When choosing a traditional styles or outfit, sometimes we mistake the work of a fashion designer with that of a tailor .After all, they use the same sewing instruments and the outcome of their work is a dress or apparel. But there is actually a very big difference between both from the specifications of their job to the end product. This is not always the case
Tailors are actually those who get to take measurements of customers and then sew a pattern to fit with the customers measurements and design chosen from a book or magazine and nowadays, from the internet via Instagram or Facebook while a fashion designer is one who is the alpha and omega, the creator and the brain behind the very design the tailor copies from to sew for a customer. Fashion designers are the brain behind the fashion industry. They are the creators and I could possibly say they are the architects of the trends of clothing you see today. What if I told you that without a fashion designer, a tailor has no job aside stitching torn clothing? Not all tailors are fashion designers because come to think of it, fashion designing is more like sketching the blueprint of a house and requires professional skills from thinking to sketching and then drawing as well as series of sleepless nights just to come out with a unique design that would stand out in the competitive world of fashion. (See also Top 10 Male Nigerian Fashion Designer)
A fashion designer works with the inspiration gotten from colors, themes and at times nature as it may seem just for idea sakes unlike the tailor we just know to be copy paste individuals who sew from what they see already designed by a fashion designer. Every day, we come across one tailor or another and we are familiar with how they carry out their hand work but many may not have seen or even if gotten to understand how a fashion designer works with all the many protocols and processes just to come to a final garment design.
Three Differences Between a Fashion Designer and a Tailor
Let me break down the differences between a fashion designer and a tailor in three steps for better understanding and these includes;
- A FASHION DESIGNER ENVISIONS WHILE A TAILOR FIXES: As the heading implies, a fashion designer is a visionary as they envision, envisage, picture combinations as well as complex patterns to follow without errors working with colors and textures alike to a conclusion of a magnificent masterpiece while the tailor is one who helps repair, make and restructure clothing patterns of the fashion designers apparel design to meet the taste of a customer.
- A FASHION DESIGNER DESIGNS APPARELS ON A SEASONAL BASIS TO TREND WHILE A TAILOR MODIFIES FOR CLIENTS: Like the likes of Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Versace and many more, fashion designers make designs on a seasonal basis to meet the trending fashion world. This could include a specific design for the winter season, another for autumn, summer and the rest of the seasons. Fashion designers stick to establishing a trend in the world of fashion while on the other hand; tailors only modify dresses and create an adaptation to sewing clothing. It is more like a copyright type of thing. The fashion designer is the creator, while the tailor is the modifier to meet clients’ need. Ever wondered why buying from a collection created by a fashion designer is extravagantly expensive while sewing with a tailor is just peanuts? This is because, fashion designers actually create limited apparel designs which get exhausted in no time except you ask for a customized one and they get to reproduce based on your request while tailors could sew same design (but not as detailed as the original master piece) for peanuts and constantly help you amend to fit your body shape for those who know how to gain and lose weight often.
- A FASHION DESIGNER IS AN ARCHITECT OF THE MASTER PIECE, A TAILOR HAPPENS TO BE AN EMULATOR: The tailors work is just to show clients designs of a fashion designers work published in magazines as well as shown on catalogues. When a client selects a design, the tailor asks for a material or suggests one for you that would match the design and also fit the occasion which you require it for then goes ahead to study the catalogue or magazine and in a case where the picture was gotten from a celebrity on the internet, a tailor downloads the image and sews according to what is shown in the picture hence the term “a tailor is an emulator”. As for a fashion designer, it all boils down to ideas and inspirations and a lot of sketching to meet the final drawing before been designed for a collection. A fashion designer does not need to look at and copy paste someone else’s design to get the perfect design but carefully studying the environment and checking out what was in vogue, what is now trending and what possibly the future might need in the world of fashion.
So it does not seem unfair to the hardworking fashion designers been seen as equals to tailors, we should try to understand the difference between both profession although quite a number of fashion designers also tag themselves sophisticated tailors and it is so as they not only design but also tailor their apparels themselves with attention to details for a sophisticated luxurious outcome.
“A fashion designer is an architect, a tailor is an emulator”.
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