Allow me to first start by giving a few definitions before I get into today’s business.
According to Wikipedia and design.org:
DESIGN – noun that informally refers to a plan for the construction of an object (in this case clothes)
- Also to create, fashion, execute or construct according to plan
o To conceive and plan out in mind
o To have as a purpose
o To devise for a specific function or end
FASHION DESIGN – this is the art of application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories
FASHION DESIGNERS – persons who attempt to design clothes which are functional as well as aesthetically pleasing.
Now that we have that clear, my question therefore comes along, where are the designers in this country? Where are the creative minds that are supposed to make us look stunning? Most people, whom I’ve come across and call themselves “designers”, just leave me in utter disappointment. One thing that I have noticed is that, there is a deficient of creativity. It is my belief that in whatever the aspect of design be it interior, outdoor or whatever, there has to be an element of creativity that is to be seen.
There are about a handful exceptions to this statement though, but as for the rest, my, oh my!!! What we currently have going on is having a tailor with a shop and a couple of designs he/she has collected from a mag or newspaper, and with that, they coil the name designer for themselves. It makes me sick, and I wish they could be fined, and the name could be protected, like the haute couture.
I have attended a couple of fashion shows and all of them except for one leave me begging for more in terms of creativity, freshness and uniqueness. I’d like to see that there was some thought process put into designing the garment, or a theme in a collection. Either that or some well done constructed garments with excellent finishing. Sometimes an outfit isn’t about the uniqueness but also just its finishing, and its detailing. Fashion design is an art and just like a Picasso or Pollock painting, they are to tell a story of the individual wearing it, or the designer who created it. I want to attend shows and feel as if I attended a Milan or Paris show, not in terms of money spent in the show, but the arrangement of garments, the finishing of the garments and the new ideas on the runway.
This is a challenge to all you so called designers out there, as well as myself. Start putting some thought in your work. Don’t just wake up and start hitting the sewing machine.
So if you know you do not develop or come up with your own ideas, please and I beg please, stop calling yourself a designer, because quite frankly you are abusing that name, and the industry. If you sell clothes that are imported, you are not a designer. You are a clothes vendor, and this post goes to you as well. I understand the industry is growing, but that’s even the more reason why we should be doing better than we are.
I am making it my mission to look for that hidden talent; to look for the real designers and expose the design frauds. That’s the only way this industry can grow to the desired unimaginable heights.
