~Ethnic Influences on Apparel Design~

A persons ethnicity has a direct influence on the way they choose to dress or create different garments. For example a designer who is hispanic would probably choose to incorporate specific colors in their designs because of what they represent in their culture. It is very important that people incorporate different aspects of their culture into their designs because of how unique the designs will be. By incorporating cultural influences into design, designers are able to express to consumers just how important their culture is to them.
Apparel design is also affected by cultural influence because trends change all the time due to the fact that designers want to market to certain people. For example one season the inspiration for a person collection might come form the trends seen on the streets of china. The trends seen on the streets of china would probably be incorporated for designs made to target the urban communiteis in the USA.
Apparel design will always be affected by cultural influences because of how diverse the world is. People always want to express themselves through the way they dress.I feel as though it is awesome when you can go into a store and find something that reminds you where you have come from an where you are going. In Ghana the colors and patterns seen on kente cloth tells a person social status as well as other important facts. When people in the USA by garments from foreign countries they probably dont realize the deper meanin behind the design.

*~New York Fashion Week~*

The New York Fashion week is the event of the year for anyone who is intrigued by unique designs. All of the design are awesome and show the passion and creativity of the designers. I personally liked Calvin Kleins Spring 2009 design. Fancisco Costa took being creative to a whole other level. He took simple everyday articles of clothing such as coats, jackets and dresses and made them appear in 3D. Critics at the fashion show refer to this particular collection as soft geometrty.
Hilary Alexander is a fashion director that had many great things to say about Franciscos designs. In an article written for telegraph.co.uk she critiques his work and states that " At first glance the oragami folds of the architectural dresses coats and jackets worn with slim trousers, suggested that the woman in charge of ironing had left the building. But it soon became clear that these creases and just-unpacked folds were intended to create a stiff, sculptural volume away from the body." I believe that Hilary sums up the whole theme of his collection in just those few words
Francisco Spring 2009 collection wasnt full of color, however the few colors he choose to use went well with the 3D designs. His collection consist of silver,cream,white and blue with a hint of black thrown in with acesssories such as belts and shoes. i just thinks its so awesome that he used mathematics as an inspiration for these designs. The designers that participate in New york Fashion week show just how unlimited the fashion world really is.

Organic and Environmental Friendly Clothing

I personally think that organic and environmentally friendly clothing are awesome. They are stylish as well as better for the environment and consumers that wear them. I reasonally visited a website that had designs by Jonano. Jonano clothes and products are made from oragnic material such as bamboo, ecokashmere, ecottongrown, organic cotton and crisp hemp linen. Orgainc clothing are expensive to a certain extend but at the same time its better for the environment. Jonano has a collection called "Daffodil" which benefits cancer research. Jonano mission is to create a world without caner.
According to an article called "How Organic Clothing Works", which was written by Maria Colenso, there are several reason why people should wear organic clothing. The first reason is the fact that 12.8 million acres of conventiaonal cotton is grown in the US. However 55 million pounds of pesticides are sprayed on that 12.8 million acres produced. The second reason is that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) estimates that 7 of the 15 pesticides used on cotton in the US are probable or know to cause cancer in humans. The third reason is that organic farming uses 50% less energy to grow products then conventional farming.
I think that it would be great if everyone atleast brought one peiece of organic clothing just t0 see what they think about it. There are alot of people in the world who could care less about the environment but for the percentage of those who do we can make a difference.

*~Favorite Designer~*

My favorite designers are Dolce and Gabbana. I recently watched the Summer 2008 and Winter 2009 Fashion Shows online. These designers especially appeal to me because of the passion and heart they put into their work. These passions are seen in many of their designs which have been created for some of the most successful music tours.I believe that Domencio Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are also great designers just because of how unique thier designs are.
I really liked their Summer 2008 collection because of how they take one accessorie and change the whole look of an outfit. There summer collection consist of alot of dresses, skirts and blouses that area white, tan and light brown. They added alot of color to the designs with a simple but colorful handbag or scarf. I like their Winter 2009 collection because of how they pair and layer different colors and garments. The fact that they can take colors and garments that i would probably never combine and make it look so appealing is what makes them such great designers.
One of the final reasons why i like Dolce and Gabbana is because of how versitle their design are. They have really feminine stlyes as well as elegant and casual. In the Summer 2008 collection they had some really feminine bubble skirts with lace and ribbons. Overall I just really like their designs because the models can walk right off the runway to go do normal everyday task.