Understanding fashion media and how media represents the work that you do as a fashion designer, or how you participate in the styling and marketing of fashion, is really at the heart of the whole industry. People only know about your work through media. They don’t understand your brand from direct experience. They only understand it through a magazine, blog, video, or on a runway. Generally speaking, the vast majority of people will be experiencing your brand through some form of media.

Understanding how your fashion business or design work is being represented in this two-dimensional form – whether it’s on a screen or page, can help you determine what works for your particular brand. The attitude and demographic of the publication should be the right fit visually and language-wise for your brand for it to make the most impact. Getting the right visual language for your design, your brand, and putting it into the right media context that represents your audience, customer base, and approach is crucial to your success.

This can mean many different things depending on where you’re starting as a designer and the design attitude is of the brand. It may be a lot of images are basically very indexable. Many fashion education websites that are merchandising clothes directly will be very descriptive. In other contexts, in more cutting-edge magazines, they might be representing the fashion where the clothes aren’t the main focus. The point is the whole attitude, mindset, demographic, or community with similar values to your brand. The clothing fits into that, but it’s not necessarily the only driving force.

Online fashion education can help you pinpoint which media outlets are a fit for your overall brand audience and aesthetic. Understanding the media context and how it works with your brand is vital to sharing your work with your desired audience.

Because production is a vital part of the industry, it’s essential to understand the production process and all it entails. The clothes we wear and essentially everything we own is produced somewhere else. All products are sourced, manufactured and distributed.

To work in the clothing industry, you must have a reasonable grasp of what is really involved in the production process-supply chain, the environmental issues, labor issues, quality issues, etc.

It’s important to know and truly understand the customer, including their demands and expectations. You’ll also need to know your price point and how that translates into the various fabric and textile options you offer your customer. You’ll need to know where you’re sourcing materials from and how the products will be manufactured.

Having a good relationship with your manufacturers is critical. There’s a certain degree of trust involved. You’re relying on the manufacturer to execute and deliver your design from across the world. There’s naturally going to be some concerns at first. Will the design be what you requested? Will it work? Will the fabrics used meet the quality and durability standards you demand?

If you don’t get this right, customers won’t come back. If they’re disappointed by the quality, or they’re disappointed by the way the fabric feels, or they think the brand doesn’t embody their values in terms of environmental issues or labor issues, you’re going to have a hard time establishing an on-going relationship with the customers, which is key.

Consumers are holding brands and their designers accountable for understanding environmental issues and sustainability. In the fashion industry, you’re expected to understand the environmental consequences of choosing one fabric over another, the effects of the manufacturing and dyeing process, whether it contributes to water pollution, and more.

You’ll need to know the labor involved in manufacturing, as labor issues can impact the brand identity and the way customers perceive your brand. Customers must feel comfortable with the production process and the values the brand embodies in terms of labor, because as stated before– satisfied, repeat customers are a must for success in this industry.

These are all things that will ultimately impact your brand. In the age of the internet, transparency is everything. There’s little room for error. Thanks to social media, word spreads fast. Customers are quick to “cancel” brands if they’re not producing quality products that align with their values, pose a threat to the environment or misuse laborers. Being ignorant of it, pleading ignorance after the fact, or saying it wasn’t your fault, doesn’t cut it nowadays. Designers and everyone involved in the design industry should ensure they have a really good understanding of all the aforementioned production issues in order to make wise choices.

You have to understand what your choices represent and take responsibility for those choices. On one end, you have to know your customer. You need to know what they can afford, what they want, what they expect and hopefully exceed their expectations. On the other end, at the back end, production sets your price points and also connects to marketing, thus production embodies your brand and your brand’s values.

Coming up with a compelling concept for a magazine cover is one important aspect of fashion media. As the editor of Teen Vogue, Amy Astley worked to conceptualize an innovative cover idea based on fashion education, trends, and matching the themes of that month’s publication.

For the August 2015 cover shoot, Astley and her team tied in the theme of going back to school, which often means buying new jeans, and gave the issue an overall denim theme. They decided on creating three different covers, each separate cover featuring one of the three models selected. Each model was wearing denim.

It gives you very quickly the idea that it’s a denim issue, which is why I think they’re impactful and successful, because they’re not confusing. The number one thing is, which pictures do we feel the most strongly about. And again, for me, the driving force is always trying to make the layout and the photo selection memorable, because there are so many images out there everywhere. We’re all inundated with them, not only in magazines, but certainly coming from digital media and just everywhere. There’s a deluge of photos. Instagram – everyone’s a photographer now. But you want your photos to stand out. So that’s why we put so much – lavish so much care on the prep of the shoot and then on this picture selection and the design and the layout, trying to make the whole thing really memorable. (Amy Astley)

Every step of the way in fashion business and media, there are challenges involved in booking the desired talent, beauty, production team, dates, and locations. Astley says it truly takes a village to help make the cover shoot conceptualization come to life. Ultimately, the day of the shoot things often magically come together and they wind up with a memorable magazine cover.

