For the understanding of artistic literacy, take clothing design as an example:
1. Painting foundation and modeling ability
The painting foundation and modeling ability are the core requirements of fashion designers. One of the basic skills. Of course, there are some former design masters who cannot draw, but they need to have better performance in other aspects. But if some people, even after systematic study and training in school, still cannot express their design ideas well through painting, it will bring great difficulties to their own creations.
Only with a good foundation in painting can we accurately express the designer's creative ideas in the form of painting through the design's modeling ability. On the other hand, we can also better appreciate the clothing styling in the process of designing drawings. The beauty of heavy rhythm and rhythm inspires designers.
In the early 20th century, the Bauhaus once proposed that "the purpose of design is people rather than products." Clothing, in particular, is the external covering of the human body and has a close relationship with the human body. As a designer, we can only Only by having an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the proportions and structure of the human body can we express the beauty of the human body in a better and three-dimensional way. This is the basis of design.
2. Rich imagination
Originality and imagination are the wings of a fashion designer. A designer without rich imagination can only be called a craftsman or tailor, no matter how good his skills are. , and cannot be called a real design city. The essence of design is creation, and the design itself contains the meaning of innovation and uniqueness. Flowers, birds and trees in nature, decorative objects around us, rich ethnic and folk themes, music, dance, poetry, literature and even modern lifestyles can all give us great inspiration and design inspiration. For thousands of years, the history of clothing has left us rich and valuable wealth precisely because of the rich imagination and original spirit of our predecessors.
In the history of Western fashion design, those high-profile signature fashion designers have used their unique creativity and imagination to redesign. In particular, the influential Italian female designer in the 1930s - Schiaborelli actually designed shoes to look like hats on the head and pockets to look like drawers. Her rich imagination, humorous and bold designs The style is highly praised by future generations.
3. Mastery of style, color and fabric
The style, color and fabric of clothing are the three basic elements of clothing design.
The style of clothing is the outer contour shape and component details of the clothing, which is the basis for design changes. The external silhouette shape is composed of the length and latitude of the clothing, including waistline, skirt length, shoulder width, hem looseness and other factors. The most common contour shapes include "A" type, "X" type, T type, H type, O type, etc. The outer contour shape of clothing forms the lines of clothing and directly determines the popularity of the style. The shape of the component details refers to the collar type, sleeve type, pockets, cutting structure and even the design of pleats, zippers and buttons.
The color change of clothing is the most eye-catching part of the design. The color of clothing is the easiest way to express design feelings and is easily accepted by consumers. Fiery red, cheerful yellow, calm blue, holy hem, plain gray, hard black, every color of clothing has rich emotional representations, giving people rich connotation associations. In addition, colors also have feelings of weight, strength, coldness and warmth, softness and hardness, etc. Of course, colors can also make us think about taste and smell.
Proficiency in mastering and using the characteristics of clothing fabrics is an important condition for immature designers. Designers must first understand the differences between fabric thickness, softness and hardness, smoothness and roughness, and three-dimensional smoothness. , through the different drape, gloss, clarity, thickness, elasticity, drape, etc. of the fabrics, we can carefully understand the differences in styles and brands, and use them flexibly in the design.
The perfect combination of fabrics with different textures and textures can better show the designer's artistic skills and taste. The various styles of clothing styles are not just reflected in the design drawings, but are achieved simultaneously using various different fabrics and cutting techniques. Only by mastering and using fabric design skillfully can you be comfortable.
The three parts of clothing style, color and fabric are indispensable and are the basic knowledge that designers must master.
The mastery and application of basic knowledge of styles, colors and fabrics can also reflect a designer's aesthetic taste, taste and artistic skills to a certain extent.
4. Understanding of structural design, cutting and sewing
Learning of structural design and cutting technology is also the basic knowledge that fashion designers must master. Structural design is part of style design. The various shapes of clothing are actually completed through changes in cutting and size. If you don't understand fabric, structure and cutting, design can only be "paper talk". Don’t think that structural design and cutting in a company are the responsibility of pattern makers. A designer who only knows how to draw and doesn’t know how to make patterns is definitely not a perfect and mature designer. Without understanding paper patterns and structural changes, the design will be unreasonable, immature, or even impossible to implement.
