designer's inspiration

[Casualuxury]

anybody on here planning on being a fashion designer. I am and I was wondering who your muses are, who you look forward to each season for inspiration. What your personaly style will be, and how you plan to present in on the runway.

For me i love Dsquared, Versace, Dior, and Alexander McQueen.
I like to do detailing on my stuff like good old Alex, i like to focus on the cut of stuff like versace. I love how dior is always creative and is spilling ideas out, and i love the freshness of Dsquared and their Quirky sayings

I like to focus on every aspect of the total look, ie the detailing on the shoes.

I plan on having a high end line so i can have my models strut down the runway in the hottest looks of the season. I also plan on having a lower priced line mainly appealing to the clubber kids.

Right now im working on sketches of both of my lines the theme for my main line is sort of a western, open cut demonic diamond mine in africa meets 30's 40's glamour and the horror films of Alfred Hitchcock meets Renissance style frescos of angels in cowboy hats out on the rage in silks. (mainly inspired by Kanye Wests video for Diamonds from Sierra Leone. http://music.yahoo.com/ar-304131-videos--Kanye-West you can find that here

My Line that is lower priced is based on the music video by Benny Benassi for the song "Satisfaction". that is also available on yahoo music under Benny Benassi.

Hope to hear from the aspiring designers so we can chat it up.

I'll try to upload some pics also.

 

[skyeblue]

Well, I myself am an aspiring designer, and I tend to look at Chanel, Dior and Gucci alot. I mean, I don't really have inspirations, stuff just comes to me, but I like their work alot, and they sometimes motivate me. I have been drawing outfits since I was, I don't know, 7 or 8 maybe, perhaps even 6. Its just my passion, but it's really hard to succeed in th fashion industry. I don't actually know that from experience, since I'm only 13, but I'm trying to get as involved in fashion as I can, to build my knowledge. I just sketch, but I've tried to actually make them, but I need to take a sewing class or something. I sewed barbie doll clothes all last summer, and I attempted to sew my Halloween costume when I was 10, but I think I need more experience in sewing, and such. I hope to hear from you, and talk some more.

 

[VICTIM]

i dont normally have a theme or a reference i just try to make interesting shapes and sillouhettes (sp?) through cutting and draping the clothes i do tend to look at the work of ann demeulemeester.

recently i was asked to do a project thats inspired by my surroundings so i'm looking at the way the tattered clothes fall of the scarecrows opposite my house, here i try to create clothes that fall away nfrom the body in a similar fashion which i'm finding difficult

 

[Lena]

i usually work with a theme, like 'puff sleeves' for fw05.06 , cords and ribbons for ss05.. it always help me concentrate
i avoid as much as i can 'taking inspiration'* because i find it somehow 'restricting and non-original' i prefer creating from scratch, simple and beautiful things i'd like to wear myself

*retailers hate 'inspired' styles ..i dont blame them since they somehow lack originality

 

[Casualuxury]

Its not so much that I copy other designers, that im ispired by their creativity. Most of my experience with others that are interested in the fasion industry is that they are all the same. I actually live 30 min from Kent State University in ohio and i went on a visit and did the whole shadowing day deal and most of the designers there weren't that creative. For instance in the computer class or whatever they had to bring in prints and make thier own based on them. And to me it seemed as they all grabbed the same thing and ran out the door in a rush. There were a few creative individuals that i could see being HUGE but most of the students looked like they were looking for jobs as inters at Chloe. I think that you have to have the whole package when it comes to fashion design. You have to have the creativity to make OUTRAGEOUS clothes that people will still buy, while being on the same wavelength as your projected audience, and have guts to make yourself idividual. Oh and have the talent to make your runway show a spectacle. Ive never seen some dumb b*tch who does regular crap like skirts and blazers every season but changes it up by making them different colors and by placing safety pin flowers on them, and at the same time sending them down the runway to some rediculously lame song that they heard at a tea party of some whiney 15 year old girl who woke up at 3 am because she was thirsty make it. Thats just my opinion though.

 

[Lena]

of course each has his/her own way casualuxury, respect rules.

see.. diverse styles and attitudes make fashion the interesting developing industry that it is

 

[skyeblue]

Yeah, I do what Lena does, I sort of have a theme, like a certain colour, or style, or element. I don't really take inspiration from other designers, I get my own ideas, but I do look at other designers, as motivation, like "Look, they could make it in the industry, why can't I?" sort of thing. It's hard trying to get experience when you're only 13, because you get, "So what experience do you have?" or " Why don't you wait until you're a little older, dear?". I feel like if I can do it now, what does age matter?

 

[softgrey]

age doesn't matter...
talent and 'experience' do...

 

[skyeblue]

True. Now if only those other people would think like you.