For stylists and designers starting out in the industry, there is one big lesson to learn: No matter how many creative programs you have completed, nothing can really prepare you for the business side of the industry. You will need to learn the business if you want to build a career.

Many creative people are not necessarily business-minded. Our minds are bouncing everywhere, swimming in different creative ideas. Unfortunately, in order to build a career, you have to know and understand the intricacies of the business. As your business improves and you become fortunate enough to have projects that are not only paying you but the people who work for you—your payroll– you will spend half of your time being creative and the rest of the time dealing with business issues.

Many designers find that as they move deeper into their careers, there are thousands of things that they don’t know, from starting a company to hiring employees to communicating with factories and managing deliverables. For example, one of your first lessons will be coming up with the start-up capital to get your business up and running.

So, while you are spending valuable time conceptualizing and designing a collection, simultaneously you need to keep an eye on the business. It is vital and it is something that nobody teaches you in school.

This course focuses on fashion production, and how production impacts all aspects of the fashion industry. The assignments you will receive are intended to reinforce what you learned in the video lessons. They will give you an opportunity to get practical experience and maybe try something you haven’t tried before. These assignments have been created to help you build your portfolio and your skill set.

Teen Vogue was always meant to be about the young woman discovering herself, and all the different aspects and facets of herself. For Amy Astley, that core mission hasn’t changed, even as it has evolved with the times. Overall, the photography and the look of the magazine are more sophisticated now. She explains, “That’s because we’ve gotten better at what we do. We’ve grown and become more sophisticated. I’m not even the same person I was when I started it 12 years ago.”

The readers have changed and aged up with the magazine, as well. The core audience is actually in their early 20s. And by giving them a sophisticated product, Teen Vogue has been able to push the envelope over the years and make the magazine more special, sophisticated, and challenging photographically — from not only beauty, but also styling and fashion POVs (point of views) too.

So that’s what the word “teen” means for Teen Vogue — young, fresh, new. But not junior. The magazine itself was mind-blowing for many when it started, and that has only continued throughout the years. For Marie Suter, it’s working with the talents of today that are relevant.

Her first cover with Teen Vogue was Selena Gomez on the beach, and it might have been the third time she had been photographed for the magazine. Marie shares, “So it’s like, OK, what do we do now? We just tried something very different with a positive message for celebrities, about being young and fresh. Selena was a bare beauty on this cover and she looked gorgeous and grown-up.” They did less makeup, less hair. Stripped down the clothes to something simple.

From a design standpoint, Marie made it more grown-up by removing things that would steer the shoot to look a little younger. And all without redesigning or changing the essence of the magazine. So think more evolution in style. Instead of 75 colors on the page, maybe one would be good. Clean it up. Have a very clean cover. For Amy Astley, these are really beautiful. Don’t just go and do the same thing because the cover model always looks good with a red lip. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

It’s also helpful to seek out collaborators, especially photographers and stylists, and even the subjects themselves who will help to push you into new territory. Sticking with what you’ve always done is a problem with any creative endeavor. As Marie says, “If it’s not slightly scary, it’s not going to be special.”

From statement pieces and subtle extras, fashion accessories can complete a look. In general, fashion accessories can be made from anything. Accessories are emotional, so color and trim are very important parts. Trim may be a smart place to start when you design fashion accessories. Check out felt and ribbon suppliers, who carry what is called a sweat band of French grosgrain. This material makes a beautiful trim for a finishing touch.

You can also check out your local flower district to gather accessories inspiration. Experiment with different shapes, fabrics, and colors. Accessories are meant to be free-spirited and playful.

Use your fashion education to make your own accessory materials, including ribbon. You can sew and print it. For trim, you can use unexpected materials such as rope. Feel free to source and mix and match materials from your local bead and leather stores.

Plastic provides many options for creating accessories. Transparent plastic can be used for clear handbags, jewelry, and even watches.

Denim is another versatile material. Its durability works well when making tote bags and other products that require a sturdy fabric. Be cautious and watch out for color transfer on your clothes if it’s an untreated indigo denim. One trick for denim is to take a swatch and rub it on paper and see what happens. If there is blue on the paper, it means the denim has not been treated and will stain. If there’s no color transfer, it’s safe to use.

