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Chapter 3

Understanding Fashion: Definition and Overview

Explains fashion as a dynamic social force reflecting a society's customs and its political, economic and cultural state, and surveys the three categories of fashion production (haute couture, high-fashion ready-to-wear and mass-produced ready-to-wear). It then maps the world's fashion capitals and India's emergence as a fashion centre, before detailing the design vocabulary, categories and market realities of menswear, womenswear, childrenswear and garment trims.

3.1 Categories of Clothing

  • The global clothing market is worth several trillion USD and employs millions across design, manufacturing, technology and marketing.
  • Fashion producers fall into three basic categories: haute couture, high-fashion ready-to-wear (designer labels) and mass-produced ready-to-wear.
  • Haute couture producers are established design houses that make very expensive, customized garments for individual customers.
  • Ready-to-wear or prêt-à-porter labels are designed by an in-house design team for corporate organizations/labels, manufactured with attention to style and quality in standardized sizes.
  • Mass-produced ready-to-wear garments may be outsourced to developing countries, with per-piece production at competitive prices as the primary objective.

3.1.1–3.1.3 Haute Couture, High-Fashion RTW and Off-Shore Manufacturing

  • 'Couturiers' (French for high-quality dressmaking) created exclusive, custom-fitted clothing; La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne was established in 1868 to set qualifications and rules for couture houses.
  • French nationality is not required for Chambre membership — NIFT alumnus Manish Arora is a member and shows at Paris Fashion Week. Members show collections twice a year (January for S/S, July for A/W).
  • Italian couture, organized after World War II, is governed by the Camera Nazionale dell'Alta Moda Italiana, with houses based in Rome, Florence and Milan; couture is often less profitable than its ready-to-wear, licensing and franchise income.
  • High-fashion ready-to-wear began as a supplementary line of couture houses and grew into a full industry; examples include DKNY (Donna Karan), Miu Miu (Prada) and Pleats Please (Issey Miyake). Such designers may be designated 'créateurs' by the Chambre Syndicale.
  • Trade shows/fairs for RTW are held at least twice a year — Spring/Summer in August-September and Autumn/Winter in February-March — in key cities worldwide.
  • Mass-produced ready-to-wear is manufactured in low-wage countries with skilled but cheap labour: China, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Mauritius and Malaysia in Asia; Mexico in South America; Poland, Portugal and Turkey in Europe.
  • Mass-manufactured garments are usually simplified knock-offs of upmarket brands, made cheaply in large quantities to bring down per-unit cost; China has emerged as a mega-production giant.

3.2 Fashion Capitals

  • Fashion historically emerged from courts and royal patronage; cities such as Milan, Rome, Venice, London, Paris, New York, Madrid and Barcelona became fashion capitals through cultural power at certain periods.
  • A fashion capital is a city important for production, retail of fashion goods, and hosting of fashion events and trade fairs, with a distinctive culture that inspires professionals and citizens alike.
  • The 'Big Four' fashion capitals are London, Milan, New York and Paris.
  • Global connectivity and the internet have helped emerging fashion centres develop: Tokyo (Japan), Shanghai (China), Mumbai and Delhi (India), Toronto (Canada), Dubai (UAE) and Düsseldorf (Germany).
  • London: known for traditional/bespoke tailoring and unconventional street fashion; RTW began on Carnaby Street; the 1960s Mod and Hippie styles and Mary Quant's miniskirt defined the era; icons include Twiggy, Princess Diana, Anna Wintour; designers include Zandra Rhodes, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney.
  • Milan: Italian style blends classical aesthetic appeal with practicality; strength lies in quality fabric, fine workmanship and elegant knitwear, sportswear and leather accessories; Milan is the major staging ground for Italian RTW shows.
  • New York: American fashion is practical, wearable and aimed at the average consumer, pioneering active/casual sportswear (Claire McCardell, Donna Karan, Anne Klein); the Garment District is the business capital of fashion; American textile R&D created nylon, polyester and lycra.
  • Paris: Rose Bertin, dressmaker to Marie Antoinette, was named Minister for Fashion; Charles Frederick Worth (an Englishman in Paris) became the father of modern fashion design, created the first design label and showed gowns on live models; home to Chanel, Dior and Saint Laurent.
  • Tokyo: blends traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern design; conceptual labels include Comme des Garçons (Rei Kawakubo) and Y's (Yohji Yamamoto).

