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Specializing in Fashion Design

Posted August. 23, 2005 08:28,   

한국어

What fashion designers do is now confined to sketching the forms of clothing on paper.

Instead, colorists are now the number one scout targets for fashion brands, which pay keen attention to building a distinctive brand image. Material designers and modelists are also in increasing demand.

Colorists Decide All the Colors-

“Apricot-tinted pink,” promptly answered Kim Young-min (30), colorist of Bean Pole, a casual brand of Cheil Industries, to the question what color would go best with the reporter.

Kim is a colorist with five years of working experience. She is in charge of colors not only for clothing but also for the brand’s shops and even its website. She was scouted to Cheil this March.

“Black will be the main trend in fashion colors this fall. But there are a variety of black colors, like feminine black or luxurious black. There are subtle differences. It is my job to choose colors that suit the brand image.”

Deputy manager Park Jeong-suk of Bean Pole’s design R&D department said, “In the past, experienced designers were in charge of both design and colors, but now we divided the working process and scouted professional colorists.”

Material Designers and Modelists-

“Material designers should be able to read the whole picture,” said Jo Jung-gi (35), the chief of the textile department of DAKS, LG Fashion’s brand. She said the greatest charm of being a textile designer is that she can decide the dominant fashion concept of each season.

Based on colors recommended by colorists, material designers choose apt fabric and decide the image that the fashion of the season will pursue. They get information from textile fairs that mostly take place in Europe.

Jo said, “With a touch, I can tell what kind of fabric was used,” adding, “I pay constant attention to the changes of fashion trends, as 70 to 80 percent of materials for each year’s production should be purchased a year ahead.”

After the colors and material are settled, designers create concrete images of dresses on drawing paper.

Making actual clothes based on designs is a job of “modelists.” But they are not bound to the design because clothes should appeal to people who wear them, rather than just looking good.

Ryu Jeong-hee (30) is a modelist for the outdoor brand Lafuma of LG Fashion. She said, “I want to make clothes that feel comfortable, whatever the design is.”

Fashion Buyers at Department Stores-

In department stores, an increasing number of former designers are scouted to work as professional fashion buyers. Their job is finding out promising domestic and overseas brands and opening their shops in department stores. Working with the brand’s colorist, they also take part in styling their new shops.

Bae Seon-yeong (34) is a fashion buyer in charge of Eliden, a multiple fashion brand shop at Lotte Department Store’s Avenuel, a branch specializing in brand-name goods.

She says, “Fashion buyers should have the world’s fashion trends at their fingers’ ends,” adding, “When selecting a new brand, I take into account fashion trends, purchasing habits of domestic consumers, and market situation.”



kimhs@donga.com