Job:12-29742 Title:RP-Fashion Design Ref and Spec Book
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5 6 THE FASHION DESIGN REFERENCE + SPECIFICATION BOOK
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FABRIC
The textile industry, then, is the next step in the forecasting supply chain. Manufacturers must
persue their own specialized research to assist them in deciding on how they will interpret color
through fabric. This bridges the gap between color research and the direction designers are
poised to move in. Première Vision is a textile trade show that cooperates with weavers and
raw materials experts to present not only the fabrications of color and texture that designers
can see and touch, but also an expert forecast of their own. Cotton Incorporated, a company
that manufactures, markets, and sells cotton products, does research speci c to their product
and develops trend projections based on that research.
FASHION
Once designers have invested in their choices of color and fabric, they are faced with how to
deliver them. The designer often has a vision in mind, but external in uences may present
interesting deviations from the concept. A designer such as Nicole Miller would undoubtedly
have plans for a dress collection in place at any given time, based on the history of her estab-
lished relationship with her customers. With the announcement that pop icon Madonna was
cast as Eva Perón for the 1996 lm version of the Broadway musical Evita, these plans would
be revisited and possibly modi ed. This would be especially true for the Nicole Miller brand
because of the company’s reputation for designing feminine dresses, a category of garments
that would feature heavily in the lm. The female fashion public was hungry for drama and
a reason to dress up, and the resulting Evita craze prompted Bloomingdale’s to open Evita
Shops that featured designers Victor Costa, Elie Tahari, and Nicole Miller.
STYLISTS
Good stylists have a command of fashion and know how to capture a sense of style for the
performer, character, or personality they are charged with out tting. Getting a designer’s prod-
ucts on the “right” celebrities or in movies and on television is a big part of how quickly they
will be adopted and how successful they will be at the register. Stylists with great forecasting
antennae are often responsible for introducing the shoes, bags, and other adornments that
achieve “It” status. The popular cable television series Sex and the City made shoes a part
of character development, and costumer Patricia Field made Carrie’s passion for footwear a
spotlight for shoe designers. Brands like Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo were respected by
the fashion cognoscenti before the series. As the show became evermore a part of the public
zeitgeist, they became household names, raising the bar for all other shoemakers.
BEAUTY
Shifts in the popularity of makeup and hairstyles are among the easiest to adapt to and
adopt. A designer needs to judge how the swiftness of these changes might re ect on their
work. In the mid-1990s, Heroin Chic was a short-lived beauty trend that could undermine even
Photograph by Katy Winn/Getty Images for IMG.
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Job:12-29742 Title:RP-Fashion Design Ref and Spec Book
#175 Dtp:204 Page:56
052-063_30034.indd 56 3/5/13 6:22 PM