3.2.6 Emergence of India as a Fashion Centre

  • India's economic strength (IT industry, back-office operations, opening of markets) raised household income and purchasing power.
  • Rising demand for formal office wear, casual wear, club wear and formal ethnic wear; internet and social media exposure to global cultures fuels the need for individual identity.
  • India's heritage weaves, artisanal crafts and skilled labour underpin design labels with global presence such as Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Arora, Rahul Mishra and péro.
  • Fashion weeks produced by FDCI (Delhi) and Lakmé (Mumbai) give a platform to emerging and established designers.
  • India's fashion market, though nascent, has grown as it allows entry to international retail brands, changing the organizational structure of the Indian fashion industry.

3.3–3.4 Introduction to Menswear

  • The notion that 'women are fashionable but men are not' is erroneous; it stems from perceiving men's dress as purely functional, and creative professions as less 'serious' than scientific/pragmatic ones.
  • Until the mid-20th century, Western men's wardrobes were limited (dark suits, waistcoats, white shirts, sombre ties); after WWII, men sought more leisure time, driving demand for sports and leisurewear.
  • By the 1960s, bands like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Supremes and The Doors sparked demand for variety and individuality; corporate culture later reinforced the formal-suit-and-tie look, and 'Friday dressing' (relaxed dress code) emerged in the late 1980s US corporate sector.
  • Military uniforms and workwear inspired fashion — denim jeans originated as workwear for California gold miners in the 1850s and became a versatile staple.
  • Menswear categories: Casual wear (T-shirts, jeans, cargo pants, shorts), Sportswear (basketball tees, tennis skirts, jogging pants), Active sportswear (swimming costumes, hiking pants, ski jackets), Outerwear (overcoats, cloaks, jackets, raincoats, robes), and Formal wear (ethnic: sherwani, kurta, churidar, dhoti-pyjama; western: dress shirts, trousers, jackets, suits; fusion: Jodhpur pants, Nehru jackets).
  • Shirt types include the dress shirt (light colour, worn with ties/suits), Oxford buttoned-down shirt (formal, solids/pinstripes/checks), Hawaiian shirt (loose, half-sleeved, floral prints) and T-shirt (casual knit); collar, shoulder yoke/epaulet and cuff details style the shirt.
  • Trouser types include dress trousers (fine wool/blends), baggy trousers (deep waist pleats), cargo pants (military-inspired utility pockets) and jeans (denim); shorts include tennis, running, Bermuda and cargo/safari shorts.
  • The suit is typically two-piece with a shirt; adding a waistcoat makes it a three-piece (tuxedo, per the text); single- or double-breasted styling and fabric/accessory choice shift it from formal to sporty/casual.
  • Men prefer cool colours (blues, greens) and neutrals (off-white, brown, grey) seen as 'masculine' and 'objective'; plaids and stripes have stronger male identification than florals/dots. Menswear fabrics are usually stable, formal, in cottons, linen, silk, wool and blends. Key Indian players: Madura Fashion and Apparel, Arvind Ltd., Raymond, Provogue India Ltd., Indian Terrain Fashions Ltd.

