Design and fashion

PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN AND APPLICATION

Design and fashion

Designs can be seen everywhere, in fact we are surrounded by designs in various forms. Man always thrives for something new and unique since time immemorial. To break monotony man first decorated his body by means of tattoos and his dwellings with floor or wall paintings using various materials easily available to him. It was not merely for decoration but also for giving vent to his creates urges which in turn was reflective of his emotions, moods and artistic sense. When man started using, clothes fabric became his canvas and he created various means to decorate it. Hence, the inventions in the loom came, from simple two bar loom to advanced jacquard machine. With each innovation in weaving, fabric structures also became complex and fancy in nature. Innovations were also made for decorating the surface of the fabric through dyeing, printing, finishing, painting and other techniques. The art of printing has grown tremendously from simple block printing in one colour to multi-colour complicated patterns using advance rotary printing machines. Textile technologists were looking upon improvements in techniques to make the processes faster and better and textile designers on the other hand were making efforts to bring new ideas of designs into existence with the use of technological advancements.

Designs play a very important role in fashion. In fact designs are integral part of fashion whether in the form of structural designs or in terms of decorative designs. By nature, human beings get bored easily with the same type of environment and need change to freshen up their lives. Keeping this fact in mind every season, designers come up with new type of prints and designs. As a rule, a fashion comes, people accept it, and then it reaches its peak and then declines. When an old fashion starts declining, fashion leaders start seeking for something new and here the job and role of designers begin. Their job is to anticipate the mood in the market and to offer newness at the right time.

Fashion changes comprise of change of colour, patterns and basic silhouette. Designs give distinguished character to a collection or in other words it can be said that design is soul of fashion. It is the dream of every designer that their designs can communicate with masses through the expressive quality of their lines, forms shapes and colours.

Designs are reflective of the situation of a particular period. Fashion is remembered due to the characteristic beauty of its designs at a given point of time. Fashion is the general term for the style and costume prevalent at a given time, the common usage refers to costume or clothing style. The word fashion connotes change something new and different from what existed before. Every fashion change holds the promise of the ultimate idea of beauty. Each period in history develops its own concepts of beauty, taste, and manners. In the magnificent frescoes of Ajanta and also in Bagh caves, there are signs of many different kinds of weaves and textiles like the Bandhani; figured muslins and rich brocades; garments with stripes and circles, checks and chevrons and other geometrical patterns; conventionalized floral motifs and intertwining scrolls with birds and beasts. One has only to examine paintings, drawing and artifacts through the ages to see how ideas change.

It is not that every time a new thing enters the market, something which was in vogue some years ago comes back with little change. That is how fashion repeats itself, for example polka dots, checks keep on coming and going in fashion scene. Some patterns remain forever and can be termed as traditional designs especially in India because our traditions are very deep rooted in our way of life. For example mango motif in its variegated charm was never out of fashion scene, be its use on a bridal wear or on a traditional saree, sherwani, or lehenga or any other contemporary ensemble like kurti or stole.

Each season fashion is expected to change to fit the new ideas that seem to be in the air. Changes in the fashion world fall into three categories – trends, cycles and fads.
Trends
are manually gradual and one directional. It is used in the long term or long range sense of fashion.
A Cycle is generally described in the fashion business as a repetitive or screening sequence of events, lasting a few seasons or perhaps even a few years.
Fad
is a quick burgeoning of any particular interest and then its quick demise.

Fashion in every period has influenced the prints on the fabric. For instance during 1980’s floral prints, polka dots and abstract motifs on dark background were in vogue, although motifs were also influenced by the traditional arts of the region. Some examples of the eighties and nineties are shown in the pictures below.

Indian prints of 1980’s

Some Indian prints of 1990’s

Role of design in fashion

Index
Previous
Home
Next
Last modified: Monday, 6 February 2012, 7:22 AM