Students in schools often encounter this problem. Since they don’t know how to make patterns, they can only ask a master to make patterns for the costumes they participate in the competition, but what they draw is the same effect. , it was completely out of shape and did not achieve the desired effect. It can be seen that the pattern itself directly determines the shape and overall effect of the clothing. In the 20th century, many masters started directly from the cutting and structure of clothing, and used these as very important design languages, such as Balenciaga, Langman, Vionette, Yohji Sanbon, etc. We can see from studying the works of the masters that the structural design of clothing is rich in connotation and unique in expression. Its deep, subtle and unobtrusive style is worth savoring. If we are not proficient in cutting and structural design, our appreciation of the work will only remain superficial, and the design will only be an empty shelf, unable to withstand scrutiny and testing.
Sewing is also the key to clothing design. Failure to understand various sewing techniques and methods will also affect our learning of structural design and tailoring. The sewing method and effect itself are also part of the design. Different sewing methods can produce different appearance effects and even special texture effects. Some designers use "sewing effect" as a design language to try new effects. This technique is very popular in sincere design. This requires designers to be familiar with various processing equipment and special clothing sewing machines in the clothing industry, and have a thorough understanding of knitting and woven processing techniques, so that they can be handy in design and application.
5. Yes Understanding of fashion design theory and history
The initial stage of fashion design is the mastery of some basic techniques and skills, and more importantly, a successful fashion designer should have a design mind and keen creative thinking. It is not enough to only master basic skills and be able to draw beautiful renderings. Nowadays, fashion design majors in art academies offer costume theory courses. Through these courses, students can understand theoretical knowledge such as Chinese and foreign art history, design history, costume history, and costume aesthetics. At the same time, they can broaden students' horizons, broaden design ideas, and inspire students. their design inspiration.
In particular, studying the development history of Chinese and foreign clothing, its long history of clothing evolution can provide us with a lot of design inspiration. Ancient Egyptian style, ancient Greek style, Gothic style, Baroque, and Rococo styles are very important in modern clothing. It can be seen everywhere in the works of the master. Only by understanding the history of the development of Chinese and Western clothing and understanding the evolution of modern clothing can we stay grounded in modern design history and predict the future. Understanding the changes in the development history of Chinese and Western clothing will also give you a deeper understanding of the differences between Chinese and Western clothing. You will also understand how an Eastern clothing designer should face Western clothing, how to embody national style in design, and how to compete on the world clothing stage. Win a place in it.
6. Mastering the development history of clothing and the styles of masters in the 20th century
Understanding and mastering the development history of clothing and the styles of masters in the 2nd century is a quick way to become a fashion designer. From CHANNEL in the early 20th century to Galliano in the early 2000s, every design master has left us a lasting mark in the history of clothing: the elegant and romantic low-cut backless dress of the 20th and 30s; the elegance of the 1950s Rich high fashion; rebellious and weird hippie/punk clothing in the 1960s and 1970s; broad-shouldered, loose-fitting masculine professional women's clothing in the 1980s; charming lace and see-through clothing in the 1990s... Only by in-depth study of the development history of clothing in the 20th century Only by understanding the design styles and artistic expressions of the masters of that era can we learn from them in our own clothing design.
From the 1980s to the 1990s, German design master Karl Lagerfeld served as the chief designer of CHANNEL. In order to reverse the difficulties of CHANNEL at that time and inject new vitality into it, Karl Lagerfeld Gefer first started by being familiar with the design style of the Chanel brand, so that he could explain each style in Chanel's decades of history while dictating it. After fully understanding the style and design history of CHANNEL, Karl Lagerfeld changed the boring and monotonous CHANNEL suit and launched the pastel and sexy CHANNEL suit in the 1990s, which revived CHANNEL clothing and once again won the favor of young women. Love, thus restoring the vitality of the CHANNEL brand in the past.
It can be seen that every designer has to make considerable efforts to achieve recognition and success for his designed works.
7. Understand marketing and consumer psychology
A successful designer should first succeed in the market and standardize his design style and style according to the company's brand positioning. route. Karl Lagerfeld once served as the chief designer of three internationally renowned brands, including Chanel, Fenty, and Croyer. When planning and designing for each brand, he took the brand's positioning as the criterion and promoted 3 Different brand styles, known as "genius designer".
