DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
STUDY MATERIAL
COURSE
SEMESTER
SUBJECT
UNIT
LECTURER NAME
:
:
:
:
:
II -B.SC (CDF)
III
FASHION CLOTHING AND PSYCHOLOGY
I
N.MANIKANDAN
SYLLABUS
_______________________________________________________________________
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Part- A
It is important to know the changes in Fashion to implement designs.
Force dictates the change of trend.
Fashion involves the two factors social and psychological factors.
Changes in ideologies influence fashion in a vast extend.
Britain's apparel industry employs approximately 240,000 people.
Socio economic Patterns involve restructuring and re-evaluation of
designs.
To determine the best day of the week for a fashion show, the show
director should observe the people's habits in the localit.
The British also have an international reputation for classic apparel.
Part- B
 How do you understand the changes in fashion
INTRODUCTION
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
Part - C
 Exlain the role of Costumes in an individual.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
 Explain the Fashion Cycle
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
 Explain repetition of fashion.
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
1. Write about the factors influencing fashion changes.
2. What are the roles of costumes?
3. Define fashion cycle.
4. Explain repetition of fashion.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
COURSE
SEMESTER
SUBJECT
UNIT
LECTURER NAME
:
:
:
:
II-B.SC (CDF)
III
FASHION CLOTHING AND PSYCHOLOGY
II
: N.MANIKANDAN
SYLLABUS
Part- A
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
New styles are shown by retailers and buyers.
Knock off fashion is a high fashion.
Fashion evolution shows the fashion cycle and length of cycles
Fashion resources and services are websites , directories and references
Historic and Ethnic costumes form the basis of Design.
Part - B
1.Explain briefly about - Fashion evolution – Fashion cycles, Length of cycles,
consumer groups in fashion cycles – fashion leaders, fashion innovators,
fashion motivation , fashion victim, fashion victims , Fashion followers
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
 What are the groups of Fashion Cycles.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
 What Are the Different ways to adopt to fashion
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
 What is Fashion Forecasting. Explain
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
 Discuss on the various fashion Shows and services.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
Part- C
 Explain on the Design Sources
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS
1. Explain briefly about - Fashion evolution – Fashion cycles, Length of cycles,
consumer groups in fashion cycles – fashion leaders, fashion innovators, fashion
motivation , fashion victim, fashion victims , Fashion followers .
2. write about the Adoption of Fashion – trickle down , trickle up and trickle across
theory
3. what is Fashion forecasting – market research , evaluating the collection , Fashion
services and resources
4. Write briefly about Design- Historic and ethnic costumes.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
COURSE
SEMESTER
SUBJECT
UNIT
LECTURER NAME
: II-B.SC (CDF)
: III
: FASHION CLOTHING AND PSYCHOLOGY
: III
: N.MANIKANDAN
SYLLABUS
Visual merchandising of fashion , types of displays – window displays , interior displays
, Elements of display – the merchandise , mannequins and forms , props , signage , lighting
Merchandising presentation – tools and techniques- back drop, forms, fixtures . Fashion
show- Definition , planning ,budgeting, location, timings, selection of models,
collection,set design ,music , preparing the commentary , rehearsal .
_______________________________________________________________________
Part – A
1.
Visual merchandising reinforces the sell-through of goods in the store.
2.
American retailers use display is a natural result of our past life style.
3.
Interior display is an integral part of the architectural design and floor plan of the
store.
4.
Mannequins are a mainstay of fashion displays.
5.
First and foremost in any visual presentation, is the merchandise
6.
Music and models are the largest expenses categories for shows.
Part - B
 Briefly Explain on Visual Presentation and the types of Displays
INTRODUCTION
Of course, Visual Merchandising is not limited to the major fashion retailers and their
windows but is used by every type of retail entry that offers apparel, accessories, or home
fashions, both outside and inside their retail environments.
Those who have walked through the selling floors of companies such as Crate & Barrel are
immediately treated to presentations of glassware, dinnerware, tableware, and decorative
accessories that often prompt them to make unplanned purchases. It's not the uniqueness of
the merchandise at Crate 8B Barrel that makes people want to buy it but the settings in
which the items appear. Williams - Sonoma, one of the leading purveyors of cooking
equipment and food presentation items, is another example of a store that uses exciting
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
visual presentations to transform even the most mundane products into settings that often
stimulate shoppers to make unplanned purchases.
With the competitive climate that every retail operation faces today and the "me-too"
aspect of the fashion industry, it is often the creative hands of a company's visual team that
set its environments and merchandise presentations apart from the rest with creative
displays that will help the store sell its merchandise.
A store's visual presentations are not always developed and installed by in-house teams but
can be done by others who either work as freelancers, if the store is part of a chain, or are
in the chain's central headquarters. Regardless of the arrangement, the visual elements that
the visual merchandisers deal with and the design principles they follow are the same
VISUAL MERCHANDISING OF FASHION
Visual merchandising reinforces the sell-through of goods in the store. Window
displays attract the customer into the store, while interior displays provide sales stimuli
inside the store. Windows are often highly creative theaters of fashion. Interior displays
are designed to blend with architectural elements and the floor plan of the store while
exciting the interest of the prospective customer. Visual merchandising employs basic
design principles, working with various materials and colors. While mannequins are often
used, the merchandise itself is often equally effective as a display. Interior display
combines fixtures, lighting effects, and signs to feature and promote the merchandise.
The display team works closely with buyers and the fashion director, who selects the
merchandise and supply fashion information. The success of a display effort is measured
by sales that result.
There is no waste in retail marketing. Merchants have learned to apply every ounce to
know how at their command to every inch of space - inside and outside the store - in order
to make that space cost-effective.
We have talked about advertising and the way the different media are used to bring
customers into the store and generate sales.
But the physical environment that contains the merchandise is the retailer's selling tool as
well from the design of the store's exterior to its windows and point of selling displays the
retailers employs Visual merchandising to communicate with the customer Visual
merchandising communicates the stores image, reinforces the stores advertising efforts
and prompts the need to buy impulse.
The way in which American retailers use display is a natural result of our past life style.
We are a society on the move.
In a large store, we find ourselves often overwhelmed by a bounty of merchandise,
wandering from one department to the next, bombarded with heaping doses of information
with each blink of the eye.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
From displays, we derive entertainment, style direction, and guidance, a rapidly
telegraphed message that says, "New color", "new silhouette," or "here's the way it's
accessorized this season."
Merchandising through Visual merchandising is the most dynamic route to sales. It is a
powerful form of show and tell, even though not a word is spoken.
It all begins on the street outside where pedestrians are converted to customers by
attractive, often spectacular window displays. If the passerby stops, looks, and is lured to
enter the store by what she or he has seen, the window has done its job.
Interior display picks up the visual seduction where the windows leave off, guiding our
steps to the various shops as we continue to register information born of visual impact.
When the prospective customer has finally halted at a destination, where the actual
merchandise is there to hold, to touch, to try on, it is the display merchandising that aids in
selection.
Fig. 5.1
Crate & Barrel uses the merchandise, instead of seasonal props, as the display's focal
point
TYPES OF DISPLAYS
Carol Troy, coauthor of Cheap Chic, a popular fashion guide of the seventies, wrote that
the real way to dress for success is to feel it from the inside, "because what is style all
about but wearing your insides on your outsides?' it can be said that the same applies to a
store's visual image. The store's fashion philosophy is evidenced in its displays, its
merchandise selection, its interior design, and even its housekeeping.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
When a customer walks into Bloomingdale's New York, the implicit message one receives
from the visual merchandising is "we are young and on the go - we are in the fashion
vanguard."
A few blocks west at Bergdorf Goodman, the message is unmistakably "Tasteful elegance
- top of the line - luxury."
The message is delivered by exploiting our emotions and our senses through threedimensional exterior and interior displays. Most of us are unaware that the influences on
our shopping behavior are orchestrated by experienced marketing professionals. This does
not necessarily mean that the customer is totally devoid of will. The finest visual
presentation on earth cannot create loyal customers if quality and value are missing.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
window
presentation
The excitement of this Marshal
often motivates shoppers to enter the store.
Field's
WINDOW DISPLAY
If you measure your attention span while standing before a window, you will find
that it is only a matter of seconds before you move on or enter the store - just as, when you
select a TV channel, if your interest is not engaged in those first crucial moments, you
switch channels.
The object of the window is to motivate you toward a closer look at the merchandise and
to plant the yearning to buy. The window tells a story that is constructed much like a news
article in that it employs the age old "five Ws"- who, what, why, when, where. It says, here
is the latest fashion; this is the way to put it together; this is where and when to wear the
look; this image that identifies your image.
All of this comes into play in window arrangements, from the simplest to the most
complex. But in addition to being informational, windows have become an art form which
at best reaches the level of theater or museum entertainment. Numbers of noted painters
and sculptors have been fascinated with window display as a medium for their talents.
Among them have been three whose work was seen in Bonwit Teller - the surrealist Dali;
and Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, founders of the Pop Art movement of the
1960s.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
Whether the window is fashion-oriented, institutional, or promotional in nature, it is most
successful when it adheres to a dominant theme.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
A single mannequin against seamless paper
A realistic setting peopled with a group of mannequins in action
A theatrical setting, an injection of fantasy and drama
Straight merchandise, glamorized with props rather than mannequins
Animation, as in holiday windows that draw crowds of viewers
Use of sculpture, fine painting reproductions, or art objects, for a touch of class
Media tie-ins with current films, stars, or best-selling books.
In most major urban areas, where pedestrian traffic is heavy, retail windows carry great
weight.
In suburban branch stores or malls where customers must enter the store through
underground parking areas or mall entrances, window space is usually limited. Here,
exterior display takes a back seat to interior display.
Windows are planned to integrate with their entire surroundings. The window designer
creates a "whole" rather than a fragment, taking into consideration the building facade, the
street and its people, and the relationships of perspective, color harmonies, lighting, and
viewing angle.
Fashion is a fast-turn business whose tempo can be unpredictable when quite suddenly a
trend emerges and sweeps over a region, quite oblivious to seasonal planning. The fashionaware public can easily size up a window that is out of pace with the times. The fashion
store must be prepared to "turn on a dime". Window displays stale quickly to the eyes of
frequent shoppers and require frequent changes, usually once a week.
INTERIOR DISPLAY
As the customer enters the store, displays continue to beat out the fashion
message. While windows are designed to top traffic, interior displays are designed to
guide the shopper to the point of sale. There are a number of ways for doing so, by way of
floor and shop displays, point-of-sale displays, signs, and fixturing.
Interior display is an integral part of the architectural design and floor plan of the store.
Display combines with traffic patterns to guide the customer through the store. Visual
merchandising enables the customer to select merchandise easily from what might
otherwise be a jumble of goods.
A window is rather like a tableau. It has boundaries within which the designer creates. The
interior display designer is not locked into a static area but must utilize existing space
directly on the selling floor at such strategic spots as the entrance, escalator and elevator
banks, and stairways where traffic is heaviest.
Interior displays must also be versatile, easily assembled and disassembled. The designer
avoids crowding or positioning that may create a safety hazard. Interiors are changed often
in order to continually stimulate sales. If necessary interior displays are changed as often
as twice a week, particularly in areas when sales are sluggish. This may entail moving new
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
merchandise forward, rearranging displays to give merchandise a fresh look, or placing
other merchandise at the rear of the department.
When setting up a display, the designer considers adjacencies, or the effect the display will
have on the department directly next to it. In each case, the best interior displays feature
merchandise above all, downplaying the props that could dilute the fashion statement the
store is trying to make.
Numbers of working people spend their lunch hours shopping in downtown stores, and
because their time is limited many of them never get beyond the ground floor. Stores
therefore merchandise the first level in order to stimulate impulse sales. This means that a
display on the ground floor assumes a great deal of importance. Many more merchandise
assortments are offered, and consequently there is a rapid turnover of goods. Displays are
changed often to synchronize with and reinforce the arrival of new goods.
Mannequins are a mainstay of fashion displays. Whether they are futuristic or realistic,
shoppers identify well with the dressed human form. Most large store invests in
This simple yet elegant interior display often motivates the shopper to take a closer
look at the merchandise
mannequins for interior and window display purposes
 Explain on the Elements of Display.
ELEMENTS OF DISPLAY
An outstanding window or interior display got that way because a true professional
designed it. If you admire a display and respond to it emotionally, there is reason for it.
The merchandise should be the first thing you see. But the overall color scheme, the
proportion and balance of the display affects you esthetically, just as a well-designed
painting or piece of sculpture would do.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
The designer-as-artist attempts to achieve the very ultimate in good design principles in
order to elicit your response. The display designer creates with these basic materials: the
all-important merchandise, mannequins, background textures, props, and lighting. In
assembling all this into a creditable piece of display work, basic design principles are
applied.
Whether or not you recognize them right off the bat, if you have done double take at an
exciting display, these principles are opening:
Color
Color is the most important element in the designer's arsenal. Harmony is achieved with
two or more colors that are similar. For instance, red and orange are related on the color
wheel because orange is a combination of red and yellow.
Line
Direction, implied by the stance of a mannequin or the shape of architectural background
elements, lends a mood. Diagonals suggest energy and motion. Horizontals imply
restfulness. Verticals are stately, strong. Conflict
Straight lines are played against curves, light values against dark, large-scale objects
against small. Without the element of conflict, design is washed out and boring.
Repetition
A color, shape or direction repeated in the display strengthens the impact of the whole. An
example might be six identical mannequin heads, each wearing a hat of the same model in
a different color, leaving no doubt about what item the store is promoting and the colors in
which it is available.
Dominance
Whether it is the classification of merchandise or a new color or fabric, one overriding
theme must be established in order to fortify the point being made.
Armed with good design principles, the visual-display designer proceeds to plan and stage
the display. The materials with which the display is created can be almost anything the
designer's imagination can summon, from common, mundane items to sophisticated
mannequins
 Explain on the term merchandising
THE MERCHANDISE
First and foremost in any visual presentation, is the merchandise the retailer wants to sell?
Too often those responsible for display forget that their goal is to present the merchandise
in the best possible way, and they proceed to develop concepts and themes that overpower
the fashions. The retailer is trying to sell merchandise, not props and background
materials.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
The visual planner should first meet with the buyer, or in the case of the small operation,
the freelancer should visit the store and speak to the owner, to examine the specific items
that are to be included in the display and decide on the proper vehicle for their promotion.
If the shopper cannot immediately determine what merchandise the display is selling, the
display is ineffective.
Most of the major fashion retailers have forms that the buyers complete when they send
merchandise to the visual m merchandising department. These forms include such
information about the items as material, construction, price, or other details that might play
a part in the window or interior presentation. If the actual merchandise isn't available, as is
often the case when preseason planning is essential, the buyers can send photographs,
drawings, and descriptions as substitutes.
Fashion merchandise is offered directly to prospective customers who go to store / shop to
enhance the buying. With labour cost continually increasing, the retailer must take
advantage of every opportunity to sell merchandise. Appropriate representation tools
placed correctly on selling floors and dressed properly are a successful silent sales force.
A primary goal of the fashion retailer is to create and maintain a quality fashion image.
Merchandise presented interestingly to the public can contribute greatly to both a shores
and a department's image. To achieve this goal, a retailer needs to remember how the
customer sees the store and the merchandise displayed in it. Each item of merchandise,
properly arranged is part of the image development process.
Consumers enjoy shopping in well-arranged departments that present the new fashion in a
"total look". The techniques can be achieved by careful use of mannequins or partial forms
to demonstrate the season's new styles in three dimensions.
Many experienced retailer suggest that a different version of the self look to be presented
every week so that the browser, gust by looking, shopper can look, learn and become
interested in specific merchandise. Repeated exposures of new designs are pleasing to style
conscious women and men. This new style urge will motive them to go to store more
often.
Fashion keeps on changing always in addition to urge of sell merchandise; it should also
provide current fashion information to the customer. The buyer and other department
associates should keep in mind that the customer understands fashion trends more quickly
when she sees a total look.
Of the art of elements, color is the finest to attract the viewer's eye. The well-planned
intentional use of colors almost literally carrier's customers graze across the merchandise.
The eye moves more quickly between related colors than between unrelated colors. For
occasions a better picture is created when the arranger starts with another color. For ex: as
Valentine's Day approaches, red is a reasonable color to feature.
The ultimate goal of merchandise is to help the customer make a satisfactory selection of
goods. Merchandise presentation on store fixtures should be effective silent sales people.
