Design Philosophies and First Loves

There were many important things I learned while I attended FIDM. Of course there are the basics like learning to use a sewing machine and sketching classes to bring clothing to life. Then there is the obvious like pattern making and learning the business of fashion. All of these things and more are essential if you want to be a part of the fashion industry. If you have noticed, there is one key thing that is missing from this list. One of the most important things you can learn from fashion school (if even they cover it at all) is to develop a design philosophy. That is something no one can teach from you because it comes from you, if that makes sense. A design philosophy is a summation of what inspires you and your brand, what you want your brand to say about you, and so on.

If you examine every fashion designer, from the big names to small handmade brands, you will notice a pattern. Every single fashion designer has a design philosophy. It might involve comfort with style, or finding beauty in strange things and places. Little tidbits like that make up a fashion designer's philosophy. So, what is mine you ask?

For one of our assignments for school we had to come up with 20 design philosophies. Some of the ones I made up were just plain silly. Then I narrowed it down to three. It got me thinking of my brand name as well.

My design philosophy was to create modern clothes with a vintage twist. I sometimes mix it with vintage with a modern edge. They can mean different things but my brand is just that, it can be modern with vintage or vintage with modern.

This design is just a perfect blend of both modern and vintage: it is inspired by summer dresses worn in the 1940's but the length is great for the modern girl. It is altogether delicate and feminine but not matronly. My brand name, Premier Amour, is French for first love (sorry to the French if the translation is wrong!) I want my brand to represent femininity and youth, first time for many things, including your first love. I want people who wear my clothing to fall in love, head over heels over my designs but to also create memories in these clothes. This is why I am so fond of vintage clothing, because someone made memories in those clothes. From first kisses to maybe even first heartbreaks, you wear something that will be significant for the rest of your life. That is what I hope my brand represents, memories that last for a long time. 

If you want to be a designer, make sure you know what your philosophy is. It doesn't happen overnight, but when it all adds up, you'll have your brand and all it represents.

Stay fashionable kids.

-Daniela

Second Time's the Charm!

Hello there! I am Daniela, and this isn't the first blog post I have ever done on this blog. In fact this blog is two years old but I decided to start anew and try some new things through this blog. Before we get any further, there are some things you should know about me...

For one, I ADORE vintage! Well I love anything from the late sixties and back. This includes furniture, buildings, cars, music, clothing, etc. My two favorite eras would have to be the 1940's and 1960's, but again if it's vintage, I adore it.

I also adore fashion. I have a fashion design degree from FIDM which I got two years ago (this blog was started around that time and for extra credit too!) I was always a creative person and I knew I wanted to do something that involved creating something with my hands so fashion was the perfect career for me. Some of my early fashion inspiration came from Lucille Ball, Gwen Stefani, Dita Von Teese, and my sister. Now you can see where my love for vintage fashion came from.

Dress made by me...definitely inspired by late 1940's glamour

And to touch upon fashion, I am a fashion designer. It's a little strange to call myself that but I'm beginning to embrace it. I will be sharing my sketches and some of my finished designs as well. If you are into vintage and retro fashion as much as I am, you can even purchase some of my designs off  of my Etsy shop.

Hopefully with this new start, I can post tutorials, outfits of the day, new designs and more so stay tuned and stay fashionable.