Fashion designers must ultimately reflect their value in the market. Only by truly understanding the market and consumer purchasing psychology can we grasp the real market trends (rather than the rational trends promulgated in fashion magazines). Only by perfectly combining design and craftsmanship, with appropriate marketing channels, and converting clothing into commodities through sales that are accepted by consumers and truly reflect their value can the entire process of clothing design be successfully completed.
The difference between young designers who have just stepped out of school and mature fashion designers lies in the former's lack of sufficient understanding and experience of the market. As a novice, you need to be familiar with various tasks in the shortest time before or after graduation, including the brand's style, market positioning, overview of competitive brands, changes in clothing design styles with different positionings each season, and popular styles in different cities. differences, the target consumer group’s ability to accept fashion and popularity, etc. You also need to know when to launch new products, how to launch them, and at what price to launch them. Through these practices and experiences, you can become a "fashion designer" skilled".
As a clothing college that cultivates clothing professionals, it should update its concepts, emancipate its minds, and open its doors. Designers can interact with the corporate world, and teaching must be integrated with enterprises, the market and brands, so as to train students' practical abilities. In order to achieve this goal, I have made great adjustments to the fourth-year design course of the clothing major of Shenzhen University Art College. The content of the course is completely based on the work requirements of designers of clothing companies, ranging from brand research, positioning analysis, From the design plan to the introduction of styles, price positioning, marketing plans, etc., students are familiar with every work detail of the clothing company in advance, and the "run-in period" that students face when they join social work after graduation is prepared in school in advance. This enables students to accumulate more practical experience upon graduation, which is welcomed by most companies.
At the same time, being a designer is a fashionable profession that most people aspire to. Sign contracts between designers and companies, various conferences and expos have attracted much media attention. But behind this prosperity, some young designers also have misunderstandings, thinking that this is the only way to succeed as a fashion designer. They think that a designer's job is to do fashion shows and stand on the catwalk holding flowers to accept congratulations. . In fact, the designer's job is to keep an eye on market changes, constantly research and predict market trends, and accurately grasp the positioning and style of the company's brand, because they are related to the future and development of the entire clothing company, and even the destiny.
8. Computer application ability
With the continuous penetration of computer technology in the design field, computers have become the most effective and efficient tool for fashion designers in both the design thinking and creation process. The fastest design tool, especially in some more formal clothing companies, the use of design, pattern making, and pattern pushing software such as clothing design CAD and clothing design CAM is very popular. Embroidery patterns, printing patterns, etc. are also completed by computers.
Fashion designers must be able to skillfully use drawing software such as PHOTOSHOP, COREDRAW and PAINTER. They can easily edit, modify and draw your graphics, broaden your design expression methods and speed up your design. Especially PAINTER, its huge drawing toolbox, wide variety of brushes, and highly infectious coloring effects and color filter effects can make your computer design works extraordinary and more realistic. Looking at this picture, can you tell it was drawn by a computer? As an advanced and modern drawing tool, the computer has rich expressive power and extraordinary potential. Mastering and using computer drawing software in clothing design, fabric and pattern design is not only a need in daily design work, but also You can experience the taste and fun of being a "modern designer".
9. Observation and professionalism
As a fashion designer, it is very important to have a keen observation of clothing. Because there is too much emphasis on basic skills and technical training in fashion design education, students often have weak market awareness, lack clear ideas, keen observation and overall thinking ability, and often cannot adapt to the work of designers quickly after graduation. How to preside over a brand design depends on the designer's strong comprehensive ability and keen observation of clothing. This requires not only technical creativity, but also rational thinking to analyze the market, find the correct positioning, and plan the design. Operate and promote the brand purposefully. Therefore, how to create your brand style so that target consumers can dress fashionably; how to attract your customers, expand market share, improve brand taste, increase design content, gain greater added value, and create brand effects are the key to clothing Basic qualities and skills that designers should possess.
Engaging in the fashion design industry also requires professionalism. You should not only regard it as a job to make a living, but also regard it as a career to pursue and love it. The word "love" is actually not too much at all. Only if you devote yourself wholeheartedly and work hard can you finally get rich rewards. In fact, it’s the same with anything. Chanel began her long journey of fashion design by designing women's hats in the early 20th century. For more than 50 years, she was always active on the stage as a clothing revolutionary until the 1970s. The last moment of his life was spent busy with her designs...