Fashion terminology in apparel industry

INTRODUCTION TO FASHION TERM SUnderstanding fashion includes knowing many specific fashion and apparel terms.. High fashion styles originate from top name designers in leading fashion

INTRODUCTION TO FASHION TERMS

© SOFT Student Handouts, By, Sunil Talekar, Faculty, SOFT-Pune

INTRODUCTION TO FASHION TERM S

Understanding fashion includes knowing many specific

fashion and apparel terms

What is Style??

A particular design, shape or type of apparel item The style of

the garment is determined by the distinct features that create its

overall appearance.

What is fashion??

The display of the currently popular style of clothing A fashion is

the prevailing type of clothing that is favored by a large segment

of the public at any given time and influenced by Social, Political,

Economical and Artistic media.

What is difference between style and fashion ??

Styles come and go Fashion is always here in some form Fashion

reflects a continuing process of change in the styles of apparel

that are accepted

Apparel and Garment

Any article of apparel, such as a dress, suit,

coat, evening gown or sweater.

What is Garment components?

Any part of garment like sleeves, cuff, collar,

waistband, etc are called as Garment

components

.

If you were to squint your eyes and look

at a suit, dress or coat, the outline

(shape) of the garment would show its silhouette

Silhouettes are always changing in

fashion The general direction that a

silhouette takes shorter) shows a fashion trend

(wider-narrower-longer-Silhouette of fashion cycle

Three specific silhouettes have separately rise, and fall in

Specific Silhouette

Hi fashion:: High fashion

are the latest or newest

fashions They are usually of

top quality, with fine

workmanship and beautiful

fabrics Because of the

quality, they are expensive

High fashion styles originate

from top name designers in

leading fashion cities

Details of high fashion filter

down into generally

accepted fashions.

HI FASHION

Designer label…

The term designer label refers to clothing, luxury automobile manufacturers and other personal accessory items sold under an often prestigious marque which is

commonly named after a designer.

Labels such as Gucci, Chanel, and Alexander M cQueen are derived from the

company's founding designer, while others do not directly refer to the company's founder: for example, Red or Dead, M iu M iu, and Chloe may be referred to as

designer labels.

Designer labels are not only restricted to the fashion industry M any people consider designer labels to be a status symbol.

The relationship between consumer products, and social status is highly debated

A more variable range of garments still inspired by creativity and innovation N ot made for individual customers but great care is taken in the choice and cut of the fabric These clothes are made with high quality materials and proposed only in

small quantities to guarantee exclusity They are expensive.

Designer label…

Avant garde: The most daring and wild designs They are unconventional and startling.

Avant garde

M ass fashion

Clothes to cater to a wider range of customers, producing ready-to-wear clothes in large quantities and standard sizes

Less costly materials and construction techniques, creatively used,

produce affordable high street fashion Standardized sizing is used, trims and notions are scaled down but still try to keep the look of designer

clothing

Other names for

mass-market:-ready-to-wear, off the rack

e.g.:-old navy, target

They copy trends and movies

They don’t work on inspiration or any specific

story

Indian markets- Global desi, Westside…

Fad: A temporary, passing fashion It is an item or look that has great

appeal to many people for a short period of time

Ti is usually pout of the ordinary A fad becomes popular fast, and the dies out quickly

Craze: Craze is like a fashion because it is a passing love for a new fashion However, this has a display of emotion or crowd excitement with it Store have a hard time keeping such items in stock because people are so eager

to buy them

fad/craze

Classic: An item of clothing that

continues to be popular even though

fashion changes

It is always acceptable

Classics were originally fashion items,

but their general appeal and simple

stylelines have kept them popular

They can worn year after year

Examples of classics: White dress shirts, dark business suits, pleated skirts, loafer shoes, blues jeans, and salwar kameez.

classic

Wardrobe: all the apparel a person

owns, a wardrobe includes all of

your garments and accessories

Accessories: are the articles needed

to complete or enhance your needs,

like belt, ties Hats, jewelry, shoes,

gloves etc

Wardrobe and accecssories

Tailored garments

Tailored Garments:

• M ade by first cutting garment

pieces then sewing them

together to fit the shape of a

body

• The first tailored garments

were made when the eyed

needle was invented, because

seams could be sewn together.

• Eg Raymond’s M ake to

M easure

Composite garments

- Composite:

M ade with a combination of

tailored and draped methods.

Garment parts are cut and

sewn

Some parts may fit close to

body, other parts may drape

(Japanese kimono, tunics,

bathrobe etc)

Knock offs or high street : lower priced

copies of garments

They are produced in high quantity with

lower priced materials Copies of Haute

Couture garments are made in quantity by

high prices manufacturer- they look like

the original, but the price had been

It is claimed that Zara needs just two weeks to

develop a new product and get it to stores,

compared to the six-month industry average, and

launches around 10,000 new designs each year

Zara has resisted the industry-wide trend towards

transferring fast fashion production to low-cost

countries Perhaps its most unusual strategy was its

policy of zero advertising; the company preferred to

invest a percentage of revenues in opening new

stores instead This has increased the idea of Zara

as a "fashion imitator" company and low cost

products Lack of advertisement is also in contrast

to direct competitors such as Uniqlo and United

Colors of Benetton

fashion imitator=zara

Fashion year….