After crafting your accessories, it’s time to test them out. Online fashion education comes in handy to see what fabrics and trims will likely work best. See how they feel on your body, give them a test run by wearing them for a day. Check for pilling, cracking, tearing, and other telltale signs. By combining your own creativity with practical materials, you’ll have new fashion accessories you can wear in no time.

Building your design portfolio requires employing a selective, targeted appeal. As design specialist Caletha Crawford explains: “Your first inclination might be to create a portfolio that has really wide appeal, because your goal is to get a job.”
When someone is just starting out, their goal may be to get any job, just to get their foot in the door. While that’s a good attitude—an attitude of being willing to do whatever it takes to get to where you want to go, Crawford advises selectivity.
“Maybe you are a rock star with draping, or you found a passion and a skill that you didn’t know you had in photography,” Crawford says. “Remember that you really want this portfolio to reflect you, and you want to showcase how you would be a great fit for your potential employer.” In order to do that, your portfolio really needs to clearly display your unique personality and talent.
In selecting what to showcase, Crawford advises going back and reviewing your own design history—whether it’s your history with this course, with other classwork, or something outside the scope of school entirely. Review all those things you’ve created, even those things that might reflect your preparation for getting you where you want to go.
The first thing that you want to do is go through all of your past creations, as well as those things that you’ve done with us in this course. You will want to begin selecting from all of those experiences for your portfolio. “Pull out your best pieces,” says Crawford, “because your portfolio should represent the best of your abilities.”
Crawford also cautions to look at each piece beyond merely whether it’s good or not. Look at them in terms of what each piece is going to accomplish. “Think about it,” says Crawford. “If you’re in an interview situation, or you’re sending your portfolio to a potential employer, they only have so much time to go through the material. Unfortunately, you can’t put in all of your amazing work.” So make sure each piece included in your portfolio serves a purpose.
For instance, if you’re a writer and you’re applying for a job at a publication, you would want to go through and look for those pieces that showcase, for example: your long form writing ability, your interviewing skills, or your ability to work really quickly under a tight deadline. Then pull one example of each for your writing portfolio. That’s typically sufficient to briefly show your range and abilities.
You might also want to think about those things that help provide you a story. Part of that story could very well be the process of how you get to your finished product. Your personal story is important.
Why? Because when you think about it, there are likely a lot of people who are applying for the same jobs as you. They may have a similar background in terms of schooling. They might have a very similar degree as that which you have. Thus the great differentiator, says Crawford, “is really going to be you, and how much the employer can see in you.” The question is: What makes you stand out?
To showcase your unique gifts, you may want to show your process. This is similar to when you were in elementary school and your math teacher would say, ‘Show your work.’ This will allow the potential hiring manager to see how you think, how you get from point A to point B, and ultimately how good of a fit you will be.
This deciding factor is critically important, because every company works differently. In some, you might be working within a huge team, doing one task over and over again. In others, you might have a wide variety of responsibilities, so they may want to gain an understanding of your problem solving skills. All of these factors are extremely valuable for your potential employer to know.
If you’re a writer, showing your work may require you showing how a particular assignment was received from your editor, and then how it was fleshed out. This lets you showcase your creativity, or your ability to go out and get the interviews that were necessary. Perhaps you added a fun sidebar to the story. Or were able to turn the article around in a short time-frame.
For fashion designers, this personal narrative may include showing how you took one particular photo—say, of a texture or a color—and how that then inspired you to hand dye your own fabric to create a specific effect. You will then take that same narrative all the way through to the end by styling your final photo shoot in a way that further displays whatever vibe or effect you set out to achieve.
When going through your examples of past work, this is your chance to evaluate. Here, you must decide whether you want to go through and rework some of the pieces. Perhaps there were some pieces that you did earlier in the course that need a more polished finish. Do not feel bad about that.
“It takes time to really refine and produce a portfolio-worthy piece,” says Crawford. At this point in the course, you obviously have a bit more experience. This means you will likely have a bit more confidence in everything that you’re doing, which in turn means that in reworking pieces, you’re going to be able to do it that much better.
Perfection and mastery take time. So take the time to polish off and refine your masterpieces in order to create an irresistible portfolio that truly showcases your talent. “All that time that you put in is definitely going to be worth it when you land that dream job,” assures Crawford.

Angela Gao walks us through the importance of correctly fitting clothes with pins to get the look you are trying to achieve in fashion and the fashion business.
“Here we have a new ensemble of samples that just came back from the factory on our beautiful model Agnes,” says Angela Gao. “This is a jersey top, it’s very loose on her. This is the importance of fitting. To fit the garment is basically to make it fit your customer size, or the model, or the person who’s wearing your garment. The tools that we need are these little pins.”

