21 May 2009

Last night we saw Episode 3 of The Fashion Show.  The challenge of creating a coat that does something is something that was most in line with what I do in my own collection.  It should have been a breeze, right?  Well, again, TIME is a major factor in these challenges.  I’ve been reading other blogs that complain about the lack of sewing skills we designers have on the show.  Well, I want to see those viewers actually attempt to make something from scratch in 14 hours!  Go ahead, try it!  I’m sure it will turn out like crap, and then you’ll say, “OMG, I can’t believe those designers were actually able to make something awesome so quickly!” 

These garments cannot be compared to clothes we are used to seeing in the real world.  Viewers must judge these pieces within the extremely unusual context in which they were designed: 

1)    The tight 14 hour time frame  

(A dress at Donna Karan takes 4 days to create in-house, and that’s with a team of people.)

2)    No time for inspiration research or design development

3)    Functioning on 4-6 hours of sleep a night

5)    Working with the limited selection of fabrics  

(Designers normally buy fabrics from the extensive collection of a textile mill, not from a jobber like B&J or Mood)

6)    Being surrounded by loud personalities 24/7  

(A designer needs “space” to think and concentrate during the creative process)

7)    SEWING OUR OWN GARMENTS (read below)

In the real world, FASHION DESIGNERS DO NOT SEW THEIR OWN CLOTHES.  I’m sorry if the general public has been led to believe this.  We are not home-sewers and we have advanced beyond our amateur fashion student years.  Yes, I did sew my clothes from scratch once, but that was when I was 16 years old making a dress for prom.  I stopped sewing after that when I moved to New York and learned how the fashion design process really works. 

As professional designers, we understand how clothes are constructed and how the end product should look. We rely on the highly skilled patternmakers and samplemakers to execute our vision for us. They are the backbone to any fashion company and why someone like Valentino gives them so much credit in the documentary The Last Emperor. One dress sold in a store is actually a collaborative effort between a whole team of people.

Patternmakers, tailors, samplemakers, and cutters are all losing their jobs as the New York Garment District continues to shrink because companies are moving production overseas.  In Italy, they are a dying breed – literally; the techniques of highly-skilled artisans will not be passed down to the younger generation, and these skills will be lost forever.  Any shows or movies that lead viewers to believe fashion designers are a one-person phenomenon are doing a disservice to the global fashion industry. 

I hope all viewers will understand that what they are watching is counter to how fashion designers really work in the real world.  Designing a collection is very hard work, takes 4-6 months to create, and involves a big team of people each with their own skill set.  A fashion designer rarely ever sews an entire garment themselves (that’s what a “tailor” does), so please keep this is mind when watching The Fashion Show.  It will help you understand just how impressive these designers really are and why they were chosen to be a part of the show.