Creating fashion sketches is not easy! Many people underestimate it because all little girls enjoy drawing designs. But to become truly skilled, one needs to develop abilities that take years to master. If even one of these four abilities is missing, it shows. People notice, clients notice. Let’s talk about these skills:
1. The Ability to Draw
Many focus almost entirely on this and think being a good designer simply means being good at drawing. Sure this helps a lot. But that’s not the full picture.
Being good at drawing means accurately illustrating human anatomy. It means knowing how to represent different fabrics, materials, and prints. It means creating various poses and showing the figure from different angles.
It also means being able to illustrate different types of people—young and old, men and women, slim and curvy figures.
It means being able to sketch and to render well.
2. The Ability to Create Designs
This skill is different from drawing. Being able to create designs means understanding how garments are constructed. It means knowing what can realistically be achieved with fabrics and what can not. It also involves knowing what pieces need to be included in a collection, the trending colors, fabric treatments and thousands of other things.
You must understand which fabrics suit specific garments. You need to learn how different design details are created. And you have to judge whether something is practical to be mass produced / hand-made.
A good designer isn’t afraid of the material! They want to touch it, test it, and feel it. They get ideas experimenting with it!
3. The Ability to Create Concepts
I view this as the ability to be a thinker and a creator. It involves knowing what you want to express and understanding who you are designing for. It’s about having a message.
This skill is more connected to thinking and writing than to drawing. A strong concept can be transformed into a masterpiece by someone with drawing skills. I’ve seen this numerous times. Designers are hiring me as a freelance illustrator, to bring their ideas to life. From my 15+ years of doing it, when the concept was solid, the final outcome was always amazing.
Just remember that without a strong idea, even the prettiest fashion sketch holds little value.
4. Good Taste
The fourth skill is good taste—and learning how to develop it. This isn’t something you either have or lack. Like any other skill, it can be improved.
You develop taste by studying good examples. Observe people, brands, campaigns, and collections that show strong taste. Listen carefully to feedback about your work and how it’s perceived.
You also build your taste by learning to remove elements instead of always adding more. I’ve noticed that many young designers starting their careers often think that creating a successful collection means making all designs as interesting, shocking, and detailed as possible.
They use everything! Different colors, cut-outs, sequins, mixing traditional and modern styles, heavy styling, endless textile swatches, and inspiration from worn-off sources. But more isn’t always better.
And here is what makes fashion illustration hard:
Drawing takes a significant investment of time or money spent on classes. Creating good designs is achieved by learning pattern making and sewing. If you’ve never worked with the drape, the material, you will never understand its capabilities. You’ll stay caught up in your head and fantasies, clueless how actual fabrics and zippers, pleats etc. behave.
Then… it all doesn’t matter if you have nothing to say. Developing concepts comes from reading, thinking, exploring various philosophical topics, and allowing yourself to be challenged. It involves forming strong opinions, even if they differ from the mainstream. Especially if they differ!
And you need good taste. You cultivate it by studying strong examples. Take a small piece of what you admire and reshape it until it reflects your style and vibes right. Master the skill to simplify, edit, and remove unnecessary elements.
Now you see why creating designs means more than sketching clothes in a sketchbook. It involves having drawing skills like an artist. It requires design skills of a tailor, the ability to conceptualize of a philosopher, and the ability to find balance without overdoing it or a royalty.
So please don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re not where you want to be yet. It takes time and dedication. Allow yourself the time to grow, and be patient and consistent!
And if you really, really can’t wait to grow the skill and want to see your design drawn professionally – you can always try PUM! Fashion Designer app for free – you get your design professionally drawn + unlimited edits until you nail the other 3 aspects of a good fashion sketch.
Happy drawing!