You should be very careful never to pin the model that you’re depending on. There are specific rules as to where the pins should be pointing and how each seam or placement should be pinned. The reason I’m pinning at the shoulder is the shoulder seam is too low. I’m going to move it up a little bit so it’s actually on the high point of her shoulder.

Now let’s turn her around: the armhole is way too big, says Angela. We’re going to fix it by pinning the side seam a little bit closer together.

“One thing you should be careful to not force the fabric,” says Angela. “It’s a very important skill. Fabric wants to move in a certain direction in a certain way. The pinning should only adjust the size without forcing it.”

After I’ve indicated where the armhole should end, I’m going to start pinning the side seam. I still want the side seam to slant in the a-line shape, so I’m going to pin down the side seam at an angle.

You will finish this process by pinning to the bottom of the hemline. Now, the left side is a much better-fitted vest than the right side, which is still baggy and droopy.

If you’re happy with your fit, then it’s time to use a marker or tailor’s chalk. You’re going to redraw these lines, trace them, trace the pin line in the back, take pictures, and then send the sample garment back to the sample room or a factory.

After that, you would just wait for them to send you a new sample, recheck it, refit to make sure that everything is fitting properly, until to you it’s perfect. Then you can put it into production and have them sent to your customers and your buyers.

Your ideas begin with your story. That’s one of the hardest parts of developing your themes and grooves, especially as you develop all of this into a portfolio. That’s really where you want to capture it all. But where do we begin?

Being creative is an elusive idea. You want to explore it, but you don’t want to overthink it. Start with things that you see in your everyday life. Then think about your past. It all truly comes back to what your story is about.

Let’s talk about some examples. You may be wondering if a cow skull could inspire you. You’re intrigued by its texture. It reminds you of the American southwest that you love. It also begins to build a bridge to the work of artist Georgia O’Keeffe.

That gets you thinking about O’Keefe. She was an amazing, independent woman. She began an incredible art movement filled with simplified shapes. She took objects that we perhaps wouldn’t notice and presented them on a bold scale.

You can see that it’s not always the object itself that’s going to inspire you. It’s the ideas and connections it represents.

I took an incredible trip to India. It’s a country that I feel everybody in fashion should visit to experience the textures, the colors, the fabrics, and the atmosphere. I found some wooden blocks there that took me on a journey of inspiration.

What I loved about the blocks was that they reminded me of an incredible visit I took to a mill. It was really hot and all the windows and doors were open. The simplicity of taking cotton fabric, placing it on a very long table, and having a group of people going down the row and printing this pattern was fascinating.

For years I had seen incredible Indian prints. And I always wondered how they were made. I was so excited to see how the prints were developed—the pressure and the ink that was never perfect. That’s what really got me excited.

So it isn’t just the Indian wood block itself. It’s the trip, the colors, the feeling, the mood that it represents. That’s what I want to share with you. How an idea can develop.

In fashion, we love to thrift shop. We all agree that we own too much. On a trip to LA, I found a coat in a thrift store. I loved the wonderful vintage quality of it and its distressed look. The whole feel of it was cool.

That coat reminded me of my childhood growing up in the ’70s and got me thinking of the era. That led me to actors and films that I loved and just where I was in my life at that time. I began to really look at the coat and noticed amazing buckles and heavy stitching. All of these wonderful details informed my ideas.

I also love to take pictures and capture images that I see every day. I encourage all of you to do it, too. Sometimes you may not want to, but you’ll be glad when you capture something that caught your eye and starts your mind rolling.

Working with images from a trip you took or an experience you had will remind you of every aspect of those experiences. Then you begin to think about them differently and they become part of your creative process.

So as you begin this journey, as you begin to think about developing your concepts and themes, begin with your story. Begin from your point of view. That’s what you want to convey as you develop your work. Your experiences and your story are what you want to reflect in your portfolio.

SKU is a standard-keeping unit that’s associated with the barcode on your product. An SKU differentiates between styles, sizes, colors, and other technical features. It’s usually a number and a letter combination, which translates easily between languages and makes it simple to track without confusing people.

It’s also associated with the barcode you use when telling items in a store or online. It allows you to keep track of which colors, styles, and sizes sell better. You can use this data to determine which types of products you need to make more or less of in the future. Pay attention to the data associated with each SKU so that you can make sound financial decisions.
The challenge with footwear is that there are so many SKUs to create for just one style. Decide whether you want a range from a size 5 to a size 13 or if you want a narrower size selection. It’s better to have a wider range of shoe sizes because shoe sizes vary so much. This means that shoes will always need to have many SKUs. Then you have to consider whether you want to make them wide, narrow, or with half-sizes.
Variety is good for customers because they want an extensive selection. But when there are so many SKUs and you have to create different tech packs for each, it often causes confusion in manufacturing.