The arrangement with fixtures serve themselves, promote self selection and aid the
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
customer in finding desired items more quickly, resulting in quicker sales and increased
impulse buying.
Fig. 5.4
First and foremost, it is the merchandise that takes center stage in most visual
presentations.
MANNEQUINS AND FORMS
One need only look into the windows of the world's fashion emporiums to see the diversity
of mannequins that wear their clothing. Just as apparel designers and merchants take
different fashion directions, so do mannequin designers. Figures that feature men's,
women's and children's fashions run the gamut from the highly sophisticated models that
cost as much as $1,000, to those that are created by the store's visual tea.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
Mannequins are especially important to fashion retails that appeal to diverse
consumer markets.
The traditional models are still the most popular, but stylized versions are readily
available to fit the most unique requirement.
Fig. 5.6
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
Realistic mannequins are the mainstays of visual merchandisers
Those responsible for purchasing mannequins often approach their task with the
same enthusiasm and care exercised by the merchandise buyers. They must work within
the framework of a budget; consider the image of the company they represent; examine the
offerings of the marketplace; evaluate what is available in terms of quality, durability, and
flexibility; and make certain that final choices meet the merchant's needs. For example,
while athletically built male models might be quite fashionable, putting them in the
window or on the selling floor of a conservative men's store would not foster the store's
image or properly feature its merchandise.
The best way to purchase mannequin is by making market visits; perusing the
pages of such publications as Visual Merchandising & Store Design; logging onto such
Web sites as www.visualstore.com and www.storeexpo.com; or attending trade shows
such as Global Shop. Although catalogs showing a manufacturer's offerings provide some
indication of the mannequin's appearance, they do not provide enough to make meaningful
selections. It is important to make a careful physical examination of a form to determine if
it has the moveable parts that are necessary to facilitate merchandise changes, its weight,
the quality of its cosmetic applications and wigs, and other details.
The leading upscale mannequin manufacturer, Root stein, with showrooms around the
world, is the subject of the following Spotlight.
She's a genuine beauty. Six feet tall, with flaming red hair, she's built like a model, with
measurements of 32-24-34. She wears a size 8 dress and a 6 V2 B shoe. Sadly, her life
span is around two years, because she's merely a mannequin.
As they have recently been manufactured, mannequins so closely resemble their human
counterparts that coming upon them standing serenely on the sales floor evokes
momentary shock. And that was precisely the intention of their makers.
The faces of these mannequins are often modeled after real-life beauties, top runway
models well-known to the fashion industry. Makeup artists apply their lashes and lip color.
Hairstylists design their perfect wigs. Their joints are so perfectly articulated that they can
assume any human position. Dressed and shod, these super-real people mutely sell
merchandise.
Although in reality our bodies rarely reach the mannequin's level of perfection, our
fantasies are stirred as we visualize ourselves in their sensuous satin jumpsuits or brief
tennis shorts and matching shirts. For these are visions that money can buy.
Mannequins are a costly investment for the store, since they must be replaced or
refurbished every few years. As the vogue changes, new mannequins must be purchased to
reflect the fashion of the moment. As clothing silhouettes change, so must the body shapes
of the mannequins.
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In addition to full body forms, stores often use partial figures (busts or torsos),
floppy stuffed muslin or soft sculpture figures, cutouts, and dressmaker forms. Avantgarde fashion stores often use abstract molded figures. Hairless and featureless and tinted
to match the background colors.
 What are the different types of Displays used in Show Rooms.
Department display
Mannequins are one way of displaying merchandise. However, the items
themselves can be exhibited as an exciting display, hung against walls or placed in such a
way that they become design elements in themselves.
The merchandise which the customer sees upon entering a department has been quite
purposefully arranged in or on fixtures in such a way that it attracts the eye. This is a vital
aspect of visual merchandising, since it is where the sales are actually made.
"Fixturing" refers to free-standing floor units, wall projections, display cases, and bins and
shelving, which hold the merchandise. They are usually constructed of wood, glass,
Lucite, or chrome.
Fixtures are designed to provide neat and attractive display, allowing for ease of selection
and decision-making. Most are adjustable for rapid change in accommodating new
assortments of merchandise as they arrive in the store.
The classification of merchandise dictates the kind of fixturing that will be used.
Coordinates, for example, require floor racks on which they can be hung by color and
fabric groupings. Folded sweaters make the greatest visual impact displayed in shelves or
compartmented bins, arranged by color from dark to light or hot to cool shades.
The fixtures are positioned to draw the customer into the department and to facilitate
browsing. The newest and most exciting merchandise is generally displayed "upfront" or
at the entrance to the department, where it will be seen first. While clearance merchandise
is usually relegated to the rear of the department, a loss-leader sales fixture is sometimes
used up front to create interest and generate customer traffic.
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Mannequins are the single most important element in fashion display when
merchandise is featured in a realistic setting.
PROPS
It is rigid support or keeping position used to prevent falling or sagging. Once the
particular items have been selected and examined, it is time for the visual team to
determine how best to show them to shoppers. Some teams have large budgets that allow
them to purchase sophisticated and costly props. While these display pieces are often
elaborate and functional, they are not always the ones that generate the most excitement.
Household objects such as ladders and tables, antiques, and even items pulled from the
junk pile can effectively enhance the merchandise. Knowledgeable and creative visual
merchandisers know what is best suited for a particular display.
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Fig. 5.8
When fashion retailers wish to emphasize designer labels along with a patriotic
theme, they often use the American flag as their main prop.
The trade periodical Visual Merchandising and Store Design is an excellent up-tothe minute reference guide for materials and props.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
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The preparation of unique props for a major visual presentation requires the artistry
of talented craftspeople.
SIGNAGE
Merchants know that signs are their most direct form of communication with the
customer as well as a powerful method of in-store advertising. Signing delivers
information while conveying the image of the store. The graphics of the signs must blend
with the store's interior and exterior design, displaying a degree of uniformity. Above all,
signs must be attractive and useful to the viewer.
Signing refers to all the printed wording that carriers the store's message to the customer
and is embodied in all manner of shapes and forms, simple and elaborate.
On the face of the building exterior is the store's signature, or logo, stylized to establish an
identity. The same signature will be seen in reduced version on boxes, bags, store
stationer, and business cards.
In windows, signs reinforce a merchandising thrust in just a few well-chosen
words _ a designer's name, a slogan that has been widely used in store
advertising, or a popular catch phrase, such as "I Love New York".
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Permanent signs within the store identify shops that cany a particular classification of
merchandise or feature a particular designer or manufacturer, such as "Izod" or Ralph
Lauren."
Printed wall signs, freestanding signboards, and countertop signs announce special events,
sales, or store services.
In creating a sign, the designer thinks about content, graphic design, and positioning.
Artists are employed to create backdrop signage for use in special displays where
mass-produced elements are inappropriate.
Content
The fewer words used to get the message across the better. A sign's language is composed
with as much care as good advertising copy, clearly stated, and edited down to its essence
so that the shopper can absorb it in a short period of time.
Design
The graphic design of a sign refers to its lettering style, color, and the material of which it
is constructed. The final product must be suitable to the area in which it is placed. For
example, permanent signing for a children's department could be lower-case block letters c
raved of wood, painted in primary red, yellow, and blue, and affixed to a prominent wall.
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Positioning
Signs are posted with regard to traffic patterns in the store, considering where customers
are most likely to pause.
Both lettered and constructed signs are created in the sign shops of large stores. Smaller
operations without the means to produce signs in-store must seek independent signmakers.
The most experienced hands who craft and letter signs are attuned to the nuances of type
face and color. Input comes from the fashion director or visual display director to insure
that current trends are reflected and that some semblance of conformity is maintained
throughout the store.
Valuable impulse sales are made via point-of-sale installations (sometime referred to as
point of purchase, or POP). Prime examples are supermarkets and mass marketers or
discounters, where racks of candy, magazines, batteries, cigarette lighters, and a myriad of
other small necessities are displayed at the checkout counters, with the maker's name
prominently displayed alongside or on the display unit.
In the sophisticated department and specialty stores, the presentation is most subtle, but the
purpose is the same. The shopper may find small racks of merchandise set on display cases
related to the department classification. For example in the blouse section, racks might
hold accessories like silk ties. In active weak baskets filled with bright terry stretch
headbands or sport socks would stimulate multiple sales at the point of purchase.
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The use of the Faconnable "signature" lends a personal touch to the flagship store's
interior
LIGHTING
The narrow intensive beam of light that settles on a fashionably dressed mannequin
accentuates and dramatizes it is nothing else can. The tiny, sparkling bulbs that grace the
majestic Christmas trees at holiday time in store windows and interiors transform the most
mundane displays into enchanting presentations. The exciting dimension attained with the
use of artistically crafted neon designs turn interior spaces into lively sales arenas. With
comparatively little expenses, lighting has been successfully used by visual merchandisers
to enhance otherwise unexciting displays.
Before fashion merchants select the lighting that will become part of their windows and
interior environments, they must first assess what they want the lighting to do by focusing
on the following goals:
•
•
•
•
Attract attention
Create a mood
Enhance the store's image
Provide flexibility.
Once retailers have established their goals, the store designers, in consultation with the
visual merchandising experts, choose from the many available lighting sources and
systems install the types that best suit their needs.
The plans should include general lighting designed for overall illumination and accent
lighting that highlights specific targets, such as mannequins. Different light sources make
the lighting both functional and mood setting. These include fluorescent lighting, the
narrow cylindrical tubes that offer a great deal of light at little expense; incandescent,
which are available as both spotlights that pinpoint specific targets and floodlights that
provide general, overall illumination; fiber optics, which offer cool light such as those
needed to show diamonds and other gems; energy savers such as high-intensity discharge
bulbs, which produce more light per watt than any of the other forms of lighting; neon, a
flexible offering that sculptors can use to create unusual designs; and halogen lamps,
which is ideal for dramatic, intense lighting.
The systems that can deliver these light sources include track lighting, which offers a great
deal of flexibility; recessed fixtures, which house both spotlights and floodlights; and
many types of decorative fixtures, such as chandeliers, that help to set a mood or create
and impression.
Good light is crucial to display: too bright, and there is a garish glare; the lighting
competes with the merchandise. Not bright enough, and the display fades into the
background. Most stores prefer to under light rather than over light, partly as a cost-saving
measure. But a proper balance must be struck.
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A variety of lighting techniques are used to highlight a display: floodlights at the base of
the display, track lighting overhead, or even strobe or colored lights.
Colorful neon lighting is costly, but produces a spectacular effect in a trend shop,
especially when used in conjunction with the strobe lights which pulse in unison with the
beat of piped-in rock music.
Recessed ceiling lighting creates the necessary mood for upscale shopping
 Discuss on the different types of merchandising presentations.
INTRODUCTION TO MERCHANDISING PRESENTATION
Particular emphasis is placed on fashion merchandise as it is offered directly to
prospective customers who go to store "to shop.... Perchance to buy." At this stage of
product distribution, articles have been selected by a buyer, send via established
distribution channels to the retail outlet, priced and delivered to the selling floor.
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES OF MERCHANDISING PRESENTATION
In this chapter, particular emphasis is placed on fashion merchandise as it is offered
directly to prospective customers who go to a store "to shop... perchance to buy." At this
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stage of product distribution, articles have been selected by a buyer, sent via established
distribution channels to the retail outlet, priced, and delivered to the selling floor.
Techniques
With labor costs continually increasing, the retailer must take advantage of very
opportunity to sell merchandise. Appropriate presentation tools placed correctly on selling
floors and dressed properly are a successful silent sales force. A primary goal of the
fashion retailer is to create and maintain a quality fashion image. Merchandise presented
interestingly to the public and contribute greatly to both a store's and a department's image.
To adhere this goal, a retailer needs to remember how the customer sees the store and the
merchandise displayed in it. Each item of merchandise, properly arranged, is part of the
image development process.
Total Look
Customers enjoy shopping in well-arranged departments that present the new
fashions in a "total look". This technique can be activated by careful use of mannequins or
partial forms to demonstrate the season's new styles in three dimensions. Using
mannequins or partial forms will require salespeople to pull together the needed
accessories that accent or highlight the actual items for sale in that specific department.
Many experienced retailer suggest that a different version of the fashion look be presented
every week so that the "stroller", "browser" and the "just looking" shopper can look, learn,
and become interested in specific merchandise. Repeated exposures to new lines and new
designs are pleasing to style conscious women and men. They are likely to become paying
customers because they want something new. This "new style urge" will motivate them to
go to a store more often than when their closets indicate a shortage of clothing.
Because fashion is constantly changing, the retailer should feel a constant urgency not
only to sell merchandise but also to provide current fashion information to the customer. A
good way to offer this education is to be fastidious in the "picture stories" provided within
the department. The buyer and other department associates should keep in mind that the
customer understands fashion trends more quickly when she sees a total look. Just looking
at a smart ski outfit doesn't inform a sports-minded customer how to dress. Looking at a
smart ski outfit on a mannequin wearing a ski helmet, palm-lined gloves, and ski boots
provides a clearly understood style message.
Colorizing
Be constantly aware of the force of color. Of the art elements, color is the first to
attract the viewer's eye. The well-planned, intentional use of colors almost literally carries
a customer's gaze across the merchandise. The eye moves more quickly between related
colors than between unrelated color. And a harmonizing arrangement of color is created by
a juxtaposed placement of merchandise with related colors. One should refer to the color
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THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
wheel to maintain chromatic consistency. With merchandise in a wide range of colors,
merchandise arrangers could start the merchandise on the left with yellows, then proceed
to oranges, reds, violets, and blues ending with greens on the right.
With the color wheel opened at yellow, this becomes the lead color for the merchandise on
the fixture, with green the final one. If merchandise is in neutral colors, light ones can be
placed next to the yellows and dark ones next to the greens. As will all display guidelines,
however, variation from color rules can sometimes build interest. Rigid adherence can
only lead to monotony, building a negative influence on both customers and sales people.
For some occasions a better picture is created when the arranger starts with another color.
For example, as Valentine's Day approaches, red is a reasonable color to feature. Lead
items on all fixtures could have a tint of red, with colors proceeding around the wheel,
ending with orange.
The wheel can be entered at any color. An arranger then easily moves from that color to
the next most closely related color in stock, continuing until all stock colors have been
included.
Self-selection by Customer
Color catches the customer's eye, but the presentation of the merchandise should be
equally appealing so that the customer is drawn to it. The ultimate goal is to help the
customer make satisfactory selection of goods. Because sales personnel are not always
available, merchandise presentation on store fixtures should be effective silent sales
people.
Four major factors influence customers as they make preliminary selections: color, design
features, size and price. Fixtures with merchandise first grouped by color, then by size
effectively show design features. This arrangement helps customers serve themselves, and
fixtures that promote more self-selection aid the customer in finding desired items more
quickly, resulting in quicker sales and increased impulse buying.
Fixtures that encourage self-selection generally have the capacity to contain, a great deal
of merchandise, which results in most of the stock being advantageously housed on the
selling floor. It is especially important to have merchandise accessible during sales as well
as during other peak traffic periods. When adequate stock is available to the customer in
self-selection format sales productivity increases; that is, sales per square foot increases,
resulting in higher profits.
BACKDROP
Background art is a part of the display picture that is retained for longer periods of time.
Backgrounds may be changed only four times a year-at the major seasonal change periods.
However, specific merchandise being displayed should change frequently - if possible,
every 10 to 14 days. At all times it is good to keep in mind that customers expect
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THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
something "new and different" whatever they scroll through the store. Their expectations
lead them to make trips to a fashion department more often, thereby increasing sales.
BACK WALLS
Walls serve as backdrops, providing a dramatic environment comparable to a
decorated setting the upstage (rear) part of a stage set. On the walls the name of the
department should be clearly visible to store traffic from as far away as 50 yards. Tied in
with the department name should be seasonal additions. Examples of seasonal additions
are:
In the fall, implications of fall colors, football games, cool-weather sports, harvest themes
In the winter, artistic suggestions to snow skiing, sledding, ice skating, for an upscale
appeal slated to cruise patrons, swimwear, evening wear and sun sports.
In the spring, warm-weather looks shown in motifs of outdoor games, picnics, traveling
south for spring break, picking spring flowers.
In the summer, a holiday atmosphere expressed by implying travel, outdoor activity, beach
pleasures, school vacations, or international jet travel.
Often the back wall in an apparel department can be retained throughout one season. Swim
shops that are set up in March, for example, can be retained with minor alterations until
July.
