10 tips for fashion designers and garment enthusiasts
hey blog, I’ve never typed to you before so this is unusual for me <3
before I share the key lessons I've learned in my years of fashion experience, you might want to know a little more about that and me. sewing and garment making has been passed down my motherline for atleast four generations. in my imagination, which i love to follow, I sense it’s been going on even longer than that. for some reason clothing is so profoundly special to me, it’s actually kind of hard for me to even summarize how i got here. i used to have this white opalescent sparkly dance costume that had me in a chokehold because of how magical i felt while wearing it. i even remember the t shirt covered in bows with a frilly hemline. both the tactile and emotion experience of clothing creates a demeanor, a mood, an alchemical vibration throughout the ether that inspires me to dedicate as much time as possible to the craft. i also believe that society at large has a distorted relationship with clothing consumption, and i want to be a force to reckon with that. i spent my teenage years and early twenties learning a lot about garment making, attending fashion design school at university of north texas and receiving a BFA even!! (which i am very proud of and I think art school deeply changed me and informed my learning). most consistently my day job has been in vintage selling and consignment. studying vintage clothing is one of the most remarkable influences on my designs. since college i have taken an unconventional route in the fashion industry, mostly because i was battling demons and i am a punk at heart. continuing the garment making process on my own time and dime throughout the years has brought me to a place of excited confidence and creation. so now i bring you violet after life to share <3
all that being said, throughout the ins and outs of fashion lifestyle, i wanted to start my blogging journey sharing advice for anyone else with a similar passion
#1 Identify Your Goal
Like any art form that is tied to industry, the numerous paths are some-what obscure, sometimes uncharted, and always take leaps and bounds to break into. I’m not qualified to give instructions for each path, because I only know my own, but I will say that the standard fashion design degree will cover a broad knowledge of fashion design and industry standards. Attending fashion design school is a great choice for someone who thrives on structured learning. But depending on your goals, the choice of school & classes are integral to getting there. Always be aware that money & status play a major role in someone’s access to the fashion dreams that you also desire. Having this awareness makes it easier to not be so mystified by what you have yet accomplished. I’m trying my best to speak broadly here, cause whether it’s debuting at Paris fashion week, selling out at your local markets, or interning for Acne Studios -there will always be an investment of time, skills, network, and money. Your sphere of influence greatly informs how you begin to breach any shortcomings in these areas. For instance, you may not need a degree for your goals and would benefit from taking workshops instead. As long as you have the vision there are many ways to create and connect.
My personal goal aligns most with being an artisan clothes maker, and much of the advice that follows pertains to that goal
#2 Sew With a Mentor
The most valuable information I have learned in my years of sewing came from working alongside mentors. When I think about the number of people I have sewn with, and how many people they have sewn with, it’s clear that we have created a lineage of knowledge that makes designing more palatable. Learning in real time with guided knowledge is when key attributes of design truly resonate. For instance, every sewing book contains instructions for the grain-line. But maybe your understanding of utilizing the grain-line isn’t relevant to you until someone corrects your pattern and improves the fit.
Most of the following tips originate from those who have mentored me
#3 Know Your Skillset OR your final vision
Knowing where your skills thrive and where they lack is key to finding your footing. Fashion design by nature demands a variety of experience with materials, silhouettes, finishes, etc. Although it’s important to always grow your knowledge, expanding upon your strengths leads to the most unique attributions. It’s possible to push the boundaries of design without having to push yourself towards a process that isn’t working out for you. My personal example is that although I am drawn to knitwear, it has never been my preference to sew. I am much more fond of utilizing woven materials and single needle tailoring.
As a counter point, for some designers it is best to be laser focused on the types of designs that they find to be the most visionary. This process would also help fast track a designer towards their goals, because they would be able to work their way towards a specific look and learn the machines, fits, and finishes necessary for their vision.
Creating through either skillset OR vision is very fruitful. Having the intention towards one, the other, or having eras of both options makes all the difference
#4 Keep a Paper Trail
Unless you have a very unique process, at some point you will have to reckon with the ability to reproduce your designs. Although there is quite a huge learning curve in creating your own pattern pieces, the ability to alter and recreate your designs will be worth the effort. And frankly, patterning for a fashion designer is like pointing your toes for a ballerina. Whether you pattern by software, drape, or hand drafting, pattern pieces allow you the ability to size grade and reproduce your designs. Even if you are keen on upcycling, you may benefit from utilizing pattern pieces for certain steps in the design.
The most important practice for your patterns to be helpful is to have the pieces clearly labeled. This includes: a description of the pattern piece (ie: “front bodice flounce”), the grainline, notches, and how many pieces to cut.
