The Main Types Of Fashion Design

A fashion designer puts together fashion pieces from the ground up to the final product, a process that involves sketching, designing, sourcing materials and manufacturing fashion articles into the products we all use and love.

Different types of fashion designers are responsible for all our clothing, shoes, accessories and costumes used in films and other performance arts. These men and women make us, quite literally, who we are.

Here are the main types of fashion design that exist in the world of fashion.

1. Haute Couture Fashion Design

Haute Couture is a type of fashion design in which apparels are made for specific clients and by hand from start to finish.

Haute couture is a French word that means literally “high sewing”, as such, in the fashion industry, it is almost a synonym for high-end, exclusive, expensive and very rare designs.

In France, the word Haute Couture is actually protected by law, and for a fashion designer or house to use it alongside their brand, permission has to come from The Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. This body is the official regulatory authority that determines which designers and fashion houses merit the term, Haute Couture.

What does it take for a fashion house or designer to become an Haute Couture Brand?

For a fashion designer or brand to be called a Haute Couture house, and to be allowed to use the term in their advertising or any other form of promotion. They must first meet the following criteria set by the French fashion authorities.

1. The brand or designer must design made-to-order apparel for private clients
2. The brand or designer must have a workshop in Paris, France that employs at least fifteen full-time employees
3. The brand or designer must have in its employ at least twenty full-time technical staff at any given time.
4. The brand or designer must present to the public a minimum of fifty original designs, every January and July.
5. The designs presented to the public must include both day and evening apparel.

The Business Of Haute Couture

It is important to note that in and of itself, Haute Couture, compared to the other forms of fashion design that we will look at later in this post, is not a profitable enterprise.

Designing apparel exclusively for specific customers cannot bring in the same amount of revenue mass-market designs, meant for the entire world, bring in.

That is not to say that purchasing Haute Couture apparel is affordable, on the contrary, because of the amount of work that goes into the production of Haute Couture designs, these are the most expensive apparel you can buy.

Think of it in terms of numbers, if you charge 10 customers 50,000 USD for 10 exclusively made haute couture garments. Your total revenue is USD 500,000.

On the other hand, if you charge 1,000,000 Customers USD 50 for 1,000,000 copies of a mass-market design, your revenue is USD 50,000,000.

The only reason brands covet the name Haute Couture is the pride and prestige associated with it. And that comes in very handy in marketing campaigns.

Examples Of Haute Couture Brands and Designers

Brands and designers who have earned this prestigious accolade in 2023 include;

1. Fendi
2. Valentino
3. Jean Paul Gaultier
4. Viktor & Rolf
5. Ronald Van Der Kemp
6. Elie Saab
7. Chanel
8. Giambattista Valli
9. Christian Dior
10. Schiaparelli
11. Iris Van Herpen

Among others.

Advantages Of Haute Couture Fashion

Haute Couture as a form of fashion design obviously carries with it a number of advantages, including:

• Prestige and pride to be numbered among a select number of brands at the very top of the fashion industry
• Marketing and promotion efforts are enhanced as a result of being an Haute Couture brand
• Invitation to exclusive Haute Couture fashion shows and exhibitions
• Increased media and public scrutiny can lead to more leads and higher sales for the brand

Disadvantages of Haute Couture Fashion

Haute Couture is not all good though, the following disadvantages come with the accolade.

1. Increased competition among brands at the top of the fashion industry
2. Higher levels of media and public scrutiny can lead to pressure at work
3. Raised expectations among clients can be difficult to satisfy
4. The Haute Couture mode of fashion design is not the most profitable

2. Pret-a-Porter / Ready-To-Wear Fashion Design

Ready-to-wear (also known as Pret-a-porter) is a type of fashion design in which apparels are made in small enough numbers to guarantee exclusivity and quality.

The difference between Haute Couture and ready-to-wear is that the former designs clothing for specific customers and the latter designs apparel in small numbers so that there is a definite amount that can be purchased.

Ready-to-wear fashion design has been described in several quarters as making Haute Couture more accessible to the public. More clothing made means anyone can buy, but the small numbers of available apparel ensure that prices go up and therefore prestige and class.

Ready-to-wear collections are often showcased by the best fashion designers and the top fashion brands in fashion weeks the likes of the big four; the New York, London, Milan And Paris Fashion Weeks.

Examples of Ready-To-Wear fashion brands

Some of the well-known ready-to-wear fashion brands include;

1. Liz Claiborne
2. Calvin Klein
3. Ralph Lauren
4. Ann Taylor
5. Vera Wang
6. J Crew
7. Gucci
8. Talbots
9. Michael Kors

Among others.