SIDE WALLS
Side walls also can be likened to the elements of a stage set but can be more
intimately arrange, with prime visual appeal to customers with specific interests in one
department. Visibility to casual shoppers in other store areas can be much less significant.
These walls should be part of the weekly or biweekly merchandise change and should tie
in as closely as possible with fashion attire being specifically "lime lighted". Side walls of
a sportswear department are extensions of back walls with their scenic motifs. They should
integrate mannequins or partial forms into the viewing area.
When the back walls and side walls are designed and arranged for display, one general
theme should be established in order to create and maintain harmony in the minds of the
customers. With unity established forceful impact can be achieved.
Some retailers take a more aggressive approach to the use of walls and turn them into
fixtures that hold as well as display the merchandise. Display wall systems can utilize
almost every inch of wall space.
LEDGES AND THE TOPS OF SHELVES
Taking advantage of the space on ledges and shelf tops can add a visual dimension to wellarranged walls. It should be pointed out that on most ledges, shelves, and cases displays
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NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
can be effective even when they are above eye level. When space allows, these projecting
elements can accommodate mannequins or partial forms that display promoted
merchandise in realistic environments. Where space is at a premium ledges are effective
when they hold decorative items such as seasonal greenery placed in front of a wall
decoration or behind a suspended element. The combination of near and far elements and
stable and moving elements can enliven the visual environment of a department. Use of
ledges can be very inexpensive; for example, leaves or chrysanthemums can be pleasingly
arranged in front of an autumn football scene in a sportswear department. Later in the year,
Christmas greenery can replace the leaves. As spring arrives, early-bicoming flowers or
small azaleas are effective and inexpensive. At all times of the year ledges are ideas for
interweaving the artistic with the real. For example, when a snow skiing motif if shown in
one dimension on side wall, a ski lift print could be attached to the back wall. On the
ledge, a set of real skis would add authenticity and three dimensional appeals along with
the skiwear merchandise.
FORMS
As one moves from the background to the selling floor, presentation tools become more
specifically related to the merchandise.
MANNEQUIN
Of all the presentation tools mannequins are the most popular. Built in a variety of
human forms. Mannequins can trigger customer's imaginations, causing them to visualize
themselves wearing the merchandise. Also mannequins can be completely accessorized to
provide a total look. They can be used singly or in groups. Currently, most stores use them
in groups to strengthen specific fashion statements.
In recent years, mannequins have been designed in wider varieties of the human form
representing a spectrum of ages, different races, body builds, and recreational interests.
Mannequins come in basically three types: realistic, semi-realistic and abstract. The type
used should be determined on the basis of store image and type of merchandise to be
displayed. It is important for anyone responsible for purchasing mannequins to consider
the appear of each one under consideration, and also to keep in mind at all times the
desired image of the store or department. The total impact of the selling unit should guide
the selection; mannequins have become quite expensive, and each mannequin must
provide an impression of appropriateness and quality.
Merchandise worn by mannequins in the department should be located adjacent to the
display. The location is important so that browsers can easily move from the mannequins
that created the fashion impression directly to the displayed items. Easy access to the
fashion articles that are dramatically displayed can mean faster inspection of the
merchandise and increased sales.
Price tags should be hidden when the merchandise is displayed so there are no distractions
cluttering the garment lines for the customer. Having extra stock in clear view quickly
provides answers to customers' question. In this manner, sales are part of continuous flow
of action from first attraction to fast sale. Experience has shown that a customer who is
responsive to a display - often a mannequin - quickly develops an affirmative reaction to
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THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
the apparel and is ready to consider buying the item even before the sales person
approaches.
PARTIAL FORMS
If mannequins prove too expensive or if space will not accommodate them, partial
forms can be used. They do not permit the complete fashion look, since they represent only
portions of the human form, but they offer a more realistic presentation of the merchandise
than a hanger can provide. Partial forms may be adequate to show a jacket, a coordinated
blouse, and appropriate neckwear, a skirt-belt, and handbag can be placed next to the form.
They are also effective where space is limited, such as on a small ledge or the top of a
shelf.
Various styles of partial forms
BODY FORMS
Still less expensive and requiring less display space are various types of body
forms, which are effective on ledges, cases, and furniture. They are excellent tools for
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displaying merchandise in a boutique setting within a department and in specialty stores.
Body forms are available in a variety of materials with rattan being very popular.
Metal forms of chrome are neutral in mood and more versatile for display. More updated
display tools are the stylized forms. Updated and somewhat more animated are the flexible
forms.
Plastic forms are flexible and adjustable and may be more desirable for certain merchandise and
situations. Swimsuits are a natural for plastic forms.
Body forms
MANNEQUIN ALTERNATIVES
Wide varieties of other mannequin alternatives are available and may be a more economical choice
for some stores. Some alternatives are dress forms, soft-sculpture mannequins, inflatable and
cutout figures.
Part- C
 Discuss on the Fashion Show.
INTRODUCTION OF FASHION SHOW
What better way is there for retailers to dramatically present the latest styles to their
customers than with a fashion show? While other devices may bring excitement to the
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NEHRU COLLEGE OF ATRS AND SCIENCE
THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
retail arena, few incorporate the company's merchandise in the presentation as well as
fashion shows. Ranging from formal events that demand the attention afforded
professional theater and require significant budgets to t he fashion "parades" that merely
employ simple runways and recorded music, fashion shows may be produced for every
retailer's budge and audience.
FASHION SHOW - DEFINITION
A fashion show is the presentation of merchandise on a living. It presents the
merchandise on a real person and, therefore, gives a true presentation of the goods as they
look when worn, a good fashion shows is a dramatic entertaining story about how to look
and how to wear the newer styles the market has to offer it look the viewer what to wear
and when to wear it, and it demonstrates correct accessorization. At its best the fashion
show embellishes the dream that the viewer can look as attractive as the models and have
as much personality. It animates the apparel.
A fashion show is the promotional vehicle par excellence for better goods and the newest
fashion ideas. Because new fashions are a type of innovation, they require that the person
proceed through the various stages of the innovation process. Shows are excellent tools to
use for persuasion, the second stage of the innovation process, because they can involve all
the viewer's senses in a mood setting event.
PLANNING THE FASHION SHOW
The character of the show will depend on the target audience's fashion interests,
age, and income level. The store image and the time of year are also important
considerations in planning. In deciding whether the store should give a fashion show, it is
important to ask about the size of group and how many members will attend the show.
Management should determine if the groups are seriously interested in fashions, what their
income level is, what their ages and occupations are, and where they live in relation to the
store, since most customers shop miles of their home. A show should never be given just
to be with a community group.
WORKING OUT THE THEMES
The fashion show director must be highly innovative in working a theme that is
fashion exiting and stimulate the staff to help create a great show. She or he can develop
further details by being active in the community and constantly watching people and their
habits. A director benefits from being involved in music, museums, travel, theater, radio,
and television. The New York Metropolitan Museum's exhibits of clothing are a "must
visit" for fashion directors as well as buyers. Such experiences will guide the director to a
feasible and exciting show theme that fits the audience, the clothing to be shown, and the
budget.
Department stores often feature back to school shows. The director's task is to create a
new, excising back to school idea to stimulate everyone on the staff.
LENGTH OF THE SHOW
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
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The maximum length of a show should be about 45 minutes so that the entire
event, including introductions and closing remarks, is no more than 50 to 60 minutes. A
show of this length would be very large and prestigious. Usually a show is 20 to 30
minutes including the welcome. This amount of time is appropriate for in-store and small
room shows.
BUDGETING THE FASHION SHOW
The fashion director must plan a six month budget to include scheduled shows
based on the previous years' expenses, on new commitments by management, and on
creative ideas that develop later. The six month budget is an estimate prepared as far as
twelve months in advance of the shows. More exact expense estimates are necessary when
a specific show is being planned. A checklist of expense items is helpful in establishing a
realistic budget to avoid omitting any potential expenses. An accurate record of each
shows expenses is necessary for future planning.
Considering all these expenses, it is apparent that a small, simple in store show could
easily cost at least $500 not including the value of store personnel who help with the show.
Any show away from the store will cost a minimum of $1,000 and a large show could cost
$8,000 to $20,000. Analysis of the expense categories of a fashion show budget indicates
that shows can be expensive. Advance planning and skillful coordination can aid in budget
control.
Music and models are the largest expenses categories for shows. The size of the show
determines other expenses such as dancers, photographers, and advertising. When printed
programs, tickets, food and table decorations are
needed, the outside group benefiting from the show often shares in the expenses. Groups
that sponsor these events may also be able to obtain a lower fee for the auditorium use
when the show is for charity.
CHOOSING THE LOCATION
The fashion show can be in the store or out of the store. There are advantages to
both location and each one presents special problems.
IN STORE SHOWS
The fashion show held in the store has the advantage of getting the customer closer
to the merchandise. It brings customers in to see and touch the fashions, thus making it
easy to fulfill their desire for the merchandise. The customers can shop immediately after
the show with the show merchandise being available to them very easily and quickly. The
department or the shop may need to add sales people on the show day to handle the
expected customers. Customers who are aware of the show, but cannot attend, will often
come to the store during the day to examine the merchandise.
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Fashion shows run the gamut from formal productions to runway parades.
In a department store, the show may be held in an adjoining area to allow the
department sponsoring the fashion show to remain in selling order. A show can be so
disruptive that if this is not done, selling efforts could be hindered for the day of the show.
Pushing away a clothes and the crowding of garments can make customer shopper quite
difficult. Paradoxically, a smaller group can result in more than an overflow audience
because sales people can concentrate on interested customers and complete more sales.
Regardless of the size of the audience or store, a show creates excitement for customers
and usually increases for several days after the event.
Restaurant space in larger stores can be useful at times when it is not normally occupied.
The setting can be pleasant and disrupt the regular selling departments. Tearoom modeling
can disruptive and irritating to some diners; therefore, the model should know when to
speak to patrons having lunch or tea and when should smile and move to the next table.
The model must know the name of the manufacturer of the garments. He or she should be
familiar about the fabrication, the fiber content, and especially the price as well as the
additional ways to use accessories. An evening show can be advantageous for a specialty
store because it does not interrupt the day's sales and so the time is convenient for
customers who are employed during the day.
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Randolph Duke fashion show at Neiman Marcus.
OUT-OF-STORE SHOWS
For out-of-store shows a coordinated effort with an important organization in the
area that acts as a fund raiser for charities will support the optimum audience. Shows for
large groups can be in hotel ballrooms, theatres, country clubs, school auditoriums or other
public areas. The size of the place determines the size of the audience the store can expect,
and will also influence whether the show will be on a platform runway, or stage. Building
or renting runways can be expensive and time consuming but may be necessary in order
for the viewers to see the fashions easily. The location should be chosen carefully.
It is important to attract customers into the store after the show otherwise the excitement
from the show may not be translated into sales. To accomplish this, many stores use a gift
offer for the fashion aware customer: a typical gift could be from the cosmetic department.
The facilities for dressing models will frequently be poor in out of store locations. There
can be inadequate lighting very few mirrors and dirty floors and ledges. Working space
can be so minimal that easy movement is limited. All of this can be very damaging to the
garments. An alert and caring fashion director will be aware of this flaw and make sure the
models and assistants are advised to be careful. The distance between the dressing area and
the stage will have an effect on the number of models needed because of the extra time
required to walk to the stage and then return to the dressing area. Such walking time to
costly because it results in the need for more models.
TIMING OF THE FASHION SHOW
Timing is just as important to merchandising a show as location is to the store. It
has been said that the three most important factors in reading are location! Location!
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Location! Success in getting good attendance may be because of timing! Timing! Timing!
The time of year, the day of the week, and the time of day should be planned thoughtfully
for all fashion shows. Records should be kept of good and poor attendance results, and
these should be discussed with others who have experience in fashion shows.
CHOOSING THE BEST TIME OF YEAR
Merchandise must be shown ahead of the consumer need and the timing must
correspond with the receipt of goods in the store. The date of the show will be determined
by arrival of new inventory and the needs of the group sponsoring the show. Timing
around major events in the region that require fashion apparel can result in measurable
sales. Size able evens where people dress up are occasions to consider for timing a fashion
show. Such events can include the opening of the symphony and opera season. Mardi gras,
and the Kentucky Derby. The show should be scheduled for enough in advance to attract
customers before they make their fashion purchases elsewhere. If these shows are timed
too close to the event, it can be too late for the best sales result.
Fall is an excellent time for fashion shows involving women, because new, creative
designs abound each fall and cooler weather permits the use of many fabrics including
heavier wools. Customers are ready for newness and fresh colors at this time of year.
August and September are goods times to feature fall shows. Back-to-school shows
appealing to high school and college students must be timed within a three-week period
prior to the starting date of most classes. High school shows can be given three week
ahead; a college show appealing to students moving onto a local campus could be given
during orientation week. Also remember that many purchases will have been made before
students arrive for the college term. It is important to remember that opening dates for
local school systems vary greatly and colleges vary opening dates as much as six weeks.
Planners should consider sports event dates and the dates of home games for shows
involving school age groups and their parents.
If careful planning is done, festive in-store holiday shows can be very suParents and
friends came to watch the teens use their newly acquired skills while it was time to buy
fashions for holiday parties. The attendance was excellent and appreciable interest was
created, resulting in added sales for the store. The November date was good because it was
not too close to Christmas and New Year's. Shows too near the holidays can be disruptive
to the store's selling staff, already busy at this time due to heavy store traffic.
Merchandising for spring is based on Easter time, which varies from year to year. A spring
show should be planned four to six weeks prior to Easter. Because customers nowadays
buy fashions nearer the occasion, a four-week interval may be more suitable than the sixweek interval of past years. If the date of Easter is later than usual, it is a good idea to have
the show earlier than four weeks before the holiday because customers begin to buy when
the weather becomes warmer. The National Retail Federation calendar gives a spread of
four years of the changing dates of holidays that is important to use in planning.
Summer shows are often held in late April or early May. A show in this season can be
difficult, but it is of special interest because customers want to know how to keep cool and
fresh looking in the summer. Transitional looks in darker colors and cooler fabrications
should also be shown.
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A difficult time for a good merchandise presentation is the first week in January. Much of
the stock is limited to clearances, spring merchandise is in broken sizes because of holiday
gift buying, and the percentage of new and fresh merchandise is low. The best type of
presentation at this times would be a talk on fashions for midwinter vacations, using one or
two models.
CHOOSING THE BEST DAY
To determine the best day of the week for a fashion show, the show director should
observe the people's habits in the locality. Tuesday can be good for a big audience fashion
show because of its situation between weekends. In some college towns, weekend shows
would not be practical because students are not present. Saturday can be a poor choice,
because mothers of children are not free, and working women may not want to attend an
event on their day off. It is worthwhile to check the stores records for the size of previous
audiences and obtain information from others in fashion retailing.
CHOOSING THE BEST TIME OF DAY
To decide what time of day to give a fashion show planners should ask the
question. "For whom is the show being given? For mothers who do not work outside the
home, a morning or early afternoon show will allow shopping time before they leave the
store to pick schoolchildren. This type of show needs to end by 2:00 pm or earlier.
For women who work outside the home, a show immediately after work or later in the
evening can be successful. The timing for designer or upscale fashion shows is not rigid:
the customer is more accommodation because she may not work or is an executive with a
flexible schedule. A designer show can be held in the late morning (for example, 11:00) or
mid-afternoon if it ends by 4:00. A luncheon at 12:00 and a show at 1:00 make efficient
use of scheduling. The starting time and length of the show are important because most
women are busy and many have appointments or other plans for the afternoon. A very
special evening show can begin at 8:00.
In summary, the time of year, month, day and hour for a fashion show depend on
community events, locality, and weather. The show director should consult the people
involved when working with a group and consult store personnel and customers. Timing,
when well planned can be most important in delivering the maximum audience and
satisfaction sales.
SELECTION OF MODELS
A fashion director should have modeling experience or training because the
director will do much of the training of the models. She or he must be involved in the arts
available in the community and should have the benefit of extensive cultural experiences.
Attending every fashion show possible when in the garment market is a must. The director
looks for newness and trends in such attributes as postures. It is also helpful to study
walking character, hand placement, posture attitudes, and hair styles. The New York
International Films for Model produces a film of runway shows that can be purchased to
help update the looks and postures of the store's models.
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 WHERE TO FIND MODELS?
Schools and colleges can be sources of models. Friend, customers and job
applicants can also be considered. Models previously used by the store may suggest others.
Dance schools for younger people often can provide candidates. Suitable employees could
be held in reserve and used when other models are unavailable. Since these employees
have other responsibilities in the store, fashion directors should not take advantage of their
time.
