Principles of the Fashion Design Discipline - Article Example

The elements of a design include balance, proportion, rhythm, emphasis and unity. Discuss the design principles that guide your discipline and the conditions under which they operate. If these principles can be violated, clearly describe how and under what circumstances they can and have been violated. Give examples of such projects with supporting evidence. Fashion Design. The principles used in each industrial sector ensure that the activities developed within the particular sector will be appropriately aligned with existing ethics and market rules, as set by national or international authorities. In practice, the promotion of principles related to various economic and industrial activities can be quite a challenging effort, mostly because of the conflicting interests related to each one of these activities. Other factors, such as the lack of awareness of these principles’ value and the lack of resources for supporting such tasks have also influenced the effectiveness of principles on which each economic and industrial activity is based. In fashion also a similar problem has appeared. In the specific sector certain principles have been found to have a critical importance; reference can be made especially to emphasis, proportion, balance, harmony and rhythm (Stecker 41). The level at which these principles are used in each fashion design project is not standardized, depending on the market involved and the position of the designer within the local or the global fashion industry. These principles, which are also used in the design process in general, are used in the fashion discipline in order to keep the standard of design works at high levels, a target that is not always achieved. In fact, these principles are often violated, usually with the excuse of protecting an interest of higher value, a claim that it is not always verified. The terms under which the principles of fashion design can be violated are described in this paper. Examples are used, where available, for supporting the arguments developed in regard to the specific subject. In order to evaluate the level at which the principles of the fashion design discipline tend to be violated, it is necessary to refer primarily to the conditions under these principles operate. Then, the terms of their violation could be easier understood. In any case, the context of the design process needs to be presented, even in general. According to Stecker (41) ‘designing is the process of combining known components in different ways to create new products or effects’. In the above definition the vulnerability of the designing process to potential violations is made clear. More specifically, it is made clear that the particular process can be based on ‘components which can be combined in different ways’ (Stecker 41); this statement shows the independency of the designer in terms of the methods used for developing a design process. Indeed, it seems that the designing process is not standardized but it can have the form that the designer wishes; materials and components can be used according to the designer’s view so that the desired outcome to be achieved. The lack of any rules at this level of the design process makes the process vulnerable to violations. Of course, as noted in the above definition, a designer needs to use known components, a fact that guarantees a minimum control on the design process. Still, the combination of these components is not based on specific rules, a fact that threatens the validation of the process. For example, a fashion design project needs to keep a balance as of the material used and the social ethics, meaning that the particular project should not provoke local ethics or culture (Stecker 41). At the same time, a fashion design project should reflect the character of the designer. A fashion design project that bears the name of a popular fashion designer should be aligned with the past design projects of the particular fashion designer, at least up to a level. The lack of any reference to previous design projects could possibly threaten the success of the specific design project, either in the short or the long term (Stecker 41); it is probably for this reason that the lines used in the fashion design project have been related to various psychological associations and visual effects (Stecker 42). In the same context, Sumathi (36) notes that each fashion design project needs to be aligned to specific principles. It is also explained that the use of these principles can help the fashion designer to achieve different targets. The above issues are made clear if referring to the principle of emphasis, as used in the fashion design process. For example, if a fashion designer working on a black dress wishes ‘to put emphasis on face and hands he can put white collar and cuffs’ (Sumathi 36). In the above case, the principle of balance is not violated; rather, the principle of emphasis is promoted. Indeed, through the above practice emphasis is given on different parts of the product (dress) so that a specific group of consumers is targeted. It should be noted that the principle of emphasis in the fashion design process can be promoted using different techniques, as for example ‘to use contrast of hues or to use unusual shapes and textures’ (Sumathi 37). The principle of emphasis can be violated if the fashion designer ‘does not take into consideration the personality and the figure of the wearer’ (Sumathi 37). For example, a fashion designer can violate the principle of emphasis if he puts extremely high emphasis on a particular part of a dress leading to the humiliation of the wearer. At the next level, reference should be made to proportion, as a key principle of fashion design. The principle of proportion is used for showing ‘way we virtually relate all the separate parts to the whole’ (Jones 106). Proportion is quite important when trying to change body shape emphasizing on details that give a different proportion of the parts to the whole (Jones 106). The principle of proportion can