Curves Ahead for Fashion Design School Grads

by Clare Kaufman
Fashion Design School Review Columnist

It’s all fun and games until someone faints on the runway. With more and more underweight models suffering serious health complications, fashion industry leaders are calling for change. The consumer is not far behind: a poll in Elle found that nearly 70% support a ban on skinny models. What does that mean for your career in fashion design?

Redesigning Fashion Design

Madrid got the ball rolling in September when it banned underweight models. Milan took the ban a step further by requiring models to undergo a health exam. And Manhattan’s Council of Fashion Designers (CFDA), in anticipation of Fashion Week beginning Feb.2, issued a set of health guidelines.

Have Your Cake and (Don’t) Eat it Too

But will these measures work? The CFDA guidelines, which recommend nutritious backstage catering and daytime fashion fittings, were greeted with skepticism by health activists and designers alike.

After all, a nutritious catered meal won’t tempt a model whose career depends on fitting into a size 0. Nutritionist Joy Bauer, part of the CFDA’s panel, admits that a model’s “entire career in fashion is somewhat based on being thin. It’s a tricky thing.” With such career incentives in place, change can only come from fashion designers.

A Curvy Road Ahead

Fashion design school students can set a healthier course for fashion design by learning techniques that flatter a woman’s natural shape. If you’re headed to design school, plan to focus on:

• Tailoring. It takes more technical skill to design for curves. Make sure your fashion designs drape as well on an hourglass as they do on the hanger.
• Textiles. The complex, rounded form of a healthy woman calls for just the right fabric.
• Color and Light. Curves add new dimensions, opportunities to play with light and shadow. Color and texture can accent or downplay the body’s topography.

Designing for a healthy female body represents an exciting career opportunity. Develop the necessary technical skills in fashion design school, and you’ll be prepared for the curves ahead.

Source

“Health Guidelines Suggested for Models,” The New York Times (Jan. 6, 2007)

About the Author

Clare Kaufman is a freelance writer specializing in education and career advice. She has a graduate degree in English.

Posted on April 29, 2007 at 02:46 PM