Advertising for a specific type of model, such as large-size women, can bring hundreds of
applicants. Ten of the applicants could be selected for a special training session in order
for the store to have a professional-looking large-size show. They will need training in
makeup and hair styling as well as in modeling techniques. These ten trained models can
fill a significant need in the fashion department for several years.
 HOW TO SELECT MODELS?
When the potential model arrives for the interview, the fashion director observes
how she walks. This will indicate if the individual possesses the poise required
for the runway. She must have self-confidence in order to show clothes to the best
advantage. Does she have a pleasant, friendly expression? Is her complexion clear and
attractive? If the feeling is positive, the director should look at how the person shows his or
her clothes and at what can be done with the hair styling to update the model's look.
A model's hair must be relatively easy to manage and well cared for. If the female models
hair is long. How can it be brought up off of the neck? It is important to remember that the
store is planning to sell clothes, not hair styling. A good test of the model's attitude could
be the answer to "What are you going to do to bring the hair up?' modeling is important to
the retailer, and models must be willing to do whatever is asked of them so that they are
most attractive in front of an audience. The model must be able to wear clothes from store
stocks and to wear more than one size.
The fashion director should observe the neatness and cleanliness of the prospecting model.
It is very important that clothes are always carefully protected so that damages will not
result in expensive repairs. Models must be constantly aware of this and of any damages or
soil from makeup left on the clothes. A professional model takes care of the store's clothes.
TYPES OF MODELS
A store should develop a group of models who can perform professionally, a group
who know what to do. They should promptly follow directions, know how to accessorize,
know how to take care of the store's clothes, know how to appear on the runway, and be
able to assist with less experienced models. Good models assist at fittings, provide their
makeup, and style their hair appropriately. Some of them can become part-time assistants
when extra help is needed to produce a show. A department store fashion director will
want to build a list of professional models to include the following types:
Several models size 4, 6 and 8 in the 23 to 45 age group. Most will be 25 to 35 years old.
A 23 year old must look mature enough to wear designer clothes. The size of the shows
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given will determine the number of models needed. If large shows are given, a list of 20 to
30 models will be needed.
Two size 10 and 12 women ages 25 to 45.
A size 14 or 16 woman who has a good clothes figure. Many in the audience will relate to
her. a plus-size model who relates well to an audience can "steal" the show.
One grey or white-haired woman, age 55 to 60, with a young appearance.
Several junior models ages 15 to 19. Six to eight models will take care of most shows. An
important show such as the Seventeen shows will require a larger selection of models.
One petite model - 5'4 inches or under.
One group of dancers to use in more elaborate shows. These can also be used as junior
models.
In addition to age and size, models must vary in "look" or personality. A store's pool of
models needs to include, at a minimum the following looks:
One ingenue or "girl-next-door" look.
Two high-fashions or couture looks.
One bright-eyed, energetic look with her own personal style.
No model will be available at all times, so the director should continually look for
additional models. The type or theme of a show can also eliminate several models that do
not have the right look or age.
Just like the department stores, a small store giving shows requiring five to six models will
need a list consisting of ten to twelve models varying in size and age. Stores should use
models who can wear two or more sizes and who are the store's customer type. If the show
is for working women, it should not use teenage models who might never shop in the
store.
 Explain on the criterias for fashion show.
COLLECTION FOR THE FASHION SHOW
The director is working on show ideas; she can often receive good suggestions
from sales personnel and department managers and can suggest ideas casually when she is
surveying the merchandise available.
The merchandise should be checked at least three weeks before the show for missing looks
and fashion items previously discussed with the buyers. The buyers should then inform the
fashion director if the merchandise is on order and confirm the estimated delivery as
necessary adjustments can be made if deliveries are unreliable.
The fashion director should make a list of the newest designs, fabrics, textures, and colors
she wants to show. The kind of merchandise will depend on the type of show and the
audience. Most of the merchandise show will be the most exciting fashion pieces available
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that will appeal to the show audience. The price points of clothes and accessories should
comparable
Garments should be selected that do not need alterations. Because the alteration
department will be busy enough with the minor problems and pressing the clothes.
Because models must wear stock sizes, and should be taken to select the best possible
garments for each mood. Many shows use dancers, who wear clothing from the store while
dancing.
Fashion show worksheet that is easy to use and gives the director information for
completing the accessory selections and finalizing the lineup. This method provides
guidance for writing the commentary and aids in compiling the security data required by
most department stores when merchandise is away from the department of the store. This
date is also given to each department involved so that the sales personnel know which
garments and accessories are in the show. Sizes are also included in the salespersons
information for when customers inquire about merchandise that appeared in the show.
SELECTING THE SET DESIGN
Set design becomes part of the theme and should be related to the show especially,
in the first and last scenes. The director should work with the display department for the
best set design that is within the budget and the time limitations of the employees. Most
shows use the same set design throughout the show. Complicated changes may be creative
but may not be worth the time and expense involved.
For in-store and small shows, a simple folding screen is appropriate. Like plants and
blooming flowers are colorful, enlivening, and chic. The flowers can reflect the colors of
the season or repeat accent colors used in the store. There should be enough flowers to
make a strong statement. This is especially attractive for smaller stores' shows. When there
is a natural setting for a show, a constructed backdrop may not be necessary.
SELECTING THE MUSIC
Ideas for music that support the show's theme will also come from involvement the fashion
market. Selecting music is difficult it must be upbeat but not interfere with the
concentration of the audience or distract attention from the models and the merchandise.
The music should be somewhat familiar so that the customers will identify with the sounds
and thereby feel part of the event. There are various popular sounds and rhythms that can
be used. The models need a fairly strong beat in order to walk smoothly. For example, a
denim show held in a mall used an album of country and western music played by a
leading symphony orchestra. The music moved from song to song without disrupting the
flow of the show, and the sounds of the instruments and familiar tune appealed to
everyone.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
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SUGGESTED QUESTIONS
1. Explain Visual merchandising of fashion.
2. Explain briefly about the types of displays – window displays , interior displays.
3. Define the Elements of display – the merchandise , mannequins and forms , props ,
signage , lighting
4. What are all the Merchandising presentation – tools and techniques- back drop,
forms, fixtures .
5. Write about the Fashion show- Definition , planning ,budgeting, location, timings,
selection of models, collection,set design ,music , preparing the commentary ,
rehearsal .
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COURSE
SEMESTER
SUBJECT
UNIT
LECTURER NAME
: II-B.SC (CDF)
: III
: FASHION CLOTHING AND PSYCHOLOGY
: 1V
: N.MANIKANDAN
SYLLABUS
Understanding Fashion designer – types – classicist, idealist, influenced, realist, thinking
poet. Indian Fashion designers –Haute couture – Rohit Khosla, Gitanjal kashyap , hemant
Trivedi, J.J Valaya ,James ferrerira, Ritu Kumar ,Rohit bal, Tarun Tahiliani MinimalistsHimanshu and sonali sattar , sangeethe Chopra, Wendell Rodricks.
Village India- Bhamini Subramaniam, Anju modi, Indiar, Broker, Madhu Jain.
Studio line – Bhairavi jaikishan ,Kishan Mehta ,Ravi Bajaj ,Ritu beri, Rockys.
_______________________________________________________________________
Part- A
1. Idealist are unconcerned about the growth of fashion industry.
2. Realist are the role models for influenced designers.
3. Classicist are types of designers produce design following the traditional designs,
colors, silhouette and other design details like embroidery, bead work, etc.
4. Poetic regard his consumer as an extension of his creativity.
5. Rohit Hosla is one of the Indian Fashion Designer.
6. Ritu Kumar is the most shining personality of Indian Fashion Designer.
Part- B
 Explain about the Fashion designer – types – classicist, idealist,
influenced, realist,thinking poet.
INTRODUCTION TO FASHION DESIGNER
We were talking about the favorite designer. The challenge is to create a range
of apparel that is as fresh as it is innovative, season after season looks at the human form
with a new attitude each time. Fashion is an applied art as it involves technical. Yet, I don't
believe in creating fashion as purely an art form. Clothes are meant to enhance the body in
the most beautiful way possible. Fashion is a creative discipline.
UNDERSTANDING FASHION DESIGNERS
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TYPES OF FASHION DESIGNERS
Idealist
They are unconcerned about the growth of fashion industry. The people are more
concentrate in their personal growth. They want to be ideal in the fashion industry. Their
designs also differ from others designs. Their works are out of touch with reality. This
stare creation is of only worthy for ramp shows, not for real life.
Influenced
They are copied the some other designs which was already existing in the market
or they copy the designs from foreign magazines. They have very little way of offer by
their own creativity. They make some alteration in the existing design and produce the new
designs with their own label. They don't want to take too much of risk.
Realist
They are the role models for influenced designers. These designers are most
important persons for the success of fashion industry. These creators have the pulse of
market and consumers on their finger. They produce designs with their own ideas. When
compared to other designers their works on time consuming works.
Classicist
These types of designers are produce design following the traditional designs,
colors, silhouette and other design details like embroidery, bead work, etc. the classicist
designer is one who is responsible for radical fashion changes in fashion industry.
Thinking
This mission in fashion designing is to express himself. He also supplies lot of
creative ideas for other fellow designs. The thinking designer also holds the responsibility
of educating the consumer in experimenting with unusual fabric choice.
Poetic
They regard his consumer as an extension of his creativity.
The first activity of this kind of designers is to recognize the choice of consumers and then
perform designers.
He spends more time on accessing real interest and needs of the consumers.
The poet is said to have much fame among the public when compare other kinds of
designers.
INDIAN FASHION DESIGNER
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THIRUMALAYAMPALAYAM
 Briefly explain on Haute Couture.
HAUTE COUTURE
ROHIT HOSLA
INTRODUCTION
He is intelligent. Basic quiz - finals.
He is good looking - often voted by women
And he is even profile with his pen - he runs a weekly magazine. "Economic Times"
EDUCATION
Educated in London - degree in fashion designing.
MATERIALS & COLORS
Favorite - black
Predominate - deep old gold (copper)
Materials - Chiffon, Crepe -de Chine, Organza, jersy, Velvet, Banalasi, Silk, fun, etc.
How did He forward His Business?
He teamed with Tarun Tahiliani which brought him more success.
Styles - Based on nature
Khosla's collection sparks - occasionally concentrated in Indian Styles.
Fashion House
Bangalore, Bombay, Delhi
GITANJALI KASHYAP
Based in New Delhi, she began her career in 1986 and remains one of the few
completely self-taught, successful women in her field. Gitanjali has said, "Besides a short
intensive course at NIFT which helped me hone my technical skills I have not received any
formal training. I evolved as a designer by hands on learning and experimenting. Twelve
years of work starting from scratch, seeing the Indian fashion industry grow from a small
entity to the present level has been an exciting experience.
Gitanjali is credited with having started the trend towards hand-brushed painting on cloth
in India, a technique she developed in Benaras. From there, the process moved to Delhi
and it remained an appealing feature of her collections for many years. The search for
Bandhini (Shibori) experts took Gitanjali to Kutch,
He was above to give it a modern touch, without losing its traditional essence. She was the
only Indian fashion designer invited to display her garments at the International Shibori
Symposium held at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad in January 1997.
HEMANT TRIVEDI
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Hemant Trivedi - fashion Stylist, choreographer, design professor and
undoubtedly, one of Inida's foremost and most important fashion designers.
He graduated from the Australian Technical Institute of Fashion Design and had training at
the fashion Institute of Technology, New York.
International labels have pursued him and yet he returned to India in early 1980 as one of
the first professionally qualified fashion designers, because "This is a land that I call my
own".
I was born exposed to color of every hue, in a country rich in culture and diverse in its
people. How could I ever live elsewhere when India, as an inspiration has it all?
Ultimately, my aim is to make a contribution in quality growth towards the Indian fashion
Industry and not live in an insular or directionless world".
Today, Hemant is fashion Director at Sheetal, India's leading fashion store. He has also
been associated as design professor at S.N.D.T. University at Mumbai, India for the past
20 years.
Trivedi has presented some of the most breath taking fashion presentations both in India
and overseas, including countries such as U.K., US.SA., China, Egypt, Mauritius, Sri
Lanka, U.A.E., and the Far East.
His most impressive artistic direction has been seen at the Femina Miss India pageants for
which he is in charge of choreography and grooming of the pageant delegates.
He has launched the careers of hundreds of fledging models and turned many into virtual
super-stars.
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He is a man who has created the winning wardrobes for several former Beauty Queens and
particularly for Miss World 1995 Aishwarya Rai and Miss World 1998 Diana Hayden,
who besides countless others remains his most favorite client and the present Miss World
2000 Priyanka chopra.
Trivedi's contribution to the Indian fashion scene cannot be denied. Being one of the first
professionally qualified designers in India, he has a feel for the industry and its growth.
While he does not seek the limelight, it is equally difficult to ignore him. Many a fashion
critic has said that Hemant has the uncanny ability to predict a "look" well ahead of time.
His creations have often become trendsetters and he has a faithful clientele to prove it
 Discuss on the Indian Fashion Designers.
J.J.VALAYA
What sets a brilliant couturier apart from a talented one is innovation. The ability to grow
and retain the mantle as one of India's premier designers has been the hallmark of JJ
Valaya.
J J Valaya was born in the princely city of Jodhpur in Raj as than in 1967. Perhaps this
could explain his penchant with the bygone era of Royal India.
As a child he showed a special interest towards the Arts. For years, in school, he received
top honors in the field of Fine Arts. In 1987 J J began to pursue a career in Accounting but
was soon convinced that his heart lay elsewhere.
In 1989 he joined the 'National Institute of Fashion Technology' in New Delhi and soon
became the First Indian Student to win the coveted 'Prixd' Incitation; at Paris in 1990. This
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was followed by series of awards in the years to come. The year 1991 saw the launch of
his couture label 'JJ Valaya'.
JJ Valaya today conjures up images of Indian Royalty treated in a contemporary individual
style. He stands as one of the most respected names in Indian Fashion with the label JJ
Valaya retailing at premier up market stores in India as well as abroad.
JJ Valaya's philosophy of design is simple-to create clothes which are more than anything
else, beautiful. He wants his clothes to be timeless, heirlooms to be passed down
generations.
Rich Indian Textiles, exciting colors, classic silhouettes and the finest of embroideries are
the accepted hallmarks of a Valaya original.
His collections each season are considered trendsetters and are eagerly awaited by both,
his clients and the Press. The House of Valaya is the first in India to extend it's vision to a
whole range of luxury products which include amongst others Women's and Men's
Fashion, Home furnishings, Furniture, Textiles, Tapestries, fabrics and Fine Cuisine.
With production centers based in Delhi and in various parts of the country, JJ Valaya has
access to some of the finest craftsperson in India. The modern facilities at the Valaya
Design studio in New Delhi successfully blend the new with the old and create a unique
design statement.
"Fashion is fidelity to art as much as to craft - a freedom from rigid dictates," is the
philosophy that makes JJ Valaya what he is. He is one of the biggest guns of Indian
fashion.
He was the first Indian designer to win the coveted 'Prix D' citation at Paris, endevouring
to create the "... classic fashion statement which one can wear for ever because of its
timeless quality."
Today JJ Valaya has extended his design concept to interiors, furniture, accessories,
footwear and haute couture. His creations abound in his flagship store in Delhi JJ Valaya,
Life, Ensemble, Varna, Ogaan, Signature, Heritage, Holio and alos in the United
Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
J J Valaya today is synonymous with fine quality hand embroideries. India boasts of a vast
heritage of rich textiles and exquisite embroideries. Today J J Valaya takes great pride in
using the same crafts to produce a wide variety of products such as Apparel, Fabric, Soft
Furnishings, Furniture and Footwear.
JAMES FERRERIA
Introduction
Childhood dreams, sketching clothes, figures and drawings J.J. School of
applied arts in Bombay and tailoring course turned his dreams. Only boy in a class of
giggling girls. Zondra Rohodes thought printing and embroidery, important thing he
learned from her was 90% hard work + 10% skills for becoming designer.
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Personal Satisfaction
He doesn't even have his personal label,
He wanted his customer to look at his design and not his label.
Secret of his Success
Stylish, designers - obviously best of both words.
He designs what he really wants and careless if doesn't sell - prefers more of personal
satisfaction.
Forms
1987 double layered saree, kurtas with jersey fabrics Love for natural fabrics, painting in
saree
Lack of his success
He says there is so much more I have to learn.