#5 Product Development is an Investment ~ time isn’t linear
I oftentimes see new designers fixate on time it takes to create their designs. Although we all loathe with fascination that it does, in fact, take up to 60 hours to create a new design from sketch to finish, and we want to remind everyone of that fact… it’s not a realistic timeline of production going forward. When you accept whole heartedly that product development is an investment of time, you are no longer mentally blocked from your ability to make your designs profitable. Especially if you are the creator of your products, practicing production will reduce the time involved -this is guaranteed. Not every design is going to be a hit but it’s imperative that while you’re creating, you are open to the possibilities of what this investment of time could do for you in the long run. Whether it’s a design that carries your brand for years to come or a process that is expanded upon for future designs, Let it happen!
#6 Learn to sew with pace
Piggy-backing off of tip #5, sewing with pace is the key towards creating the mind-body connection where you can enjoy the fruits of your labor. As I described in the first tip, many of my tips are geared towards artisanal creators. When we are the main perpetrators of our products, we are obviously concerned with the time incorporated into production. One of my teachers told me something I will never forget, “It’s important to learn how to sew quickly, because as designers we don’t want to spend all of our time sewing”
My most practical advice for this is that high speed machines create the best straight seams. This is why I am a fan of the Heavy Duty for a home sewing machine, because it is the fastest commercial machine. When dealing with any machine you need to approach it with the understanding that the machine sews straight on its own, and the process of feeding the fabric through is the learning curve that you have to overcome to make this work. It is also very helpful to watch videos of sewers in production and be able to see in real time the process of feeding the fabric through and letting Jesus take the wheel.
During the time that I was sewing products for a local designer, I was amazed at the structure of sewing a garment within 3-4 hours. The garments I sewed for this designer were very simple in construction, but still timeless and beautiful by choice of textile. To be completely honest, as a designer I am still looking for that sweet spot product that can be completed in less than 6 hours. But I am currently in an era of creating long form products, and I am finding tidbits of simpler products along the way.
#7 A fashion house is not a party of one
A hard pill to swallow when you are the driving force of your passion, but the nature of fashion is never to do it alone. The sooner you embrace this, the better! Unlike other artforms, the passion for fashion ALWAYS involves a community. The mentors, mentees, the team, photographers, videographers, models, and clients are what make it all happen. (manifesting)
#8 Get out of your own way
This tip coincides very much with #3, know yourself/your skills. But also, don’t be afraid of what you want out of this experience. It is so easy to get caught up in what’s popular, what’s efficient, what you think other people want/expect essentially. My own experience is that I sometimes felt if I wasn’t doing something more avante-garde or luxury, then it wouldn’t make sense for me to be an independent designer. What I’m truly motivated to design, however, is ready to wear. I am really into elevating the every day experience through design and functionality. There are so many random limiting beliefs that artists and designers will tell themselves to avoid trying.
#9 The difference between home sewing and tailoring
This could potentially be an entire blog post for another day. Unfortunately there is a slight difference between home sewing techniques and tailoring. The main way to spot the difference is that home sewing techniques often require an innovative tool/product that makes the process “quicker and easier”, or a short cut with no tool at all. Over the years of trying out both tailoring methods and home sewing tools and techniques, my experience is that tailoring always wins aesthetically. And sometimes tailoring Wins in the sense that you can just get the damn thing done the first time. However, I don’t want to be completely one sided about the subject. I also enjoy incorporating a few home sewing methods that I’ve picked up from vintage garments over the years. The thing is, manufactured clothing is difficult to tailor because the fabric and threads are so bounded by industrial machinery. Manufactured clothing is in it’s own lane, it is not usually tailored and it’s obviously not home made. For that reason, I’ve been interested in un-learning some of the rules I picked up in fashion design school, and taking more inspiration from clothing that is hand made.
#10 You can skip the thrift flip part of the sewing journey if you want to
F*** it, final tip ending with a banger. Maybe it’s because I never got started that way, it’s not my tea and it doesn’t have to be yours. Do I still do it sometimes because I want to use the fabrics? I mean yes but I think it’s such a pain. It’s so limiting to cut and adjust from a garment that’s already made. My guess is that most people are intimidated by the blankness of starting with a pattern and a remnant. But I really don’t believe you can truly have a grasp of garment construction if you don’t encounter it from “scratch” at some point. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THRIFT FLIPS maybe the all caps doesn’t fully convey how genuinely I feel that. I think it’s a very noble thing to do, make cute clothes out of old ones. But I wanted to include this in my tips to give anyone the out they might need, and didn’t know they needed.
Thank you so much for reading my first blog post on violet after life!
I’m very excited for this journey to continue sharing my creations and thoughts
xoxo