Job:12-29742 Title:RP-Fashion Design Ref and Spec Book
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70 THE FASHION DESIGN REFERENCE + SPECIFICATION BOOK
(Text)
BIG QUESTIONS
Art versus Design
What is the difference between art and design? Art answers a self-imposed challenge. Design,
on the other hand, must respond to the demands of the consumer. Fashion can indeed rise
to the level of art in the hands of a designer who has the vision and the ability to realize the
potential of an idea. But the most important thing for designers to consider when wrestling
with the kind of approach they want to apply is balance. Is it enough for the arc of a designer’s
career to serve a need for notoriety or financial reward? What will a designer’s legacy be?
Heady questions, but the answers will provide designers with a metric with which to measure
their success.
The Business of Fashion
Anyone looking to make a living from a career in fashion must contend with the business of
fashion. Often creative types will feel at odds with the operational demands of the commercial
side of what they do. Business practices will be described as dry, boring, or tedious. How does
a designer dispel preconceived notions about day-to-day operations?
Fashion designers are in the unique position of being creative problem solvers. Hence the
challenge moves beyond how to get the job done, to how to get the job done in an imaginative
way. Some chores can’t be reinvented, but they can be seen as a part of something more re-
warding. In this instance, the important question is, How can you look at a task differently?
Boundaries
When limits constrain designers’ creative flow, they must ask how they can redefine the situa-
tion. These limits may present themselves in the form of very tangible points such as budget.
In times of financial hardship, for example, where will the cuts be made? Quality? Quantity?
Ornamentation? Advertising? Each area of the designer’s enterprise needs to be scrutinized
with questions that address how integrity survives these realities.
More subjective boundaries may be placed on what designers will produce if they feel the
need to respect or rebel against the current restrictions of society and the market. How does
censorship become inspiration? The director Alfred Hitchcock was well known for skirting Hol-
lywood’s Hay Production Code, which from 1930 to 1968 imposed censorship guidelines on
moviemakers. The result was more often than not groundbreaking. The code stipulated that an
on-screen kiss could not last longer than three seconds. Hitchcock created memorable screen
kisses in Notorious (1946) and To Catch a Thief (1955) by using a very clever cutting style.
Technically, each segment of the kiss clocked in at three seconds. In Notorious the kiss was
intercut with conversation and in To Catch a Thief with images of fireworks bursting in air. In
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Job:12-29742 Title:RP-Fashion Design Ref and Spec Book
#175 Dtp:204 Page:70
064-071_30034.indd 70 2/27/13 4:12 PM