types of fashion designs

Fashion designers often rely on textile designs to establish their fashion collections as unique. These designs are the work of trained textile designers who design weaves and fabric prints for clothing and furniture. There are essentially three categories of fashion design.

Haute Couture: Haute couture clothing, haute couture, is originally a French term meaning “haute couture,” but today it has evolved into haute couture clothing that can cost anywhere from a few thousand to a few lacs of dollars. Created for specific clients using a “made-to-order” technique, they are usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with great attention to detail and finish, often done using time-consuming, hand-executed methods. The important thing in them is the look and the fit. The cost of materials and the time to make them does not matter, they can go to any extreme. In fact, Haute Couture is a protected term that can only be officially used by companies that are members and adhere to certain well-defined standards set by the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. Many ready-to-wear and even mass-market brands claim to make haute couture, but by established standards they don’t.

Ready to use: These garments are not made for individual customers, but then too, great care is taken to select the right fabrics and their cuts. In order to maintain exclusivity, only a small number of these garments are made and as such they are comparatively expensive but not like haute couture. They are produced as ready-to-wear collections and are presented during fashion weeks, usually twice a year. These collections may be under the fashion designers own brands or under the label of whatever fashion company the designers have made them for. They can include anything from daywear or nightwear for men, women, teens, lingerie, sportswear, bridal wear, and even accessories.

Mass Market Clothing: As the above two categories come in very high and high price ranges that only a small portion of consumers can afford, the fashion industry mainly relies on mass market sales. This market presents a very wide range of prêt-à-porter clothing in large quantities and standard sizes. Most of the time, cheap materials and simple machine production techniques are used, but the designs represent creativity. This helps produce affordable fashion for everyone. The designs, however, follow the trends set by famous names in fashion. As such, they hit the market after one or two seasons.

Hopefully, now you know what you can get in fashion stores and how to tell them apart. Happy shopping then!