Texture & Fashion

I was walking around in Walker Hall this morning and noticed these beautiful hand drawings from a fashion design class. I especially admired several drawings done by a girl who had paid special attention to detail in her near photo-realistic renderings. Drawing classes teach people how to look at objects as form in light and dark shades. One aspect to hand drawing that is particularly difficult to master is mimicking texture.

The contemporary fashions that adorned the hallway explained a lot about the intention of the designers because of their use of texture. The photo-realistic ones that I mentioned not only showed the texture of the garments [i.e. the fabrics & furs], but also expressed movement & flow in the way they sat on the models bodies.

Designers must master the skill of representing their ideas on paper effectively. If a designer cannot draw or mock-up a design idea it is to their detriment; designers should practice and perfect texture replication, visual hierarchy, line thickness, etc. Texture is especially important to express because it corresponds with the first aesthetic seen by potential clients. Clients won’t be able to envision what the designer can unless the designer can produce an accurate example.