The notion of ‘design’ has come into our lives for good. In the beginning the term was widely used in the world of technologies, but the world is governed by the humanities and the common person will refer the word ‘design’ to the sphere of fashion, clothes, and accessories.  The newly developed contexts of design are interior design, landscape design, web-design, etc. In general, design is used to define any creative activity aimed at detection and establishment of formal features and qualities of the ware. Clothes design is merging of technologies and exact data with creative flight of ideas, as the way from the sketch till the model is rather long. It includes creating the model, taking measurements, building the draft of the pattern, choosing fabrics, threads and fittings, study of the world tendencies, brands, collections…

Clothes design is a gift, or profession, or trade, as well as fine arts. Clothes design has its rules and canons. Designer possesses the skills of clothes construction and modeling, he can build patterns and draw them; he is busy with the pattern cutting, masters his tailor’s skills, studies new computer programs that will increase the general productivity and simplify the designer’s work.
When a new designer comes to work at the factory, at first he will make himself noticed here and there, pestering technologists with questions, digging in the scraps of fabrics, looking through the fittings, examining the models created before him. In some period of time you will be able to see the designer humming a song to himself and quickly sketching the drafts of the future masterpieces on the sheets of paper. True craftsmanship often looks like a simple thing, and one doesn’t always understand how much time, work and strength is given to this seeming lightness and impetuosity.

Modern design is professionalism, use of the newest technologies, creative potential. Clothes design is first of all the matter of education, as its aesthetic component can be cultivated in the course of personality development. And here the studios by the model agencies make not much use and serve a bad choice. One needs to study the structure and the peculiarities of the textiles and sewing equipment, history а fashion and many other special subjects, as well as the common for all higher education trends compulsory subjects of university curriculum.  Clothes design is a creative profession, and a designer is not secured from creative crises, from long-term absence of inspiration, from depressions caused by the daily routine and disappointments (so typical for the aspiring designers, who rely mostly on the aesthetic taste and not on technology). The designer in production is strictly limited, and the limits are determined by the results of the marketing research – colour range, price range, fabric and fittings assortment. One mistake of the marketing department, and the whole collection or line won’t go. One of the luxurious brands, Christian Lacroix, said good-bye to design due to such an error. The mistake in the PR-company resulted in company closing the production lines and offer for sale the designer business-centres, part with the hundreds of highly-qualified and carefully chosen employees. Just because ‘the brand wouldn’t go’.  

Design is a part of globalization. It is a part of technology of clothes manufacturing. It dominates the technology, though obeying hanging over it imperatives of the world fashion, as well as the political situation. You should remember it, when hearing the word ‘design’ again, you will try to imagine something easy, light, ephemeral…