3.5 Introduction to Womenswear

  • Historically fashionable clothing was custom-made by tailors/dressmakers; sewing instructions in magazines, graded paper patterns and the domestic sewing machine transformed home dressmaking.
  • At the turn of the 20th century, women entering work (governesses, teachers, typists) drove demand for ready-to-wear and simpler silhouettes; wartime mass manufacture of uniforms enabled standardized size charts.
  • Trend forecasting predicts colour, fabric, silhouette and design details up to 18 months ahead; Indian brands like Van Heusen Woman and Allen Solly offer workwear; plus-size and maternity wear have gained wide acceptance.
  • Indian womenswear blends indigenous drape (the sari, evolved over ~200 years, worn with a stitched choli), Mughal-introduced stitched garments (salwar kameez, kalidar kurta, pyjama, sharara, gharara, with embroideries like chikankari, aari, kashidakari) and British influence (saree blouse with band/Peter Pan collar, lace-trimmed petticoats).
  • The three key elements of design in womenswear are colour, fabric and silhouette; each season's palette has pastel, neutral, bright and deep colour groups; prints/woven designs, embellishments (appliqué, embroidery) and trims (buttons, zips, piping) are vital design elements.
  • Fabric accounts for 50–80% of garment cost; natural fibres (cotton, linen, silk, wool) are supplemented by man-made and blended fabrics for stretch, comfort and easy care.
  • Garment collections (about 10–15 pieces) are grouped by category — eveningwear, sportswear, casualwear, formal wear, festive wear, nightwear, maternity wear — and by size category: Women, Missy, Petite, Junior.
  • Common womenswear items include dresses (varied by waistline, silhouette, length, neckline, sleeves), blouses, skirts (straight, flared, gathered, pleated, tiered, panelled), trousers (straight leg, capri, bell-bottom, jodhpurs), kurta-salwar (kalidar, yoke, A-line kurta; basic, churidar, Patiala salwar) and sari blouses (plain or choli cut).

3.6 Introduction to Childrenswear

  • Children's wear was historically not seen as fashion (children wore miniature adult clothing); today rising purchasing power, media exposure (cartoons, films, sports/music icons, social media) and smaller families with higher disposable income drive a growing branded kidswear market.
  • Childrenswear differs from adult wear because children continue to grow, requiring design suited to each growth stage.
  • Newborn (birth to a few months): garments prioritize safety/comfort — no back buttons, snap buttons/Velcro preferred, soft lightweight fabrics like flannel, cotton and knits; pink for girls, blue for boys is a common convention.
  • Infant (3 months–1 year): key considerations are weight, age and head size (a child's head is about one-fifth of height vs. one-eighth for an adult); soft fabrics (flannel, cottons, jersey knits, polar fleece), pastel colours, polka dots, cartoon/nursery prints, and easy trims like Velcro and snap buttons.
  • Toddler (1–4 years): active, rapidly growing children need easy-care fabrics (cambric, poplin, corduroy, denim, jersey knits, polar fleece in winter); bright printed fabrics, stripes, polka dots, cartoon themes and gingham checks are popular; little gender-based size difference at this stage.
  • Preteen (5–12 years) and Teen (13–18 years): puberty onset (around 10–11 for girls, 11–12 for boys) brings distinctive changes in height, weight and body composition, notably bust development in girls; licensed apparel tied to sports, music and star icons is popular, especially in innerwear and nightwear.

3.7 Introduction to Trims

  • Trims are functional and decorative details (appliqué, topstitching, ribbons, laces, buttons, zips, Velcro) that enhance a garment's look and add salable value, but unplanned use can raise cost and hurt aesthetics.
  • Guidelines: trims should complement the design, stay within the garment's price framework, and be compatible with the garment's fabric; children's wear and lingerie are the two design areas that use trims most frequently.
  • Fastenings: buttons (earliest functional ones found in 9th-century Hungarian tribal tombs; ornamental buttons trace to Mohenjo Daro) and buttonholes (machine-made, hand-made or bound slits).
  • Hardware refers to metal fastenings (dog leash clips, snaps, buckles, locks) used in luggage and on casual outerwear as trendy details.
  • Zippers are sliding closures on straight plackets, available in many lengths/colours; heavy-duty zippers suit children's wear while delicate concealed zippers suit formal evening wear.
  • Lacings (cords/spaghetti straps through eyelets) create cowboy or peasant looks; ties are braid-like closures used on both casual and ethnic wear.
  • Linear trims (corded edge, corded seam, faggoting, multi-needle topstitching) are inexpensive decorative stitches on seams and edges; shaped edges (scallop, lettuce, crochet, picot) are decorative but limit later hem alterations.
  • Frills/ruffles (basic straight, lace, circular, pleated, area) and braids/ribbons/rick rack add decorative volume; appliqués/patches suit children's wear; studs, first used by Levi Strauss to reinforce miners' workpants seams during the 1850s Gold Rush, are now decorative-functional; heat-transfer prints are heat-set with paper and fabric.
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