Burda Style For people who sew

Hello :)

I’m 18 years old been sewing for about 5 years and have made many wonderful garments :)
I’m completely self taught and i make all of my own patterns
(i’ve never EVER used a premade pattern, am I weird or what? )

but now, I plan on creating a cohesive collection :)
but i don’t know the first thing about designing entire collections :(

I’m doing this for my city’s “Fashion Week” :)
hopefully, I can win $50,000 that I plan to use for college next year

So if you have any tips on designing an entire collection I really appreciate it.
thanks so much in advance :)

Mar 17, 2010, 12.30 AM by Marla Rodriguez

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6 Posts

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  Mar 17, 2010, 02.11 AMby katexxxxxx

  A collection of what? hats? Swimsuits? Baby clothes?

  Narrow it down and choose a theme, and think in terms of a target market. Then think about how many garments you need to complete and the time you have available, And which type of garments you need to include… Then work out what you actually have realistic time to do!
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  Mar 17, 2010, 08.31 PMby mlssfshn

  I just designed my first cohesive collection. I design one elaborate piece and then pull elements from that piece to use on the other pieces in the collection.
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  Mar 18, 2010, 01.41 AMby wonov

  make a story board. collect things- buildings, lampshades, vehicles, pebbles, earrings, gowns, whatever that interests you -for a week and put the images on a board linking shape, texture, colour, mood. you’re making a dialogue of a mystery womans wardrobe. What is she like? Where does she go? What does she do?

  i would say 12-20 pieces to be an ideal debut.

  coat, jacket, daydresses, shorts/pants ,several skirts & blouses, sports/sleepwear or cocktail/evening/ wedding, depending on your price point. Use three or four primary fabrics to make a suitcase full of clothes for a trip; all the designs must go together but are strong enough to stand alone. find a space, shoes & jewelery to support your story and models who can be made to look like your dream girl to deliver your vision.

  Make the garments to a high standard from good quality textiles in good time to get a perfect fit for each walker. practise twice and publicise well.

  The whole thing should take around three months.

  And the very best of luck to you.

  1 Reply

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    Mar 21, 2010, 04.23 PMby msrainmm

    I like your idea!

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  Mar 18, 2010, 02.20 AMby mlssfshn

  Personally, 12-20 garments for a first collection is to much. My first collection has 6 designs, 5 outfits, but I mostly do dresses. Know what you can handle and stick to that. A story board is a good place to start like wonov said. There are 2 major markets Spring and Winter every 6 months and you need to be on those cycles with your collection. I highly recommend Fashion Incubator and she has a spread sheet for planning and developing your line.
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  Mar 22, 2010, 09.30 PMby alisondahl

  What a great question and interesting topic for this community. Like the others have said already, it would be most beneficial for you to narrow your first collection down to a small number of pieces with an underlying, connective theme. I looked in your BurdaStyle Studio and saw you hadn’t posted any projects so I am not sure what your niche is. I say 6-8 looks is a nice, round number for a first collection to enter in a competition. Less is more when you have a strong, cohesive collection. Many new designers will make their debut collections of just dresses and tops for example, in like fabrics and similar silhouettes. Here are a couple of things to think about: Who is your customer? You should define who your customer is and make your patterns off of the “fit” and look of your ideal client. What is your clothing made from? Wholesale fabric sources should be secured, if you were to sell your collection eventually, you wouldn’t want to be buying fabric at retail prices. Can you buy this fabric again? Find a less expensive vendor? Where is your clothing made? If you plan to sell your collection, who is going to produce the garments? How much will this cost? This will help you determine how much you will sell your pieces for. When you sell your collection, it needs to be retail ready Your samples should have proper finsihings (i.e. clean seam lines, no raw edges unless intentional), labels (name of your collection, “made in _____”, care label), and size tabs. Document your collection Good, bright, high-quality photographs of your collection looks are invaluable and can help you secure future sales.

  Ralph Pink has documented his journey of creating a collection from scratch on his website, you should check it out.
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  Mar 23, 2010, 02.59 AMby fashionqueen920

  so i have been in the same position as you recently. for my high school senior fashion class project we had to do a line of 5 looks, and design and make them all. my advice would be to start out small, with 5 looks. you can always add more, but focus yourself and make just a small collection to start with. also, you have to decide what theme to do. for my line, i choose the book 2001 A Space Odyssey, just as a source of inspiration. then take time to find pictures, objects, places, ect that inspire your line and either do a story board, or i put them into a binder. once you have your sketches, maybe sketch 6-7, go to the fabric store and find fabrics that go together for the best 5 and then go from there