to scout new talent. It’s also an opportunity to be really outrageous and get noticed by the media. Hussein Chalayan, for example, became instantly infamous when he showed rotting clothes that he had buried in his backyard for his graduation show at Saint Martins.

Alternative routes

“Let’s be realistic,” says Carol Mongo at Parsons, “School’s not for everyone. If you’re just looking to get a job in the fashion industry – not a career as a designer – you probably don’t need to go school.” If you want to work as a seamstress or a patternmaker, the best thing is probably to apply for an internship at a fashion house and work your way up. However, there are many examples of famous designers who started out as interns with no formal training. For example, Dior’s brightest new star, men’s wear designer Hedi Slimane, had a degree in journalism when he started working with men’s wear designer José Levy. Balenciaga’s Nicolas Ghesquière is another example of a brilliantly successful designer who learned the jobs hands-on, as an assistant at Jean-Paul Gaultier. Usually, you apply for an internship by sending a portfolio to a fashion house you’re interested in. But it’s a good idea to call them up beforehand to see exactly what they need. It’s also important to note that competition is fierce, and unless you have personal connections, it’s very difficult to get an internship without an education.
There are also designers, like Luella Bartley, who started their own business after working as stylists for several years, thus building an industry network as well as a good marketing sense.

Understanding the business

Unfortunately, it’s not enough for a designer to be creative; you also have to have some business sense. As fashion gets more and more corporate driven, it’s important to be aware of the business climate and understanding the mechanics behind it. By religiously reading trade papers like “Women’s Wear Daily” you will get a lot of valuable information. If you want to run your own company, you need to be extremely organized and learn at least the basics of economics. A lot of fashion schools are currently increasing business classes in their curriculum. “Our students have to be smart enough to know how to negotiate a contract, or to pick a business partner,” says Carol Mongo. It’s perhaps telling that many of the designers that are really successful today, like Calvin Klein or Tom Ford, are involved in every aspect of the business – from licensing strategies to ad campaigns to actually designing the clothes.

Prince of Scots to Introduce Iona Crawford, a Vogue Premier Scottish Designer, to North America
Iona Crawford is nominated Young Designer of the Year in 2011 Scottish Fashion Awards (PRWeb June 12, 2011) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/6/prweb8533463.htm
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