 

[Ceptuouse]

I think you need to start off with a theme and then experiment with that in as many different ways you can to complete all of the collection, and you could also As John Galliano does for Dior, have a couple of themes for one collection

 

[tangiblelove]

I'm constantly inspired. People and life are my main inspirations. My friends and family are my muse but in some ways I think you have to be your own muse. I always try to convey my feelings and emotions through my designs or a fantasy collection of the feelings I wish my life inspired. I think its good to look into past clothing, but not to copy just as more of a starting point. Always make sure your personality and truth come through and I think you'll suceed...good luck to everyone and I hope you all have tons of inspiration

 

[rockitgirl]

I am myself working to accomplish my own line just like you. I am tackling it from the technical side right now. I can not draw but I can see what I want in my head and so I find that at this point it is easiest for me just to go straight to pattern development. I have to work on my drawing skills quite a bit, I can't even draw a good looking stickman lol. It's so important if you're going to be more than a one-man operation so that others can understand your vision as well.

Anyway, I like Betsey Johnson and Anna Sui among others, but I don't draw inspiration from them really. I tend to just look at people on the streets for my inspiration. Sometimes that means brand name, sometimes DiY, sometimes high fashion. But the neat thing is how different people wear essentially the same garment and it gives that garment a totally different mood. I like that and it inspires me.

Feel free to add me to msn messenger if you use it djrockitgirl (at) hotmail is the address I use.

 

[gius]

i usually work with a theme, like 'puff sleeves' for fw05.06 , cords and ribbons for ss05.. it always help me concentrate
i avoid as much as i can 'taking inspiration'* because i find it somehow 'restricting and non-original' i prefer creating from scratch, simple and beautiful things i'd like to wear myself

*retailers hate 'inspired' styles ..i dont blame them since they somehow lack originality

bump

a nice thread...

what does it mean, "inspired styles" ?
does it mean something inspired by 60's style, 50s style, etc.? or taking inspiration from an established designer's style/signature... ?
what if it's inspiration from things in nature like floral structures or playing of light & shadow...?

 

[kem]

I dont know i recently discovered my inspiration is music. Im inspired by the mood and energy of music and how it makes me feel while drawing , sewing or drafting.

 

[gius]

bump (again)

i like textures...
through transparency, painting (simulated), look and weight of materials

 

[superbeautiful]

I get inspired by anything and everything. I hate to just say one thing, because sometimes I move on to something else. Lately I've become inspired by fabrics. I can go to a fabric store for hours and just stare, feel and admire the fabric. I love pairing fabrics together and just visualising how beautiful a garment can be made by the lovely fabrics.

 

[gius]

that's true...^
there are many areas
usually i will work on a 'character', a mood in mind
i was very inspired by watching The Hours last night
specifically Kidman as Virginia Woolf

and then after the fabrics play off of those themes

 

[dior_couture1245]

I dont know i recently discovered my inspiration is music. Im inspired by the mood and energy of music and how it makes me feel while drawing , sewing or drafting.

Me, too! When I'm designing, I listen to a certain song on repeat for hours and it just gets me in the mood of the collection I'm designing. When I design, I see the final product, not just the finished garment, I see it in the exact runway set, with the lighting, the model walking on the catwalk and the music I'm listening to!

When I'm inspired, it's usually something historic or cultural. I'm not the kind of designer to be inspired by a color or a verb or adjective...that's just not me! I usually like to look through lots of reference material and soak up everything that I can, and then I design with those images in my mind, but not in front of me. I'm inspired a lot by history and I love to make what was fashionable in the past applicable for today, but never costume like. I like to have it look theatrical on the runway but have each individual piece very accessible and wearable.

For example, I've been inspired for a while by Queen Elizabeth I and that whole Shakespearian era. So in my designs, I take certain elements of that period and go from there. I've designed slashed leather bomber jackets worn with brocade suits, cocktail dresses and evening wear with starched lace accents and accessorized with tooled gold clutches and rings and pearl necklaces. I'm also really inspired by traditional Mexican costumes. I've designed crisp, white day dresses with colorful floral embroidery, colorful woven blanket style fabric for coats and mariachi style suits and embossed leather blazers with silver accessories.

I love the idea of something that looks very referential, historic, etc on the runway because of styling, hair and make up, music, lighting and set, but having each piece worn individually in a real life situation being totally applicable for a modern woman.

 

[ilaughead]

So I started a folder on my computer dedicated to my own design inspiration a few months ago. Maybe I'll assemble a little selection of it for the mood board thread?

While I'm interested in pursuing menswear design, a lot of the pictures are from women's runway shows or some have nothing to do with fashion whatsoever. They range everywhere from store displays to mid-century architecture to impressionist art to anime to a lighting installation!

 

[gius]

That's completely understandable, ilaughead
in the beginning mine used to be nothing but womenswear
but now it's all sort of abstract
and some pictures have no clothing at all but it reminds me of certain things...

Wouldn't you use the moodboard thread if you're going to use the images for making a collection?