International fashion week happen during August till September

Designers showcase their collection six months before the season

Buyers go to fashion shows & note down the details of dresses according

to their budget

There are two main seasons:- spring-summer, autumn-winter…

Company’s profit or loss depends on buyer because they are the one

responsible for taking the dresses

M erchandiser’s are the people who tells what sells more They are the one’s when stock it He plans the layout the store

Both require different fashion look & a new range of colors & fabric

design for the time of year

• Light weight fabrics in summer

• Heavy weight fabrics in winter

• In the spring the studio works for the spring summer of the fall year.

Each collection is researched so that all the items in it compliment each other, will be in style, & have the particular look for which the company is known for

Predicting

Trends:-• A designers most difficult task is forecasting what will be in style for the coming years To do this, they know the past trends & look at repeats They also purchase High priced trend magazines Additional they

observe what succeeded with customers in the past

Designers work a year in advance

The design plan…



Designing:- Need to have inspiration

 Can combine a collection

 Designer make samples

 After the groundwork is completed for the nature of the collection the designer must decide how many and what type of garments should be included in the collection

 Usually they have a three month period to design, produce and

publicize The collection in time for their fashion show

 Press and buyers get their first look at the collection at the show

Theme:- A designer selects a theme that represents their collection It can be a period in history, a foreign place, a range of colors, a type of fabric

The collection…

Apparel business term

Haute couture: ”Finest Dress M aking” in

French It means the high fashion industry It

refers to a group of firms or “Fashion house”,

each with a designer who creates original,

individually designed fashions The designer

who owns the firm in the couturier or maker

@ Haute couture fashions originate in Paris,

N ew York, or other fashion centers They are

very expensive They are constructed with

expensive fabric, and include a great deal of

hand work They are some times;

a Custom designed made for a specific

person

b M ade to order, or custom made are not

designed for a particular person, although

they are made for a specific person He or

she places an order after seeing a sketch or

picture

H aute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from

high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses, often using time-consuming, hand-executed

techniques

About Haute couture…

"Couture" means dressmaking, sewing, or needlework and is also used as a common

abbreviation of haute couture and refers to the same thing in spirit "Haute" means elegant or high

An haute couture garment is made specifically for the wearer’s measurements and body stance

It originally referred to Englishman Charles Frederick Worth’s work, produced in Paris in the mid-nineteenth century

In modern France, haute couture is a "protected name" that can be used only by firms that

meet certain well-defined standards

However, the term is also used loosely to describe all high-fashion custom-fitted clothing,

whether it is produced in Paris or in other fashion capital such as London, M ilan, New York or Tokyo.

To earn the right to call itself a couture house and to use the term haute couture in its

advertising and any other way, members of the Chambre syndicale de la haute couture must follow these rules:

Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.

Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.

M ust have twenty full-time technical people in at least one atelier (workshop).

Each season (i.e., twice a year), present a collection to the Paris press, comprising at least

thirty-five runs/exits with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.

Apparel business terms

What is be spoke?

The term “Bespoke” actually

dates back to the 17th century

Tailors then held full lengths of

cloth within their premises and a

customer would come in and

chose a length of fabric material

for garments, it was then said to

have “been spoken for”.

So, a tailor who makes custom

clothes individually, to your

specific personal measurements,

design requirements and creates

a custom one-of pattern for that

garment is called “bespoke”.

Apparel business terms

How Be spoke is this

different from “M ade to

M easure”?

The term

“made-to-measure”, refers simply to

the use of basic,

pre-existing template patterns,

and then taking the

template pattern adjusting

to the measurements that

have been taken from you.

Apparel business terms

Ready to wear: Those garments that are

mass-produced in factories They are

manufactured in quantity according to

standard sizes Each garment design has

thousand made They are all alike and are

for sale in many sizes

Consumers: Those who buy and wear the

garments Consumers purchase and use

apparel as well as other economics goods

Consumers are very important in

determining what fashion will or will not

become popular

Retail Store: Sell to consumers They

advertise and sell their items directly to the

general public Retail stores include

department stores, chain and discount or

factory outlet

Fashion term-fitting

@ Seams are the lines of stitches that join two

garment to pieces together

Fit: The fit of a garment refers to how tight or loose it fits on the person who is wearing it A good fit means that the garment is the right size and does not pull tightly or sag loosely when worn Garment can be

designed to be loose, semi fitted or fitted to achieve different fashion looks

@ Darts are short, tapered, stitched areas that takes out excess fabric in to it and enable the garment to fit the figure

@ Bodice: the bodice of a garment is the area above the waist, such as the upper part of a dress or

jumpsuit The bodice is usually closely fitted and is distinguished by a seam at the waistline

In fashion cycle, high fashion is first introduced

by the fashion leaders.

- Fashion leaders are men and women who have the credibility to start new styles

As fashion comes and go, they seem to be extreme and daring when they are first introduced, smart and stylish when they are popular, and dowdy and out of date after their peak

M arkets

Distributor: Store goods of many brands in large quantities and sell to retails (M BO) they usually distribute their goods from large warehouses Each item costs less from a wholesaler, but usually dozens of each must be purchased

M BO: M ulti Brands outlet, mainly cater into trading of apparels of different brands, using pull system, skims and different promotions

EBO: Exclusive Brand Outlet, have their own store or franchise store where

it can display and sell merchandise of its own brand category

LFS: Large Format Stores, have huge area to display different brands on

one floor to improve customer/consumer walk in

Shopping M alls: LFS are part of shopping malls as well exclusive brand

outlets (EBO) of different brands will available in one shelter

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