What is Fashion Design?

Fashion Design is the creative process of assembling clothing and accessories by cutting, sewing, and adorning materials like textiles and leather with aesthetic elements like patterns, motifs, shapes, cuts, and color characteristics to various cultures.

Fashion design is the craft of fashion designers who draw inspiration from various subcultural aesthetics, worldwide fashion styles, and contemporary fashion trends.

Compared to artistic design, Fashion Design directs designers to create aesthetically pleasing but also functional clothes and accessories.

The History of Fashion Design

Pre-1850, clothing creation is described as costume design.

Fashion design started in 1858 with Charles Frederick Worth — an English fashion designer and the father of haute couture — when he introduced design practices like sewing his name into his creations.

Compared to the garments made by anonymous seamstresses, Worth’s fashion designs resembled popular high fashion worn at royal courts and reached massive success with the general public.

In the 19th century, fashion design houses hired artists to sketch garments and accessories.

Rather than going straight into manufacturing, the images were shown to clients to gain approval, saving the designer time and money.

If the client liked the fashion design, the patrons would commission the designer to produce the client’s garment in the fashion house.