Designer for junior have succeeded, he still remains as a failure
He says - "I want to be a remember of a creator and not as a commercial successful
designer.
RITU KUMAR
India is a fashionable land and the country spread its fashion color on every aspect. It is a
great formula by which the whole world's person returns a good feedback. And all the
credit goes to Indian fashion designers. Among the all Ritu Kumar is the most shining
personality.
If you are looking to make a real fashion with flaunting designer dress, then the first
name that will encounter is that of Ritu Kumar. Though better known as the lady who
dresses, Indian beauties, Ritu Kumar is India's foremost designer and is largely
responsible for reviving India's textile and embroidery heritage. She has boutiques in
India's metros where one can pick her clothes.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
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Considered as a revivalist in the Indian fashion industry, Ritu Kumar is one of India's
leading designers. She work on six or seven collections simultaneously-they are for all
ages from 18 to 80. Her traditional range is considered the couture of India.
Most of her designs, however sell under the Ritu Kumar label, which is more casual,
aimed at a younger customer- though it is not funky, it is not street fashion. Her clients
want the comfort zone that her clothes offer. She knows that the Indian woman has an hour
glass figure, with a good midriff, and backs are important. Right now her team in a good
cycle and it will come round again (it is good to revisit). Ritu Kumar has also written a
book named, customs
ROHITBAL
Rohit Bal was 12 years old when he designed his first outfit, a pair of Corduroy bell
bottoms with russies. Bal may or may not be the most famous Indian designer, but he is
certainly the most media sarvy.
This compliments his stunning creations and adding value to both the designer and the
bold customer. No wonder the 34 year-old designer has set the trend for many a season
over the years. He moves from history fantasy and folk to wow his high profile clientele.
He has the best workmanship and material available in the country at his disposal.
Intensely concerned with designs as an art form, he draws upon history, fantasy and
folklore to create his masterpieces. So completely does he seem to have understood the
target consumer that fashion credit him with setting the trend for every season?
His affair with the made has been long standing and passionate. Never has it seemed, has
one man been the focus of the attentions of so many.
Fame rests lightly but certainty on Rohit Bal. he is, profiled as India's Master of fabric and
fantasy. The regard he commands among the top echeons of Indian fashion is endorsed by
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a discerning, high profile clientele that includes some of the India's biggest names in
media, films, fashion and the corporate world.
From villages where local craftsmen weave dreams with magic fingers, to factories,
workshops and outlets where retailers jostle for survival, to the opulent grandeur of glitzy
boutiques and malls at the best addresses in the big cities of high fashion, Rohit Bal can
lead one to the doors of discovery, and he holds the key.
TARUN TAHILIANI
He began as a marketing major and went on to fashion retailing by opening a
store in Mumbai Ensemble, which stocked all India's top design names, including foreign
designers like Neli Baji and Zandra Rhodes. Finally Tarun launched his own label, Ahilian
and joined the ranks of designer.
About sarees Tarun says, "This six-yard piece of fabric can be stunning with some image.
Hence you find saris fluted like Grecian columns, touched with wild feathers or fringed
others are appliqued in satin roses, flowers and fruits or draped like a toga.
Tarun even twirls them tight around the body sans palla. The idea is to envelop yourself in
a three dimensional spring of luxurious chiffon and silk georgette in soft hues of eggshell,
and coral", says the designer. The key words here are "seductive" and "femininity".
Says Tahiliani, "Most women complain if their kurta neckline is deeper than seven inches.
Yes they think nothing of seductively dropping their pallus and revealing the most sexily
scanty cholis. That's the magic of the Sari. It ispsychological." The body conscious
petticoats are also stylized in soft lycra or satins with darts, kick pleats, slits and prints to
flatter all tastes and figures.
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As far as embellishments are concerned, Tarun goes in for Lucknow chikankari
embroidery, which he now incorporates with heat pressed semi-precious stones like agate,
lapis, and aquamarines combined with bead work. Great for formal soirees.
An emphasis on comfort and freedom of movement is the hallmark of the day wear lines.
Cotton malmal kurtas in straight cuts are worn short. Fine layering, block prints in pale
gold on cotton tussars, bandhini separates like short camisoles and loose pants, and
unusual color combinations are on Tahiliani's racks.
Part – C
 Discuss on the minimalists of fashion industry.
MINIMALIST
HIMANSHU DIMRI AND SONALI SATTAR
Purity is the essence of Hidden Harony, the label built by Bangalore's Sonali
Sattar and Himanshu Dimri. Hidden Harmony is not, as the name suggests, a retreat from
the world. It is the name of a boutique owned by Sonali Sattar and Himanshur Dimri in the
garden city of Bangalore
No shrinking violet this; yellow windowpanes and purple walls ensure that people turn
back for second look. Incidentally it is also the label for Sonali's and Himanshu's creations.
The designs match their abode - unconventional is the world.
In a country where sumptuousness of both colour and form is essential, Sonali's and
Himanshy;s clothes were considered a wee bit radical. Simple lines that were not designed
to hide and colours that didn't shout at the world were not appreciated by marry.
But for the dissenting, these were priceless qualities. A change is always refreshing and
Dima's and Satta's attitude paid off. Today Hidden Harmony is patronized by the country's
elite.
Simplicity is the Best
Talking about the birth of Hidden Harmony, Sonali says, "A flair for design
is not sufficient. You have to study design so you can finish the garment to perfection. In
the beginning, Himansnu and I played around with fabric and color for a while then started
a workshop in our farmhouse.
The growth towards Hidden Harmony was gradual." It took the pair sometime to hammer
out their own style but once they did that there was no looking back.
Purity is the cornerstone of their designs be it the fabric or the line of the garments. Natural
fabrics like cotton, linen and pure silk predominate though of late they have been willing to
experiment a lot more.
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As Himanshu puts it, "We are getting to be a little more experimental with synthetics as
sometimes you can get fabulous blends." Working closely with textile designers they are
always in search of the "inspired" material.
The fluidity of their creations is what strikes you first. They have even tried to get colors to
flow into each other to accentuate this effect. A man or rather a couple for all occasions.
Clothes to suit all Purses
There is something for everyone here. Sonali and Himanshu market a pret-a-porter line
called Kaya that is available for a reasonable price of between Rs.600 to Rs.1200. The
other outfits can set you back to the tune of Rs.2200 to Rs.7000. Their clientele lies more
among the mature, artistic crowd and that is one reason for their choice of Bangalore as a
base.
According to Dimri, "It is interesting to work in Bangalore as the people here have their
own personalized style. They are very relaxed in their clothing and are not keen to always
conform to the norm. That gives us a chance to let loose our imagination.
Designing accessories to go along with their creations is a new venture for the twosome.
"We sometimes design headgear to go with the cloths and also we have tried to play
around with different sorts of shoes. But that is a different field altogether, "says Sonali.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained, huh! Sonali and Himanshu are certainly adventurous
and willing to go where no man has gone before.
In Sonali's opinion, "What is important is that we should enjoy what we are doing and
believe in it. There has to be newness and adventure in every dress -or it has no meaning.
No compromise on that...!" Amen to that.
SANGEETA CHOPRA
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Sangeeta Chopra stepped into the world of fashion at an early age of 36 years, more than 2
decades ago. She choreographed and directed her first fashion show and since then had
directed more than 900 shows, both in India and across the globe.
Her job into the field of design began 15 years back. She studied fashion design at the
prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology in New York for 2 years.
Since her return she has combined both careers successfully. Currently she operate studio
in South Mumbai by appointment only. She had designed the Miss Universe for various
Miss India's including sushmita Sen, Madhu Sapre and Namrata, Music videos and several
advertising compaign, both press and film - have seen her collections extensively on the
runway over India.
Presently her outfits are only available from her studio, she is looking for how to out a foot
in the retail market. She is looking forward to the interaction from all over India and sees
the efforts of both FDCI & IMG as a step in the rightway and make Indian fashion to great
heights.
WENDELL RODRICKS
Wendell Rodricks is one of India's most prolific couturiers. His minimalist chic
style is a range among the celebrity set and his prices are anything buy haute. In this
interview, we learn more about this well-known yet understated designer.
There are many aspects to Goa. There's the Goa which Goans everywhere know and which
is in their blood and their customs. There's the Goa I know, which is my everyday life.
There's the Goa the tourists see-beach-side shacks, liquor, raves. And there's the Goa that
died many, many years age "the ancient, medieval, traditional land of my forefathers.
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There's ancient gold jewellery, there's all the Portuguese influences, there's the whole
indigenous culture. And as a designer, the only contribution I could make was to pick all
that up and document it as best possible and leave something for the generations to come.
My first clients were my mother and my cousins. However, I first felt fashion course
through my veins when I watched Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. The part where
she takes down those curtains to make new clothes for all those kids - I saw the movie
about five times, and like everyone else, I knew all the songs and the words and
everything, but that scene really stuck in my head, and has ever since.
Yes! My family never had four lakhs to send me to FIT in New York - so I did a three-year
course at Mumbai's prestigious Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology &
Applied Nutrition. After that, I went off to Muscat for awhile because the money was so
good - and then an American guest at the hotel say my sketchbook, which I kept working
at, and she told me I was wasting my time. That was my do-or-die moment: I was 26 and I
knew that if I didn't start studying fashion design then, I never would. So with the money
I'd saved, I went to America, then to Paris, and finally came back to India.
The early years were extremely tough. I came back at the end of the 80s, when Joan
Collins was in power shoulders and razzle-dazzle, and nobody could understand the simple
clothes I was putting out. I did about four or five collections and was just about ready to go
back to Paris which Shahab (Durazi) and Pallavi (Jaikishan) told me to give it one more
shot. So I did. After that, like it happens in books, there was no looking back.
Oh, they lie everywhere and all around me. They even come from the paddy fields and
churches. I have worked with a variety of fabrics, many of which I have created myself,
including pineapple fiber and coconut husk. Pleats, pin-tucks and practicality are my
hallmarks - part of my unique very flowing, very minimalist, very Japanese Zen.
I was one of the first Indians to take a line of clothes to the international fashion fair
IGEDO in Dusseldorf. I'm also the first Indian designer to put out mass-produced branded
T-shirts, available at my Goa store, besides putting out a line of minimalist jewellery, and
redesigning the uniforms of the Goa State Police.
I also have a restaurant, Sorpos, now relocated and rechristened Aubergine, in the Goan
village of Arpora, the first cigar bar in India; and the museum, of Goa's costume history, to
be set up in collaboration with the Portuguese organization I have also curate an art show
last year, putting together a collection of work by Goa's finest.
VILLAGE INDIA
BHAMINI SUBRAMANIAM
Most of her designs reflect weft and warp. No surprising, before she stepped into the
business of clothing, designing print and surface concepts for textiles were her calling. A
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master in the craft of textile design, she creates her own fabric and the charm of a Bhamini
Label lies in the fabric.
She uses hand block printing, screen printing and direct had painting methods to transform
her favorite silks, crepes and chiffon's beyond their usual pulchritude and once the fabric is
created to her taste and satisfaction, does she starts to design it into a tailored outfit. A
blend of ethnic and western designs, styled for men and women, the label encompasses all
there is by way of garment from the humble necktie to the elaborate ghagara choli.
Bhamini mixes fashion with her second love - social causes. Everything she designs is
underscored with the desire to give back to the less fortunate: Be it the tribal and
traditional craftsmen, the creators of the fabrics or rural women to whom she dedicated her
Summer 2000 collection, or even month-earth who she protects through her Eco-friendly,
bio-degradable fabrics.
Bhamini started her design center Abhinav Creations in 1988, where she fabricates textiles
and converts them into ready-to-war garments but it was only later that liand-painted haute
couture; came into being. Indeed, it was only after she created a collection for the Igedo
Fair at Dusseldorf in 1997, that Bhamini came to be known for her clothes. Before that,
attest old monied ladies across Western India, it was her exquisite silk saris that she owes
her reputation to.
INDIRA BROKER
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Having established herself in this market Pune-based fashion designer Indira
Broker now has her sights firmly set on markets in the South. Chennai women on the
lookout for designer thread that are different from the run-of-women on the lookout for
designer thread that are different from the run-of-the-mill clothes churned out by design
houses can head for By the vine' the upscale design studio at Adyar run by entrepreneur
Vineetha Vijayalakshmi, who will host Broker's first showing in Chennai.
Shabana Azmi wears her sarees and so does actress Kiran Kher, politician Renuka
Choudhary, National Museum of Modern Art curator Sarayu Doshi and architect / interior
designer Anuradha Benegal.
On display will be a range of Tussar sarees, salwar kameez, yardage, scarfs and stoles for
the contemporary women, "who wants to be well-dressed but not flashy and overdressed",
said this designer, who is herself rarely seen in anything than her trademark cotton and
handloom sarees.
The low profile designer borrows from the vibrant colors of nature which she uses with
amazing results on natural tussar, her forte, to design sarees and outfits that her clientele
maintain make them stand out in any gathering. The collection to be presented in Chennai
said Broker is completely new. In this collection, she will display a flourish of fluorescent
oranges, red and lime green in geometries - checks, lines and circles that she loves to
experiment with. It will also feature her work in natural dyes, a medium in which she is a
firm believer.
The exhibition will also feature a few pieces of Broker's work in Indian folk art, especially
Madhubani, a dying tribal art form she is helping to revive by working with and marketing
the work of the artists themselves. "While these artists have amazing talent in them they
are Ignorant of market realities such as trends in color, design and even pricing. I help out
by giving them a feel of what it is that the end consumer wants," she said.
Twice a year she spends time with groups of folk artists that she works with across the
country and says that each time she comes back richer from her experience with the artists.
Broker is excited about the showing in Chennai, especially since she said that she adores
the fabric from the South with which she works extensively.
"I love the bright color that the people in the region use and I find the fabric here especially
Andhra Khadi and Mangalgiri cotton fabulous to work o,' she said, who debuted her work
in Hyderabad in December 2002 at the Society collection. That is, incidentally, where they
fiery Renuka Choudhary chanced upon her work and became an instant client.
MADHU JAIN
Introduction
Stepped into fashion - no knowledge of fashion, marketing, labour relations or
merchandising and no formal training. But have sense of design, color, texture, etc.
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She could visualize the finished garment before stitching it.
Because of Gods gift she was able to come as a designer
Her Interest
Once having limited pocket money - can't buy rich fabrics
Kota fabrics - very popular with Luckhari embroidery on Baluchari dupattas
She re-introduced Dhaka muslin in to the main stream of fabric.
Her Social Involvement
80-90,000 artisans worked for her
She got a good name in BRAC (Bangalore Rural Advancement Community).
BAHU - to fashion Godess
BAHU - extremely shy, unsure of herself and only know about home
Longing to do something in life
Strengthened by confidence, she carved her talent out
She began to realize her dreams at 29 age - investment Rs.5000, few tailors.
In laws of her supported to spread ideas. Started their business in small kitchen 1st
collection - mirror work - Kutchi tribals. Her 1st Break
Kavitha Bhartia - school friend institute were the design is created.
She displays madhu's creations there which had grate response.
Reinforce her confidence
Her Decisions
She was well in producing rich Indian embroideries and wears even today
How She Succeed
Madhu says beginning of her business were really rough Without
formal degree - work hard to teach her about fashion. She thought
herself to draw design, select colors, etc. She feel about her finished
garment as a sense of unreality.
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STUDIO LINE
BHAIRAVI JAIKISHAN
The world of fashion no doubt is one of high profile personalities who operate either solo
or as a team in pairs. But very rarely does one come across a mother and daughter
combination that is in the fashion designing business but on totally diverse levels. Pallavi
and Bhairavi Jaikishan make a formidable high fashion team in India, each identifying her
creative role quite distinctly. While Pallavi remains loyal to her ethnic Indian themes
Bhairavi is th true product of the avant garde western designing world with her bizarre
shocking touches of creativity that cater to the needs of the futuristic minded women.
For long years Pallavi Jaikishan, the very talented wife the late music director Jaikishan,
preferred to keep a low profile, shying away from publicity and the glare of the flash lights
so much a part of her husband's profession.. Pallavi's foray into the fashion world was
subtle. "I designed and embroidered my own saris for film premieres which were
appreciated by friends:, she recalls. Soon the logical result was her own shop,
'Paraphernalia; in an elite part of Bombay in 1972. As the name suggests the shop had
everything - clothes, household linen and designer items for the home. She also created
complete bridal trousseaux for her exclusive clientele from her residence. Trousseaux,
which included sheets, linen and even slippers and shoes.
