Fashion Design Workshop: Remix - An Inclusive Approach for Aspiring Designers

Fashion is not a one-size-fits-all game – it is for everyone. Today's designers understand that fashion serves purposes beyond the utilitarian function of simply dressing people. Fashion supports creative expression, confidence, and individuality. Here are some tips to get you started designing fashions for a wide range of people of all shapes and sizes.

Firstly, design for everybody and every body! Practice drawing all sorts of figure proportions, finding inspiration from fashion and lifestyle magazines, social media, and television. Red Carpet wrap-ups are especially great, as they showcase full-length poses of celebrities of diverse body types. Select a favorite outfit, then adapt the design to fit a variety of body types, remembering to add accessories.

When designing an original fashion, tweak and alter the design to suit different body shapes. Add details that will flatter the body you are designing for. In this methodical approach, visualizing and drawing these details realistically helps establish accurate proportions in the final illustration.

Focus on the horizontal lines that denote the shoulders, chest, waist, and hips. Notice if the midline (the spine) is vertical or slanted, and whether the hipline is tilted. Indicate the joints with small dots or circles – this is a great tool for checking proportions. Elbows usually hit at the waist, and wrists are usually one-third of the way between the hips and knees.

Once you train your eye to see the underlying architecture of a figure, you'll be able to create a template for any body type and shape. Fashion can and should be customized to meet the needs of people with disabilities. A growing number of high-end fashion brands are rolling out lines that take these clients' needs into account by positioning seams, zippers, buttons, and the like in areas that are easy to manage. Design fashions that complement all body types and also accommodate mobility devices.

When drawing figures in fashion design, the focus is generally on the garment, so drawing simple faces and hairstyles is common. For example, drawing one eye and a mouth can be enough to indicate expression without worrying about getting the proportions right. A trusty sketchbook is the best place to capture your brilliant ideas as they happen – jot down an idea for a reversible jacket, sketch a diagram for a shoe, or create a textures library.

Creating hand-drawn flatlay fashions – curating all of the wardrobe essentials into one complete look – is a fun way to get the creative juices flowing. The term "flatlay" refers to styling a complete outfit, like you might do when you lay clothing and accessories across the bed to pull together a look.

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