be violated in case that the fashion designer focuses on a particular part of the design and ignores the rest parts leading to a visual effect that it is not aligned with the needs of the wearer (Jones 106). For example, in a vest the principle of proportion can be violated if ‘shoulders are too puffed’ (Jones 106), making the vest inappropriate for the high majority of targeted customers. Another common principle of fashion design is the principle of balance. In the context of fashion design, balance reflects ‘the visual attribution of weight, from a central area’ (Sumathi 37). In practice, balance in fashion design secures that ‘all parts of a fashion design project give the feeling of harmony’ (Sumathi 37). However, balance does not require that a fashion design project is divided into equal parts; rather that these parts are carefully combined so that the final result is visually acceptable (Jones 3). For example, the two sleeves of a vest may not be of the same length; the right sleeve can be longer and the left one can be shorter at such level that a balance is created between the two (Jones 3). If such balance does not exist, then the principle of balance has been violated. In the above example, if one of the sleeves is extremely long, if compared to other sleeve, then this difference cannot be covered using the principle of balance. From a similar perspective, emphasis should be given on the principle of harmony. Harmony, or unity, is a term used for expressing the alignment of a fashion design project with the principles of fashion design. Indeed, if a fashion design project promotes ‘all principles used in the fashion design process then harmony has been achieved’ (Sumathi 37). In other words, in order for harmony to be secured it is necessary for the principles of ‘emphasis, balance, proportion and rhythm’ (Sumathi 37) to exist. It should be noted that the existence of all the above principles need to be combined with the following term: that ‘the visual effects produced are successful’ (Sumathi 37). However, it seems that the use of all principles of the fashion design process can lead to a successful visual effect, meaning that harmony is achieved with no further requirement to be set. In the same context, the failure of a designer to use any of the principles of the fashion design process can threaten the harmony of the relevant fashion design project (Sumathi 37). The principle of harmony, as described above, is often related to the principle of rhythm. The principle of rhythm may be difficult to be fully understood, especially due to its similarities to other design principles, such as the principle of balance and the principle of proportion. In practice, the principle of rhythm can be of two different types: uniform rhythm and unequal rhythm (Sumathi 38). In its first form, rhythm is achieved by repeating features and lines across a particular fashion design project (Sumathi 38). However, rhythm can also exist if unequal patterns are used, under the terms that the final design ‘does not provoke ethics or the personality of the wearer’ (Sumathi 38). According to Jones (6) rhythm in fashion design can be achieved by using ‘a repetition of regular features’ (Jones 6). In other words, the principle of rhythm is important for developing a successful fashion design project; still, the full alignment of a design with the principle of rhythm can be a challenging task especially if unequal patterns and lines have been extensively used. Under certain terms, a design project can lack rhythm even if it is aligned with the other principles of design. This failure becomes clear when the specific design project is virtualized, i.e. when it is used for developing products that enter the market. An example of the principle of rhythm can be identified in the following case: from 1920s to 1980s a series of shows of unusual style appeared in the global market (Craik 178). Reference can be made, for example, to ‘stilettos in 1950s and the platform shoes in 1970s’ (Craik 178). These shoes were part of the fashion trends developed within the relevant periods (Craik 178). Still, the response of consumers worldwide to the particular products was limited, indicating the failure of fashion principles to be constantly aligned with the changing preferences of consumers in different markets (Craik 178). At this point, emphasis should be given on the following fact: in the context of fashion design, a designer is free to choose the rhythm on which his design will be based (Sumathi 38). In practice, this also means that a fashion designer can choose among the lines, texture and patterns that are most aligned to the targeted outcome (Sumathi 38). However, in this way, it becomes difficult to evaluate whether the principle of rhythm has been violated or not in the case of a particular design. According to the issues discussed above, the principles of design can be violated without the relevant fact to be traceable, at least not immediately. Moreover, it is often possible for a design to be characterized both as aligned and as not aligned to the principles of fashion design. This risk seems to be higher in regard to specific principles of fashion design, such as the principle of balance and the principle of rhythm. At the same time, reference should be made to the following fact: trying to secure the non-violation of the principles of fashion design may lead to an opposite direction: the violation of the right of fashion designers to use their creativity for developing unique fashion design projects. From this point of view, the evaluation of the existence of fashion design principles needs to be clearly backed by appropriate evidence so that both the interests of the public and the designer are secured. Works Cited Craik, Jennifer. Fashion: The Key Concepts. New York: Berg, 2009. Jones, Sue. Fashion Design. London: Laurence King Publishing, 2005. Stecker, Pamela. The Fashion Design Manual. South Yarra: Macmillan Education AU, 1996. Sumathi, G. Elements Of Fashion And Apparel Design. New Delhi: New Age International, 2007. Read More