Form pristine white to pearly ivories she turns to vibrant flame or ruby red. Her use of
embroidery is her forte for it does tend to be opulent without being garish. She has resorted
to traditional concepts of Chinese embroidery for kurtas or the all over chikan work
versions. Delicate pearl embroidery on white and ivory is another of her favorites.
Creating the double dupatta look or the kameeze with the over jacket are some of Pallavi's
innovations in ethnic wear. Recently she has branched into ethnic men's wear that once
again bears her distinct stamp with subtle tonal embroidery. "I love working with soft
fabrics that drape and flow. My garments have always had elaborate and luxuriously
flowing lines rich fabrics spangled with beads and sequins. Cuts that swirl and tease but
always flatter the woman because I believe nothing becomes a woman like feminity."
Pallavi's look for the 91-92 festive seasons is a blend of the rich and the elaborate. From
lush ghagracholis in sheer tissue with unconventional odhnis to flowing vibrant salwar kameez, she creates garments of luxury. Her sari section bears the distinct stamp of bold
zari embroidery, which is very often restricted to the border or hemline. Pallavi's mens'
wear line for 91-92 is extremely subtle. She plays with tonal embroidery hat is lavishly
sprinkled on off-white kurtas or jodhpuris. Pallavi's garments range from Rs.600/- in the
sheerest of fabrics like mul, tissue, organza chanderi and brocade. Besides high fashion
garments Pallavi has created ranges of designer household linen at Repertoire. The
exquisitely quilted bedspreads in pastels with touches of god are fit for a queen. There are
dainty and towels too. "Household linen of the designer kind is very popular in India since
people entertain at home. Each piece of designer linen is individually created in limited
numbers. The range includes brocade quilts, towel sets, napkins, tablemats, cushion covers
and toilet accessories.
Inheriting her mother's creative talents Bhairavi, who trained at the fashion Institute of
Design and Merchandising in Los Angles after completing a textile designing course at the
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Sophia Polytechnic in Bombay, prefers to create the total haute couture western look for
her garments. Bhairavi's clothes are very sophisticated but could be termed the exact
opposite of her mother's. While Pallavi's creations hide the woman they adorn, Bhairavi's
clothes are strategically revealing. "My clothes are definitely more body conscious and
display the feminity of a woman. There is a lot of stretch material that I favour which is
ideal for the look I am trying to achieve", she explains. As far as the color base is
concerned black heads the list. "There has to be basic black in my garments. Followed by
deep tones of burgundy, wine, and maroon. God is never used by me in all its glittering
splendor but more in its tarnished, burnished form."
Bhairavi admits that her creations have a limited audience but each season she creates two
separate lines. One the figure hugging one and the other for the slightly older woman who
is more sober in her tastes. But at fashion shows and for fashion spreads in magazines
Bhairavi always promotes the body conscious look. Each season she presents 15-20 styles
and then, takes orders as per the clients' measurements. Bhairavi's jacket's retail for Rs.l,
500 to 4500/- and the outfits for Rs.4500 to 6000. Exporting to Paris and Europe,
Bhairavi's line is very popular with boutiques and high fashion houses.
KRISHNA MEHTA
Krishna Mehta's spring summer collection is a throwback to the 70s flower power days.
Mehta is totally into pret these days, a market she says "is opening up".
That's why her spring summer collection has clothes priced anywhere between Rs.1800 to
Rs.8000. what marks her collection is the simplicity of cuts, the textures in her garments
and the cleanliness. "Even this collection of mine focuses on fusion. I think fusion is her to
stay".
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
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What also marks her spring summer collection is the use of silver Idiadi' thread, stencil
work, woven textures, block prints and even ikat, fabrics and textiles she has never used
before.
Mehta began as a designer of male ensembles and has shifted to women clothes only over
the last five years. Her spring summer 2001 collection for women is all about vibrant
colors: yellow, blues, gorgeous pinks, mauves and lime green.
It's a return to the 70s flower child. The rust crepe kurtas have blue hand printed flowers as
the major motif. The lime green kurtas, on the other hand, have dark green leaf-stencil
prints.
Most kurtas are teamed with palazzos or pants, and very few have churidhar bottoms
interestingly, these pants have slits that run right up to the knee and are created out of
transparent fabric like chiffon. The dupattas are made of mulmul cloth and are multicolored.
There is also an all-white line in Khadi, with silver embroidery over it. The prints on these
kurtas are the kinds you see on Benarasi saris are created using blocks that have been
specially made for her.
She also has a line of off-shoulder and halter neck blouses in fun colors like lime green
and blue and peaches. All for the hot summer ahead.
For the Men
Unfortunately, for the men, there isn't too much choice. The range is the same: a few
sherwanis a few kurtas, a few jackets and some jodhpuris, "You can't experiment too much
with men fashion. You have to play around in the same style parameters".
What perhaps sets her collection apart is that instead of white and creams, she offers
sherwanis in different shades of blues, greens, rust, olive and steel grey.
She has used diverse fabrics like lines, mulmul and silk for the men line. There is very
little embroidery, but lot of pin tucks and pleats.
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DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION
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RAVI BAJAJ
A Classy Affair
Ravi Bajaj, known for his elegant cuts and designs is all set to launch a new pret line. Ravi
Bajaj is one of the few Indian designers who is not into gimmicks and grabbing headlines.
His sleek, tasteful and unfussy style is legendary.
A graduate from the American college of applied arts, Bajaj launched one of the first
'signature label' boutiques in India. From his base in New Delhi, Bajaj has established a
reputation for classic and elegant Western wear.
Pret Line
In fact, Ravi Bajaj was one of the first few designers in Delhi to come out with a pret line.
Ravi is also the first designer who came up with the idea of corporate couture by designing
uniforms for the Jet Airways staff.
Ravi Bajaj has a distinct sense of the market forces and fashion trends that has helped him
carve a niche for himself by breaking away from the mould. It could be the designer salon
that sells styli shed western wear, or the ability to use unusual fabrics and materials for his
ensembles.
Whatever the case, Ravi his never compromised on his design sensibilities. He does not
emphasize just on the line and form but the technical perfection of the garment itself.
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Raviver
Recently, Bajaj launched a ready-to-wear line, Raviver - which means "revival" in French
for men and women. It will retail from various department stores all over the country with
Delhi and Bombay being stressed upon. Calcutta, Madras, Chandigarh and Pune will join
the bandwagon a little later.
In keeping with his desire to cater to the price-sensitive Indian market, Bajaj has priced this
line below Rs.2,500/-. As he puts it practically, "Designing haute couture is fine because it
satisfies my creative sensibilities, but ready-to-wear will get me to the masses and widen
my customer base."
Fashion according to Ravi Bajaj
So what is 'Fashion' according to Bajaj? "Fashion is an applied art as it involves technical.
Yet, I don't believe in creating fashion as purely an art form. Clothes are meant to enhance
the body in the most beautiful way possible. Fashion is a creative discipline.
The challenge is to create a range of apparel that is as fresh as it is innovative, season after
season and looks at the human form with a new attitude each time."
And how is Ravi's definition of style reflected in his clothes? For one, Bajaj has always
been the master of understatement in his aesthetic vision.
Synergy of Style
His clothes are about fusing form and shape in an effortless synergy of style. His cut and
drape is downright flattering to the human body. In fact, even in his line for women, Ravi
like to maintain that fluidity and grace that allows freedom of personal space within the
designer's vision.
One of the few designers who brought in the stress on minimalism, so popular in global
and Indian fashion trends, Ravi's contribution is greatest in the segment of western ear for
men.
Ravi Bajaj's forte
It's a known fact however, that Ravi Bajaj's forte is men's wear. Crisp tailored suits, classy
shirts, trousers with a beautiful fall that's his trademark.
While the rest of the market may pander to what they think the market wants, Bajaj walks
his own course with a preference for creating innovative cuts and color combinations.
So whether it is elegant tweeds, wools and such like materials for his formal wear
collection, there is also the spunky casual and club-wear clothing, which the designer
claims is his freshest self.
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Club wear
Recently, Bajaj launched his club-wear label, Encore. You'll find shiny two-tone fabrics in
poly blends and lycra, metaphysical woven structures in viscose and acetate other funky
yet classy pieces in this collection.
Romance with the Saree
While Bajaj prefers to stay away from Indian silhouettes like the ghagra and salwar suit,
he has an ongoing romance with the saree, after all, this is a man who enjoys the drape and
weave of a fabric almost as much as it's cut.
RITU BERI
Ritu graduated from Delhi University in 1987 and during the hiatus that followed she was
driven to find something occupy herself with. Given the sad lack of choice in Delhi at that
time, she began designing outfits for herself. This led inevitably to creating clothes for her
friends and suddenly she was in business.
She enrolled in the national Institute of Fashion Technology in 1988. This institute is
affiliated to F.I.T., New York and had just opened its doors in Delhi. She was amongst the
first batch of 25 students chosen from a large number of applicants country-wide.
With the line she had created for her graduation collection. She launched her studio
'Lavanya' in December 1990. She achieved instant success with this collection even in the
fashion Meccas of London's Regent St., where a couple of her creations were a sell-out in
'Liberty'. Further collections followed.
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SANSKRITI 1995: 'Sanskriti' was a path-breaking way of tracing her roots. Her creations
were the result of India's scintillating cultural heritage in retrospect she divided her
collection into 4 sequence.
Ritu Beri makes her mark at this century's greatest peace time event. The Indian contingent
will be walking out in style at the opening ceremony at Atlanta. India's ace designer, Ritu
Beri has joined in the Olympic fever, by creating a special collection for the continuant
worn at the ceremony.
According to Ritu Beri, Designing clothes for the Indian contingent is a great honor and a
big challenge.
Ritu Beri launched 'Caring means sharing' for People for Animals a project to fund animalcare centers. She introduced her new and unique line of animal styled products range
called, 'Caring means sharing. This collection comprises of T-shirts, caps, stuffed toys,
jugs, notepads, posters, postcards, pens and key chains. The funds raised through sales of
this product line for "People for "Animals" will be instrumental in the creation of
additional animal-care centers throughout India.
For Ritu 'Caring means sharing' is a dream.
Ritu Beri, says "Today, the world is still my oyster-and I appear to have succeeded in
prizing it open just a little bit."
ROCKY S
A Profile
Rocky, with the mysterious has slowly but steadily risen in the profession of a film
costumier. The rise of this designer has suddenly hit the limelight with his dazzling
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creations and his select but distinguished clientele on the scene. He has also launched his
own label, Rocky S.
Summer in full bloom at Rocky S. Flowery stretch tops, body suits, and miniscule dresses
in lycra are to die for, while the conservative might stick to well-cut jackets, glitter vests,
wrap around skirts and pants in colors like camel, cream, beige and dark.
Rocky S. is one of the few Indian Designers, who is concentrating on western wear in a big
way. But that does not mean that Rocky S is only interested in going wear. He has made a
mark for himself by designing some stunning garments for film stars.
He has set trends for men's and women's wear with his creations for the movies. Rocky is a
designer who believes in wearable clothes for different age groups of women. Of course,
the real scene stealers are his white lycra dresses with vivid abstract Indian paintings on
them.
He has some really sexy, body conscious garments for the younger wearer-Lyrcra being a
favorite with him. He also has some perennial suits for the older women. He is going about
the business of fashion in a very professional manner.
He has his own store and also retails his label to cutlets all over India. He is in the proves
of setting to a public limited company for his garments and ropes to create ethic wear
which will retail at exclusive outlets in the country.
Rocky has had no professional training but his label is now much sought after, not only
amongst the film stars but also among the fashion conscious of India.
ANJU MODI
I believe in simple statements and understated look which makes a powerful
impact.
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Anju Modi had her schooling in a small hill station of Ranchi. Technical and specialized
courses about vegetable dyes, pattern making and forecasting she learnt from various
institutes in India and U.K. The intricacies of weaving she picked up on her visits to the
handloom sectors of remote villages. A textile expert, she set about reviving old techniques
of weaving and developed new permutations and combinations, through her in-depth
research and inherent aesthetic flair.
Widely traveled all over the world, and to the remotest of villages and having experienced
the cultural ethos of each township, her collection reflects a traditional yet a very
contemporary style.
Anju Modi was inspired by the age old techniques of tie and dye, zardozi and cut work.
The natural cotton fabrics like Kota from Rajasthan, Chanderi and Varanasi are generally
used. Her collection is based on her research of a fusion between past and present an effort
to achieve anew equilibrium between old and new, art and technology, simple clean looks
and asymmetric layers. Anju in this endeavor has tried to link two opposite styles.
'Couture' conceived as a space in which she experimented with the idea of primary beauty
and technology, always connecting back to nature.
Indian fashion is today a beautiful and innovative blend of east and west. Color has made a
major statement this season. A refreshing new look has emerged after many seasons,
where earlier the emphasis has always been on a subdued palette.
Natural fabrics blended with blues, oranges, and bright colors... neon yellows with greys,
turquoise blue with whites, orange with silver... A beautiful splash of color on a softer base
- Anju has mixed her colors creating a very glamorous yet feminine look.
With change towards modernity, fast pace; net surfing, e-life, e-fashion. Her fabrics
respond to the demand of fast living. Technically treated to make it waterproof, and crease
free. Permanent heat press, pleating and settings on fabrics make it beautiful, interesting
with no ironing required. This collection has therefore been called "Techno-Nature:.
A textile expert and fashion designer for women, Anju did her schooling from a small hillstation, Ranchi, amidst nature. She has done specialized courses on vegetable dyes, pattern
making and forecasting from various institutes in India and U.K. Weaving was learnt on
practical fields in handloom sectors of remote village areas. Having dedicated 15 years to
the fashion institution, she has made her way through an enriching experience of textile
and varied surface treatment. She has spent a decade in reviving old techniques of weaving
and has also developed new women designs through her in-depth research and inherent
aesthetics and in the process has been working very closely with artisans and craftsmen in
remote parts of the country. All this exposure has influenced her collection, which is very
contemporary. She has been focusing on basic ingredients and colors. Her themes are not
rigid and literal; they rather emphasize the elements of luxury, glamour, texture and color
and at the same time take care of the comfort expectation of the consumers. She reaches
her customers through her own atelier 'Anjuman' and also supplies her garments to other
high fashion stores in India.
Her own Atelier' Anjuman" in Delhi
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SUGGESTED QUESTIONS
1. Explain about the Fashion designer – types – classicist, idealist, influenced, realist,
thinking poet.
2. Write about Indian Fashion designers –Haute couture – Rohit Khosla, Gitanjal kashyap,
hemant Trivedi, J.J Valaya ,James ferrerira, Ritu Kumar ,Rohit bal, Tarun Tahiliani
3. Write about the Minimalists- Himanshu and sonali sattar , sangeethe Chopra, Wendell
Rodricks.
4. Explain about Village India- Bhamini Subramaniam, Anju modi, Indiar, Broker,
Madhu Jain.
5. write about the fashion designers in Studio line – Bhairavi jaikishan ,Kishan Mehta,
Ravi Bajaj ,Ritu beri, Rockys.
________________________________________________________________________
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COURSE
SEMESTER
SUBJECT
UNIT
LECTURER NAME
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II-B.SC (CDF)
III
FASHION CLOTHING AND PSYCHOLOGY
V
N.MANIKANDAN
SYLLABUS
World fashion centers –France, Italy, America, Fareast. Contributions of well known
designers from France, Italy, America, Britain and Fareast Countries.
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Part- A
1. Fashion centers develop as a result of concentrations of resources, supplies, skilled
labor, and creative people.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Italian fashion is very popular with Americans, for it suits of causal lifestyle.
A couture business is called a maison (house)
Seventh Avenue gives its name to the whole garment district.
Some designers are able to start their own businesses under their own names, called as
signature collection.
6. Romeo Gigli (Ro men' o Gee lee), known for his minimalist style.
7. Paul Smith, is known as Britain's most successful designer.
Part- B
 Discuss on the world Fashion Centre.
INTRODUCTION TO WORLD FASHION CENTRE
This chapter introduces the major fashion capitals of the world, the centers that are
most influential in creating, manufacturing, and marketing new fashion. Fashion centers
develop as a result of concentrations of resources, supplies, skilled labor, and creative
people.
WORLD FASHION CENTRE
Four cities have emerged as major fashion capitals: Paris, Milan London, and New York
City. Other noteworthy but less influential centers include Dusseldorf and Munich,
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Montreal, Toronto, Hong Kong and Los Angeles. American designers and brands score
high when it comes to marketing savvy and making salable clothes that appeal to the whole
U.S. population and have influenced the world with their approach to sportswear.
