Y R A R B I L S L L I K S Y R U T N E C T S 1 2 COOL ARTS CAREERS FASHION DESIGNER CHAPTER ONE UNDERSTANDING FASHION DESIGN Excitement filled the air as bright lights lit up the stage Young men and women walked down the runway New York’s Fashion Week gives designers a chance to show off their best work
in beautiful clothing capturing the audience’s attention The first show of New York City’s seven-day Fashion Week celebration had begun New York City hosted the first Fashion Week in 1943 The show was set up to let American designers show off their collections New York’s fashion industry soon grew to become one of the largest in the world It offered even more job opportunities than the famous fashion industry of Paris France In 1993 Fashion Week was moved to Bryant Park This park is located very close to the studios of many fashion designers The designers could actually push their fashions to the shows on clothing racks But the event outgrew its location as it became more popular On September 9 2010 the fashion industry and media gathered at a new location for Fashion Week The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts offered more space for the 10,000 people who attended each day This runway show is held twice each year It is the most important fashion event in the country More than 100 fashion designers show off their collections during the week Celebrities models buyers and the media all attend Technology plays an important part at fashion events Runway shows interviews and news are recorded for streaming video People at home can view these video clips on the Internet This helps fashion designers reach new audiences
COOL ARTS CAREERS FASHION DESIGNER Fashion designers create the clothing shoes and accessories that people wear every day They may produce several collections each year Usually there is a new collection for each season Designing clothes is a long process It can take about 6 months to go from a designer’s first sketches to a finished garment Many people are involved in this process Each one specializes in a different part of the job Y R A R B I L S L L I K S Y R U T N E C T S 1 2 Fittings allow designers to make sure their garments will look good on real people
They turn the designer’s sketches into a paper pattern This takes great skill A three-dimensional sketch must be con verted into a two-dimensional pattern Pattern makers need math skills to do this They must also be familiar with sewing and draping The pattern is used to create the first sample of the garment Cutters use the paper pattern to cut fabric into the right Pattern makers bring a fashion designer’s vision to life shapes They have to pay attention to the design on the fabric to make sure the edges will line up when they are sewn together Many designers use expensive fabrics so cutters must be careful to avoid mistakes New designers are often on tight budgets They may only have enough money to purchase just enough fabric to complete the samples When the cutter is done the cut pieces are bundled and ready for sewing Sample sewers assemble the cut pieces and sew the first sample of the design Once the sample is sewn it is time for a fitting At a fitting live models wear the clothes for the first time The designer may decide to make changes after seeing what the garment looks like on a real person A pair of pants may need to be shortened A fabric color or texture might need to be changed A fitting could take 20 minutes or several hours It depends on the number of changes the designer wants to make One garment may need several fittings for the designer to get it right After the sample sewer makes the changes the garment is sent out for production