Advantages of Ready To Wear Fashion Design

The advantages of employing ready-to-wear fashion design are the following.

1. Ready to Wear fashion is more accessible and affordable than Haute Couture
2. Ready to wear still carries with it brand prestige and pride, though less than that of haute couture
3. Affordability and variety in the design ensure that ready-to-wear fashion can cater to a larger clientele
4. Ready-to-wear designs are typically readily available for order and fulfilment

Disadvantages of Ready-To-Wear Fashion Design

Ready-to-wear fashion design comes with the following disadvantages;

1. Ready-to-wear designs sometimes lead to wastage when they are not purchased because of their high prices.
2. Materials used in ready-to-wear designs are typically harmful to the environment, especially the synthetic variety.
3. Ready-to-wear fashion design is not as profitable as mass market

3. Mass Market Fashion Design

Mass Market is a type of fashion design in which apparels are made in large quantities for the general public.

Characteristics of mass market designs are apparel made in standard sizes to fit as many people as possible. A customer, as a result, cannot request for custom size.

Another feature of mass-market fashion is that cheap materials are used in the manufacture and design of apparel. The main reason for this is that mass-market designs are cheaply priced so as not to lock out any income classes.

Finally, mass-market designs feature several copies of similar apparel. There is no exclusivity or rarity in this fashion segment.

Examples of Mass-Market fashion brands

Some of the best-known mass-market fashion brands include:

1. H&M
2. Zara
3. Primark
4. Asos
5. Urban Outfitters
6. Marks & Spencer
7. Fashion Nova
8. Banana Republic
9. Calvin Klein
10. Peacocks
11. Gap
12. Kering
13. Uniqlo
14. Sainsbury’s
15. Matalan

Among others.

Advantages of Mass Market Fashion

Advantages of mass-market fashion include;

1. Cheap cost of production; Mass market fashion employs cheap production techniques and methods to ensure that the final product can be priced accordingly
2. Less time intensive when compared to Haute Couture and ready-to-wear fashion, both of which require long hours to make.
3. A broad clientele, mass-market designs are meant for the whole world.
4. Higher profit margins, successful mass-market brands capitalize on the broad clientele network to achieve high profit margins.

Disadvantages of Mass Market Fashion

Disadvantages of mass-market fashion include;

1. High completion because of the low barrier of entry into the industry; almost anyone can start a mass-market fashion company.
2. Low-profit margins per unit, Higher volumes are required to realise a profit
3. Mass market designs are easy to counterfeit

4. Costume Design

Costume design is a type of fashion in which apparels are made specifically for characters in films, movies, tv shows, music videos, stage performances or any other form of performance art.

Costume designers are tasked with creating wardrobes for their clientele or customers. A costume designer will meet with their client, interpret their need either by reading a relevant storybook or script, and then research and design the final look for the motion picture or performance.

It goes without saying that costume design is one of the more demanding types of fashion design because of the different requirements each job presents. Still, if done correctly, it can be very rewarding, both in a career sense and financially.

Good examples of successful costume design are “Mad Max Fury Road” the movie wardrobe by Jenny Beavan for which she won the Academy Award for Best costume design, an award that was presented to her by the most prestigious body in film, the Academy for Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences, commonly known as the Oscars.

Examples of top films and the costume designer responsible for each

1. Game of Thrones – Michele Clapton
2. Avatar – Deborah Lynn Scott & Mayes C. Rubeo
3. Avengers – Alexandra Byrne
4. Black Panther – Ruth Carter
5. Titanic – Deborah Lynn Scott
6. Pirates of the Caribbean – Penny Rose
7. Harry Potter – Janny Temime

Advantages of Costume Designing

Advantages of costume designing include;

1. Working in a challenging, exciting and ever-changing field; each costume project brings with it new requirements, challenges and fulfilment
2. Costume designing can be financially rewarding, the movies mentioned above are some of the highest-grossing films of all time, the top costume designer for each of those movies made a fortune.
3. Meeting interesting people; working in costume design means interacting with artists, performers, actors, singers and dancers among many others.
4. A sense of fulfilment: A costume designer is responsible for bringing an idea to life, think about Avatar, the movie, and how we enjoyed it because of the presentation and costumery of the actors.

Disadvantages of Costume Designing

Disadvantages of costume designing include;

• Highly demanding; because most films and performance acts involve many people and require huge budgets, being solely responsible for the look of the project can be massively demanding.
• Costume design is ever-changing, one project can be successful and the next fail and a costume designer is often judged on their most recent project. Whether it’s a failure or a success.

Summary

These are the main types of fashion design, all others including accessory, footwear and even sportswear can be categorized under each of the previously mentioned fashion design categories.

Thank you for reading.