However, it is increasingly difficult to describe the characteristics of fashion by country or
fashion capital. A clear division no longer exists between what is foreign and what is
domestic; the fashion industry is becoming a world-wide exchange of ideas, talent,
material and products. Ideas come from all over the world, textiles are exported from one
country to another, production is done almost everywhere, and nearly every country
contributes in some way. Each company seeks to expand its markets through exports and
that makes them known internationally
FRANCE
Paris has long been the foremost city in the world for fashion; but it now has fierce
competition from Milan and New York City.
Paris is the capital of France and is the Hollywood of the fashion world. Designer
Tom Ford says, "Paris is particularly interesting at this moment. I always find great
inspiration in Paris. The French has amazing style. It's in their blood". Karl Lagerfeld
concurred, "Paris is more exciting, even if there's more business in Milan." Fashion is one
of the France's top three export industries. It is also the second most important in
employment with 120,000 workers in the apparel sector (less than half of what it was in
1983) and approximately 500,000 employees in the combined textile, apparel, and related
industries.
Paris became the capital of fashion because it had the necessary resources and a creative
atmosphere. There is tremendous cooperation among the French design firms; fabric mills;
and the auxiliary shoe, hat, fur, trimmings, findings and embroidery industries. Designers
eagerly seek out artisans who use both traditional and experimental techniques to create
unique embroidery, paintings-on-fabric, hand knits, and other special effects. Designers
who want distinctive fabrics find the mill willing to weave or print just a few meters as a
test run. Shoe manufacturers plan designs to complement designer garments, and button
and trim manufacturers will create items for the exclusive use of one designer. Oscar de la
Renta said that it is "the extraordinary support system and all the little artisans that make
Paris special." The French government has always supported and encouraged "les mains de
France" (The hands of France), giving the needle trades much-de-served respect. Having
such an atmosphere, Paris is understandably looked to for fashion leadership.
Recognizing Paris as a fashion center, many fiber and fabric associations, promotion
agencies, and information sources have established their main fashion offices there.
Among the designers from other countries who are now showing their collections in Paris
are Valentino from Rome, Kansai Yamamoto and Issey Miyake from Japan, and Dries van
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Noten from Belgium. Paris attracts talent from around the world, which, in turn, keeps
Paris the center of fashion.
French exports are rising, primarily to Germany, followed by the Benelux countries, Japan,
and the United States. However, as Didier Gurmbach, president of the Chambre Syndicale,
said, "We think less and less in terms of France and what is produced here and more in
terms of European exports."
 What resources can the designers investigate before making any decision regarding
designing a new style?
The Couture
"Fashion is a very important economic sector for our country, and couture is the flagship
of French fashion," explained Dominique Strauss - Hahn, the former French minister of
industry. Couture is simply the French word for fine, custom dress design, made to
measure for a particular customer. A couturier is a male couture designer; a couturier is his
female counterpart. Haute couture (the most exclusive couture) is reserved for the very
best design and highest quality of fabrics and workmanship. A couture business is called a
maison (house). When the founding designer retires, former assistants or other designers
may take over design responsibilities. Some houses have one designer for the couture
collection and another for the pret-a-porter line.
The couture houses and adjacent boutiques (retail shops for ready - to -wear and
accessories) center in the avenue Montaigne and the Faubourg Saint-Honore in Paris.
Private clients come to the salon, an elegant showroom in the same building as the design
studio, to see sample garments in the collection. When a client orders a dress or suit, it is
made up in her exact measurements, with several fittings. Construction usually takes
weeks. Fewer than a thousand women in the world can afford to buy couture, which costs
from $10,000 to $20,000 for a suit or up to $50,000 for an elaborate gown! Most countries
are happy if they sell 200 garments a season.
Publicity
It costs approximately $1 to $2 million a year for a large house to produce its couture
collections. Collection costs include fabrics, labor, specially made accessories, and the
expenses of the show itself: models, catwalk, sound systems, rent of a theater, and dinners
for buyers. However, these costs are more than compensated for by government support
and free publicity. This publicity is especially important because it generates sales of
ready-to-wear, perfume, and licensing businesses.
Creativity
The couture is regarded as offering the opportunity for the purest form of creativity in
fashion, providing the research and development for the French fashion industry. The
clothes of some countries, like those of John Galliano for Dior and Alexander McQueen,
are audacious and extreme on the runway, but their very boldness attracts valuable
attention and huge amounts of free publicity for the entire couture. Other countries, such as
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Yves St. Laurent and Oscar de la Renta for Balmain, feel that it is their responsibility to
make petty clothes that are flattering and salable. Even the daring designers have tamer
garments in their showrooms to show their clients.
ITALY
Italian fashion is very popular with Americans, for it suits our causal lifestyle better than
the more extreme French fashion.
The Italian fashion industry and its influence on the world have grown enormously.
Around 1940, only 30 fashion manufactures operated in Italy, their production limited
basically to men's wear. Since then, the Italians have built an international fashion
reputation on creativity, beautiful fabrics, knitwear, leather goods, tailoring, and quality
production. The Italian fashion industry is primarily devoted to ready-to-wear and
accessories. Fashion is now Italy's second biggest industry, next to tourism.
To expand its markets, Italy's fashion industry is export driven. Clothing and textiles have
become Italy's biggest export after shoes. Italian fashion is very popular in the United
States and exports to the U.S. are growing every year.
Milano (Milan) has become the center for moda pronto (raey-to-wear) because it is close
to the fabric sources of Como, Biella, and Torino. Italy also has a smaller fashion center in
Florence, as well as fashion and accessory companies scattered around the country.
Designers, manufactures, and fabric companies work cooperatively, often as integral parts
of a large vertical company. Some of these fashion companies are part of large textile
firms. These companies are able to invest heavily in the newest technology and spacious,
modern factories that help Italy maintain its reputation for high-quality production. As a
result, 39 percent of European Union (EU) apparel production is done in Italy.
THE UNITED STATES
American manufacturers are largely headquartered in New York City followed by
California and other smaller regional manufacturing centers.
New York
American designers and manufacturers naturally understand the domestic market best.
American fashion blossomed during World War II, when communications to Paris were
cut off. Since then, an American style developed, especially for sportswear, which is now
appreciated around the world.
New York became the American garment center because creative talent, supplies, and
skilled labor were concentrated there. At least two-thirds of American fashion
manufacturing is still located in New York: fabric showrooms designing, manufacturing
headquarters, major markets, and apparel showrooms.
The Seventh Avenue Garment District
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Seventh Avenue gives its name to the whole garment district, which runs north to south
from fortieth to Thirty-fourth Streets and east to west from fifth to Ninth Avenues, on
Manhattan Island in New York City. Inside art deco buildings, built in the 1920s, design
studios, showrooms, and officer crown each building on every block. There is a sharp
contrast between the plush showrooms in front, for the outside world to see, and the
cluttered design rooms in back. Many buildings in the garment district are known for
certain apparel specialties. For example, 550 Seventh Avenue has traditionally housed
high-fashion companies, one on each floor. Enterprises such as the Garment Industry
development Corporation and the Fashion Center Business Improvement District (FCBID)
have been working to create incentives, in the form of tax breaks, to upgrade or expand
manufacturing facilities and to clear up the garment district, to make it more pleasant to
work in and more attractive to out-of-town buyers. The FCBID has installed bronze
plaques-honoring designers on the sidewalks of Seventh Avenue.
Crowded into this area approximately 2,000 manufacturers and contractors. However,
advertising and media technology companies are moving into the area, driving up rents,
and forcing many apparel firms to move to side streets or other areas of the city with lower
rents. To preserve manufacturing in the city, owners of these buildings are now blocked
form converting more than half of their space from manufacturing to offices.
Despite the advantages of proximity to the marketplace, over the past 30 years, New York
City has lost apparel jobs to countries with cheaper labor. Fashion industry employment in
Manhattan, New York City, has dropped to approximately 80,000 people working in
design, manufacturing, distribution, and related activities. However, fashion is still the
largest manufacturing industry in New York City. There are an estimated 4,000 factories
located primarily in Chinatown, Manhattan, and Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Internal Growth
Companies can expand their businesses by broadening their product lines to include other
style categories, sizes, or price ranges. Liz Claiborne started with women's sportswear and
later added new divisions for dresses, suits, accessories, and men's wear. They also created
new sportswear divisions such as Lizwear and Lizsport, Elizabeth for large sizes, Liz
Claiborne petities, and Dana Buchman to get into the bridge market. Many manufacturers
have expanded to produce both men's and women's fashion. Ralph Lauren started in men's
wear and added women's; Liz Claiborne did the opposite. Most sportswear and outerwear
companies now produce for both sexes.
Company size and Ownership
Traditionally, fashion businesses were small and family owned and operated. Their small
size allowed flexibility in both design and production, which is needed to respond quickly
to market needs. Today, however, the sizeable advertising and marketing budgets of the
large companies make it difficult for small companies to compete. As a result, small
companies have been bought up by larger ones so that the number of apparel firms has
decreased. Jones New York, for example, purchased Evan Picone to cover the market in a
slightly lower price range. The Jones Apparel Group now comprises Jones New York,
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Evan Picone, Rena Rowan for Seville, Sun Apparel, Nine West, and has the license to
produce Laurent by Ralph Lauren and Ralph by Ralph Lauren.
Globalization
American designers and brands have become very well known abroad. Their fashions are
sold in stores in all the major cities of the world. Increasingly, American designers are
working for European and Japanese companies. Examples include Tom Ford for Gucci in
Italy, Oscar de la Renta for Balmain, and Michael Kors for Celine in Paris. In addition,
many foreign companies have invested in the United States, purchasing companies of
production facilities. Takihyo, a Japanese firm, backed Donna Karan so that she could start
her own business. The industry is full of similar examples.
Designers
In companies that produce moderate - or low-priced clothing, the designer's name is
usually unknown to the public. The company may use a fictitious name, such as "Ellen
Tracy." Designers who have proven themselves may have their names added to the
company's label, such as "Linda Allard for Ellen Tracy."
Some designers are able to start their own businesses under their own names, called a
"signature collection." They may start small as Ralph Lauren did with neckties, or, if they
have a good reputation working for a manufacturer, a financier might offer to back them in
their own business. If their collections are successful, and if they have skillful business and
financial partners, quality production, and clever advertising, their names become well
known.
As in show business, however, designers are only as good as their last production. A
designer is often a star today and forgotten tomorrow; the picture changes every season. It
is increasingly difficult to name the most important American designers because they
change from year to year. Reading fashion publications regularly is the only way to keep
informed about current designer favorites and best-selling styles.
•
•
•
Why does Paris continue as a fashion capital?
Discuss decentralization of fashion centers in Germany and Spain versus
centralization in England and France.
What name is used to refer to New York's garment district? Explain why that name is
used.
Part – C
 Discuss on the various Fashion Designers.
. WORLD FAMOUS DESIGNERS
INTRODUCTION
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Designers are influenced by what other designers and artists are creating Excitement about
a new idea acts as a catalyst for more creativity. This is why many creative people
gravitate to major cities.
There are countless styles, each of which has its own distinctive characteristics and most of
which have, at one time or another or more than once, been a fashion. It is a common
misconception, however, that all have been "created" by designers and only by them.
It is true, indeed, that many new fashions have been introduced by famous designers. More
recently, at least two American designers have left a distinct mark on fashion. These
include Ralph Lauren's look of casual elegance and Donna Karan's bodysuits. Often,
however, it is functional garment rather than an individual designer that generate a new
fashion.
Designers who acquire a reputation for "creating" fashion are simply those who have been
consistently successful in giving tangible expression to the shapes, colors, fabrics, styles,
and looks that are wanted and accepted by a substantial number of customers. The fact that
a style may be widely heralded as a new fashion does not make it one. Even among the
greatest of designers, it is recognized that it is only when customers accept a style, new or
old, that the particular style becomes a fashion.
FORECAST CONTRIBUTION OF DESIGNERS
The job of the international designer is not an easy one. Lagerfeld designs three major
collections: his own signature line, Chanel couture, and the Italian Fendi collection. Tom
Ford commutes between design studios in Milan, Paris, London, and new York. Oscal de
la Renta commutes between New York, where he designs his signature collection; Paris,
where he designs Balmain's couture collection; and his home in santo Domingo. Some
designers have time for little else than designing or promoting their designs. They
supervise large design teams for several collections, visit factories, attend store openings,
and make worldwide public appearances.
Designers move to other countries to work. Karl Lagerfeld, a German, works in Paris.
Should we consider him a German designer or a French designer? John Galliano, an
Englishman, designs the Dior couture collection in Paris. Tom Ford, an American, is the
designer for Gucci in Italy and the Yves St.Laurent ready-to-wear collection in Paris.
Helmut Lang, an Austrian, moved his business to New York. The list is endless.
FRANCE
Oscar de la Renta for Balmain
A well-known American designer has joined the ranks of the international commuter
designers to design couture in Paris.
Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel
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(Shah-nell') brought international attention back to the couture when he took over as
artistic director for the house in 1983. He also designs the Karl Lagerfeld collection, as
well as designing for Fendi of Italy. Lagerfeld won the International Wool Secretariat
design competition in 1954 at age 16 and was hired by Pierre Balmain as an assistant. He
was designer for Chloe for 19 years before Bidermann Industires offered to back him in his
own line.
John Galliano for Dior
Who was born in Gibraltar in 1960, moved to London in 1966, and later studied at St.
Martin's School of Art. He presented his first signature collection in 1985, showing in
London until 1990 when he began to show in Paris. In 1995, he was chosen to be the new
designer for the House of Givenchy but was soon transferred to Dior, also owned by
LVMH, where he presented his first collection in January 1997. He has won many fashion
awards including the British Designer of the Year Award three times.
Yves Saint Laurent (Eve Sahn' Law-rahn') is still considered a master of couture. He is a
steady, major influence in the fashion world, setting trends in a restrained, sophisticated
way with a good sense of timing. He began his career by winning the wool design
competition at age 17 and a post as assistant to Dior. He opened his own business with
Pierre Berge in 1962 at the age of 26 and now has over 200 licenses. The Metropolitan
Museum presented a retrospective of his work in 1984.
Emanuel Ungaro was born in 1933 and learned his trade in his father's tailor shop. At 22,
Ungaro left for Paris and eventually spent four years with Balenciaga and a year with
Courreges. He opened his own salon in 1965 and added a men's wear collection in the late
1970's. Parallel is his luxury pret-a-porter collection, and Emanuel is a bridge collection
designed especially for the American market.
Other couturiers include Jean-Paul Gaultier, Lecoanet Hemant, Oliver Lapidus for Ted
Lapidus, Paul Gaultier, Lecoanet Hemant, Oliver Lapidus for Ted Lapidus, Yvan
Mispelaere for Feraud, Thierry Mugler, Chrisitian Lacroix, Torrente, Valentino (Italian),
and Versace (Italian). The current novice members to watch are Adeline Andre,
Dominique Sirop, Franck Sorbier, and Pascal Humbert.
 Discuss on the various Fashion Designers of America and their
specialization.
AMERICA
Geoffrey Beene
Born in Louisiana in 1927. Beene is a consistently innovative designer. He began his
career in the display department of I.Magnin in Los Angeles. In the 19420, he studied
fashion in New York and with Molyneux in Paris. He designed for Teal Traina from 1958
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until he started his own collection in 1963 with partner Leo Orlandi. He later added men's
wear and Beene Bag sportswear. One of the first American designers to show in Europe
(in 1975), he has over 30 licenses.
Lars Nilsson for Bill Blass
New York's senior designer, Bill Blass (retired in 2000), had the longest continuing
success of any American designer and is a hard act to follow. Lars Nilsson has been
chosen to take over the design helm at the firm. Born in Sweden in 1968, Nilsson studied
in Paris and went on to be Christian Lacroix's assistant for nine years. In 1995, he became
coordinator of the couture studio at Dior and, in 1999, a design director at Ralph Lauren.
Tommy Hilfiger
In 1969, Tommy began his business with a small store in Elmira, New York, his
hometown, with a $150 investment. In 1980, he moved to New York City and designed for
Seventh Avenue companies. In 1985, he was backed t manufacture his own men's wear
collection. His company has enjoyed tremendous growth in men's tailored clothing,
sportswear and boys' wear since then.
Marc Jacobs
Born in New York City in 1963, Jacobs attended the High School of Art and Design and
parsons School of Design. With his partner, Robert Duffy, he designed his first signature
collection in 1986. After a stint at Perry Ellis beginning in 1989, he and Duffy launched
Marc Jacobs International Company in 1993. He introduced his Men's collection in 1996
and, since 1997, is also artistic director for Louis Vuitton in Paris. He won the CFDA
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Women's Designer of the Year Award in 1992 and 1997 and the Accessory Designer of the
Year Award in 1999. He has recently moved to Paris.
Donna Karan
American Designer Donna Karan at her collection opening.
Born in 1948 in New York to parents in the "rag trade," Donna (Faske) Karan left Parsons to
become Anne Klein's assistant. After Anne Klein's death in 1974, Karan became head designer
with Louis Dell' Olio. This was the first time that an American fashion company was able to
continue successfully without the original designer. In 1985, Tomio Taki offered to back Karan in
her own business featuring luxury sportswear. Her bridge collection called DKNY (Donna Karan
New York) has been extremely successful.
Calvin Klein
Born in New York City in 1942, Klein always wanted to design clothes. He studied at the Fashion
Institute of Technology and worked at Millstein sport and suit company on Seventh Avenue. In
1968, he and his friend Barry Schwartz opened a coat business and got their first order when a
buyer from Bonwit Teller accidentally got off the elevator on the wrong floor. Calvin Klein
expanded into sportswear, men's wear, jeans, and accessories. He was the first American designer
to open his own shops in London and Milan. His designs consistently represent the clean ailAmerican look.
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Michael Kors
Raised in Merrick, Long Island, New York, he enjoyed acting as a child but later studied
fashion at FIT. He worked at Lothar's boutique before opening his own business in 1982.
He designs his own signature collection, the Kors by Michael Kors line, and he commutes
to Paris to design for Celine (owned by LVMH). He won the CFDA Women's Wear
Designer of the Year Award in 1999.
Helmut Lang
Actually an Austrian, Lang presented his first international collection in Paris in 1986. In
1997, he moved his entire business from Vienna to New York City where he now
manufactures men's, women's, and accessories collections. The Prada Group recently
purchased 51 percent of Lang's business. He won the CFDA Award for Best International
Designer in 1996 and the Pitti Imagine Award for Best Designer of the Nineties in 1998.
Ralph Lauren
American Designer Ralph Lauren at a collection opening.
Lauren was born in New York City in 1940 and began his career as a salesclerk at Books
Brothers. In 1967, he started to design ties and, by 1968, had established Polo men's wear
with backing from Norman Hilton. The Polo name is perfect for his classic, Ivy League
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look in expensive fabrics. Laurent built the rest of his multimillion-dollar business on
licenses for women's wear, a less expensive men's wear collection called Chaps, boys'
wear, girls' wear accessories and home furnishings. In 1986, he opened a $14 million retail
store on Madison Avenue and has Polo shops in stores across the country. He is the perfect
example of a designer who was able to build an empire on a life-style.
Oscar de la Renta
Born in 1933 in the Dominican Republic, de la Renta studied painting, sketched for
Balenciaga in Madrid, and afterward became assistant to Castillo at Lanvin. I 1962, he
designed for Elizebeth Arden in New York and, in 1965, became partner at Jane Derby
where he took over the business in 1966. His work, which enjoys a reputation for elegance,
includes evening war, suits and dresses, sportswear, men's wear, accessories, and the less
expensive Miss O collection. Now he also designs couture for Balmain in Paris, the second
American to do couture in Paris. Narciso Rodriguez
A Cuban-American, Rodriguez graduated from Parsons School of design in New York
City in 1932. He began his career by designing accessories for Anne Klein and became
Calvin Klein;s assistant. Later, he designed for Tse in New York and Cerruti in Pris.
Rodriguez;s signature collection is manufactured by the Italian company AEFFE and
shown in Milan. He also designs a collection for Loewe (low-ay'-vay), a Spanish company
(part of LVMH), which is shown in Paris.
Vera Wang
Born in 1950 in New York City, Vera was an art history major at Sarah Lawrence College
and also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. At age 23, she was named an editor at American
Vogue. Later, she spent a year as director of accessories for Ralph Lauren. She established
her bridal business in 1990 and later added evening wear, ready-to-wear, furs, and
footwear collections. Her designs are worn by many actresses for public appearances.
Other successful designers in both men's and women's wear include Joseph Abboud,
Katayone Adeli, Victor Alfaro, Linda Allard for Ellen Tracy, John Barlett, Badgley
Mischka (Mark Badgley and James Mischka), Julie Caiken, David Chu for Nautica,
Kenneth Cole, Daryl K (Kerrigan), Han Feng, Eileen Fisher, Carolina Herrera, Betsey
Johnson, Mary McFadden, Nicole Miller, Josie Natori, Maggie Norris, Cynthia Rowley,
Cynthia Steffe, Anna Sui, Vivienne Tarn, Rebecca Shafer (women's wear) and Hussein
Chalayan for Tse (men's wear), Josh Patner and Bryan Bradley for Tuleh, Joan Vass, John
Varvatos, Yeohlee, and Gabriella Zanzani.
ITALY-Giorgio Armani
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Giorgio Armani checking the fit of one of his design
Born in 1934, became assistant men's wear buyer for Rinascente, and Italian department
store. Later he was hired by Nino Cerruti to choose fabrics, where he learned apparel
production. In 1974, he created his first collection under the Armani label with partner
Sergio Galeotti; he added women's wear in 1975. His multimillion-dollar empire includes
Emporio Armani {stores and a less expensive collection), A/X Armani Exchange (basics
and jeans), Mani (Italy only), and licenses. He has received many international awards
including a CFDA Lifetime Achievement Award. His tailored style set international trends
in the 1980's and is still considered elegant.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana began working together n 1982. Dolce learned his
craft working in his family's clothing factory in Sicily. Gabbana studied graphics in design
school. They met in 1980 while working for a Milanese designer. In 1985, they presented
their first women's collection under the Dolce and Gabbana label and have since added
men's wear, knitwear, lingerie, an swimwear.
Gianfranco Ferre
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Italian designer Gianfranco Ferre, with his assistants, fitting a gown
Born in 1944, studied architecture and today is considered the architect of Italian fashion.
He gave up architecture to design accessories and later presented his first collection of
ready-to-wear for Baila in 1974. His first women's collection under the Ferre name was
shown in 1978, and his men's collection was introduced in 1982. He also designed couture
for Dior in Paris from 1989 to 1996.
Romeo Gigli (Ro men' o Gee lee), known for his minimalist style, first studied
architecture in Italy and then learned tailoring in New York City. He presented his first
collection in 1983 and has since added men's wear. He now has diffusion line called G.
Gigli and has chosen to show his women's wear collection in Paris.
Tom Ford for Gucci, received a fine arts degree from Parsons, in New York City, in
1986. He began his career with chloe in Paris as a design assistant. He joined Gucci in
1990 and became creative director in 1994. He is responsible for the design of all 11
product categories including men's and women's ready-to-wear, footwear, handbags,
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scarves, and neckties, as well advertising, image, and visual merchandising. Now he is also
creative director for the Yves St.Laurent ready-to-wear collection and accessories in Paris.
He has received numerous fashion awards including the council of Fashion Designers of
America's (CFDA) International Designer of the Year award.
Julien MacDonald is the newest designer for Givenchy in Paris. Born in 1973, he was
originally a textile designer. He worked with Karl Lagerfeld designing knitwear for chanel
couture. MacDonald continues to design his signature collection in London in addition to
designing for Givenchy.
Stella McCartney, daughter of Beatle Paul, graduated from Central St.Martin's design
college in 1995 and started a small apparel business. She was the designer for Chole in
Paris. Now she concentrates on her signature collection, financially sponsored by the
Gucci Group.
Alexander McQueen was born in 1969 and began his career working for Savile Row
tailors. In 1992, after graduating from St.Martin's School of Aft, he started his signature
collection. In 1996, he was given the British designer of the Year Award and was chosen
to design couture for Givenchy in Paris. Now he is again concentrating on his signature
collection, financed by the Gucci Group.
Miuccia Prada revitalized the leather goods business begun by her grandfather Mario
Prada in 1913. In addition to bags and accessories, she also began designing shoes in 1985
and launched a women's clothing collection 1989. By the mid-1990s, her clothing and
accessories were global trendsetters. In the 19902, Prada launched a men's wear collection
and a secondary line called Miu Miu. With her husband Patrizio Bertelli, she oversees
their vertical business from Milan: production in Tuscany and company-owned boutiques
worldwide.
Paul Smith, Britain's most successful designer, was born in 1947. He is known for his
expert tailoring and thirty years as a men's wear designer. In 1995 he added a women's
collection. Currently he is expanding his business to include accessories and retail stores in
Milan, Paris, and New York.
Valentine (Garavani), who uses only is first name professionally, was born in 1932 and,
at age 17, started to work for Guy Laroche and then Jean Desses in Paris. He opened his
own house in Rome in 1960, and shortly thereafter Giancarlo Giametti became his
business partner. Because he is Italy's most successful couturier, Valentino has been
considered the main link with Paris and now shows his collections there. Oliver is his
primary ready-to-wear line. He is a fastidious worker and is known for his elegant
collections.
Donatella Versace. Started in 1978 by her brother Gianni, Versace became a very
successful women's wear business. The company added men's wear in 1979 and started a
couture collection in the 1990s, which is shown in Paris, Gianni Versace's death in Miami
in 1997 was a great shock and loss to the industry. Donatella now heads the design team,
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and brother Santo runs the business. Versace secondary collections include Versus and
Istante.
Although most Italian designers have built their reputations in ready-to-wear, Valentino
and Versace both have couture collections that they show in Paris with the French
couturiers.
Other internationally known designers and manufacturers in Italy to look for in fashion
magazines and newspapers include Laura Biagiotti; Anna Molinari for Blumarine; Bottega
Veneta; Peter Speliopoulos for Nino cerruti, who put Italian men's wear on the map; Piero
8B Miriam Cividini; Alessandro Dell'Acqua; Veronica Etro; Sefano Guerriero for Les
Copains and Antonio Marras for Trend Les copains; Extempore by Itlierre; the Fendi
sisters - Anna, Franca, Alda, Paola, and Carla - who produce both furs and apparel;
Salvatore Ferragamo's sons and daughters - Ferruccio, Fiamma, Massimo, Giovanna,
fulvia, and Leonardo - who have added other accessories and Marc Audibet's ready-towear designs to the original shoe business; Albera Ferretti; Antonio Fusco; Josephus
Thimister (Dutch) for Genny; Keith Haring for Iceberg; Luca Orlandi for Luca; Mariuccia
Mandelli, who owns Krizia; Laura Lusuardi for Max Mara; Consuela Castigolione for
Marni; the Missoni family, who designs elegant knitwear; Piazza Sempione; Neil Barrett
for Samsonite; Sportmax; Lawrence Steele; Trussardi; and Luciano Barbera, Brioni,
Campagna, Kiton, and Zegna men's wear.
ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
London, the capital of England, is also the center of its fashion industry.
London enjoys a diversified international reputation for men's tailoring, classic woolen and
cashmere apparel for women, and innovative young fashion.
Savile Row
London has long been the respected world center for classic men's business attire and
tailored country-wear because of its famous Savile Row tailors and shirtmakers. Longestablished tailors include Anderson & Sheppard, Ozwald Boateng, French & Stanbury,
Gieves and Hawkes, William Hunt, H.Huntsman 8B Sons, Richard James, Kilgour, Henry
Poole & Co. (the oldest Savile Row firm), Strickland 8B Sons, Turnbull 8B Asser, and
Bernard Weatherill. A bespoke (custom-tailored) suit requires two to three fittings, takes
up to six weeks to complete, and may cost between £2,000 and £5,000. Many are now
offering tailored suits and tweeds for women.
Sales for bespoke suits, however, have decreased by half during the past few years. To
contend with sluggish sales and a stodgy image, some Savile Row tailors are trying to
appeal to younger customers and to women. Therefore, they are adopting newer marketing
and advertising tactics, selling branded goods such as ties and watches, and licensing their
names abroad.
In addition, some of Britain's best-known men's ready-to-wear lines include Chester
Barrie, Duffer of St.George, Timothy Everest, Richard James, and Paul Smith.
Women's Apparel
The young designers of the 1960s, such as Mary Quant, Jean Muir, and Zandra Rhodes,
made London a fashion capital. The 1970s gave the junior fashion world the "Punk" look,
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and London designers are again setting fashion trends for the young. Many of them have
small, undercapitalized operations but their witty, wacky collections are good sources of
ideas for others. A few of them have gone on to design collections in other countries.
The most internationally known of the London ready-to-wear designers include Antonio
Berardi, Roberto Menichetti for Burberry prorsum, Hussein Chalayan (who also designs
for TSE New York), Clements-Ribeiro (also designs for Cachare, Paris), Nicole Farhi,
Bella Freud, Jon Galliano (who also designs couture for Dior in Paris), Ghost, Jose Levy,
Betty Jackson, Joseph (Ettedgui), Markus Lupfer, Rifat Ozbek, Paul Smith, Tomasz
Starzewski, Vivienne Westwood, and Ronit Zilkha. The British Fashion Council, which
runs the exhibition and shows for London Fashion Week, has assisted in strengthening the
United Kingdom's position in the market. Yet some of these designers show their
collections in Paris, Milan, or New York because they think they get better exposure there.
Couture designers include Bellville-sassoon, Lindka cierach, Anouska Hempel, Alexander
McQueen, Bruce Oldfield, and Samantha Shaw. Jon Moore for Hardy Amies continues as
the Queen's couturier.
The British also have an international reputation for classic apparel, woolen country
clothing, trench coats, and cardigans from such companies as Aquascutum, Austin Reed,
Burberry, Daks-Simpson, Jaeger, Mulberry and Laura Ashley. McGeorge, Pringle, and
Johnstons of elgin are well-known names in cashmere sweaters.
Britain's apparel industry employs approximately 240,000 people. North of Ox form Street
in London, in the area around Margaret Street, lies the West End "rag trade" district, which
supports a conglomeration of fashion suppliers, studios, and showrooms. Actual
manufacturing, originally confined to London's East End, has now spread all over
England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with a concentration of high-quality
cashmere and wool knitters to be found near Hawick in Scotland.
____________________________________________________________________
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS
1. What resources can the designers investigate before making any decision regarding
designing a new style?
2. How are most major fashion operators defining their designer?
3. Discuss the types of designers.
4. What are the requirements for membership in the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture?
5. What are the fashion centers in Canada? How are Canadian designers affected by the
trade agreement with the United States?
6. Discuss about the growth of designers in America
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CONTENTS
UNIT-I
Factors influencing fashion changes –Psychological needs of fashion , Social
psychology of Fashion , technological , economical , political ,legal and seasonal
influence .role of costume as a status symbol , Personality and dress, cloths as sex
appeal, cultural value Fashion cycles, repetition of fashion .
UNIT-II
Fashion evolution – Fashion cycles , Length of cycles , consumer groups in fashion
cycles – fashion leaders , fashion innovators, fashion motivation , fashion victim,
fashion victims, Fashion followers .Adoption of Fashion – trickle down , trickle up
and trickle across theory.Fashion forecasting – market research , evaluating the
collection , Fashion services and resources ( fashion services ,Colour services ,video
services , News letter services, web sites, Directories and references ),Design- Historic
and ethnic costumes.
UNIT-III
Visual merchandising of fashion , types of displays – window displays , interior
displays , Elements of display – the merchandise , mannequins and forms , props ,
signage , lighting Merchandising presentation – tools and techniques- back drop,
forms, fixtures. Fashion show- Definition , planning ,budgeting, location, timings,
selection of models, collection, set design ,music , preparing the commentary ,
rehearsal .
UNIT-IV
Understanding Fashion designer – types – classicist, idealist, influenced, realist,
thinking poet. Indian Fashion designers –Haute couture – Rohit Khosla, Gitanjal
kashyap , hemant Trivedi, J.J Valaya ,James ferrerira, Ritu Kumar ,Rohit bal, Tarun
Tahiliani Minimalists- Himanshu and sonali sattar , sangeethe Chopra, Wendell
Rodricks.
Village India- Bhamini Subramaniam, Anju modi, Indiar, Broker, Madhu Jain.
Studio line – Bhairavi jaikishan ,Kishan Mehta ,Ravi Bajaj ,Ritu beri, Rockys.
UNIT-V
World fashion centers –France, Italy, America, Fareast. Contributions of well known
designers from France, Italy, America, Britain and Fareast Countries.
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