Pen of all colours

For some fashion sketches stay on paper, for others the designs advance to a physical product. Either way this mind blowing invention can be anyone’s new best friend. It’s called the Scribble Pen. Although the name doesn’t scream ‘force to be reckoned with’ after reading this post I’m sure you will agree that this tool is one to have.

Picture: by Grant Condit via Flickr

Scribble is a pen that absorbs any colour from your surrounding and create the ink colour to draw (or write) with. This all happens in one pen, let me explain. For those who prefer digital the Scribble pen comes in a stylus version. This pen allows you to scan any colour from any product, surface or chart and it instantly reproduces the identical colour to use either on paper or on an electronic device.

How it works

A lot of technical work was involved in making this pen. The Scribble Pen uses a 16-bit RGB colour sensor to absorb various colours. Scribble claims their pen can capture all existing colours on earth. This Pen then renders the colour on paper if you use the ink-based pen, or on a screen if you use the stylus version. If you happen to like any of the colours you can capture them as this Pen can store up to 100 000 shades of colour.

If anyone needs anymore reason to use this Pen there’s an environmental advantage. Because the pen can produce a lot of colours it replaces thousands of colour pens you could be buying, and as a bonus also saves money. The cartridge is refillable you don’t have to throw it away every time the ink runs out. This reduces the huge amount of plastic waste that land up in landfills all over the world.

Main features

• Takes 1-2 seconds to capture colour
• 15 hour battery life
• Compatible with Adobe Photoshop
• Up to 48 km of drawing
• Supports Andriod and iOS
• Refillable ink cartridge
• Connectivity via Bluetooth and USB port
• 1 GB of on-board memory

The Scribble Pen comes in 6 tip sizes which are 0.3mm, 0.5mm, 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 2.5mm and 3.71mm. I also comes in various colours, green, black, blue, silver and white. If interested this pen is available for sale here. The cost of this Pen, for both paper and touchscreen is quite costly, going for R4375,70.

This creative invention takes us back to childhood, it gives us the opportunity to draw with all the colour in the world but still produce amazing fashion illustrations and designs. Except, in this nostalgic moment, it’s 2016 and all this can be done with one pen and there are options to make those drawing pop using CAD programs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grahamstown online fashion

There’s no denying that students at the university currently known as Rhodes (UCKAR) have claimed online spaces to showcase their creativity, activism, skills and style. Specifically, in current fashion, Fashion Friday is one to look out for.

Fashion Friday is an online weekly episode of student fashion on the campus which was started by OppiTV, a video section of The Oppidan Press student publication. Phiwokuhle Dhlamini, the editor and chief of OppiTV says, “It came about as a response to the desire for our viewers to see themselves and their peers on a platform that encourages creativity in the form of specific weekly themes and lookbooks. We wanted to accommodate a new audience that transcends the hard news and political content that OppiTV was solely known for.”

This video series is aimed at young people of Grahamstown, however, the online platforms allows other young people from all over the country to get a taste of the fashion scene in Grahamstown, particularly on the UCKAR campus. Fashion Friday is a showcase of the different styles of university students, a platform for them to express their artistic flair in the form of dress.  “There is no questioning the prevalent role that style and certain fashionable items and trends play in popular culture and entertainment, and OppiTV wanted to be a part of this buzzing culture” says Dhlamini.

Fashion Friday encourages self-expression and diversity. Dhlamini says instead of judging and criticising each other we can learn and draw inspiration from each other. “Fashion Friday hopes to unite our diverse audience under this exciting and popular banner of self-expression, creativity and artistry.” The Fashion Friday series has weekly themes they explore, these themes range from all things leather to sneaker editions.

Fashion Friday is published on YouTube. Dhlamini says, “The internet is currently the biggest, most convenient and most accessible platform for media [production] and consumption. For that reason, our audience has immediate access to our latest episodes. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter are the main channels of distribution, this is where we market the show and attract a large number of our viewers.”

She adds that because they publish their content on an online video platforms the content is only available to certain young people or students. There is a need for either a smart phone or computer and with that there’s a need for a lot of data or a WIFI connection. The unfortunate spin off of this is that without access to these resources you don’t have access to the Fashion Friday episodes.

We hope Fashion Friday can address their digital divide issue. In addition to that, we hope to see young people continue to reclaim the online space to embrace local talent and address social issues.

Apps, your fashion assistants

Being a fashionista and maintaining a fashionably stylish lifestyle can be quite challenging in a small city like Grahamstown.  There are countless fashion apps available out there but here are a few to assist committed fashion stars in small towns. When it comes to the weather, expert fashion knowledge and more, these apps have got you covered.

Picture: by Pixabay.com

FAD – The ultimate Fashion Dictionary 

FAD is a broad Fashion Dictionary app, a great tool to keep you familiar and up to date with the jargon of the fashion industry. It has over 1,500 entries and gives you explanations of many things fashion related, this includes fashion labels, retail stores, fabrics and sewing. This app is also available offline, this means you can have your personal fashion dictionary everywhere you go. The information here is shareable through social media and messages so you can share this knowledge with your friends. A similar app to this is Speak Chic that has similar functions, both available on iOS.

Like To Know It

This app assist with Instagram online shopping so you don’t have to be hunting down outfits you see from your explore button or other extreme ways to achieve this goal.  Like To Know makes it possible to easily track down the best fashion pieces on Instagram. Once you sign up with the app any Instagram you like with a shopping link will directly send you an email of the ready-to-shop product link. It may come with its challenges, but it’s an easier way to collect the chicest outfits through your favourite Instagram feed.An added bonus, you stand out from the homogenous fashion creeping up in Grahamstown. A similar App to this this ASAP54.

PS Dept 

For those who are still developing a personal style or interested in trying new styles without going through embarrassing phases this app may be useful. How it works is that you type your fashion request into the app and a real-live personal shopper will answer questions and assist with finding the chicest items. You are able to buy whatever they find directly on the app, delivery and returns will be handled by them. This is a free service but you can add gratuity. In an article with New York Magazine PS Dept’s spokesperson said, “This whole experience is really about putting the person back into the shopping experience”. However, there is no mention of how long it takes to get a response for this service. For those who are ballin’ on a budget, one of the best ways you could benefit from this app is to take advantage of the styling tips from expert stylists. PS Dept is available on iOS.

Stylect

Stylect, inspired by Tinder’s user interface (UI), is a shoe shopping app. They call it ‘The Tinder for Shoes’. This app helps you find the shoes that suit you best. You have a choice of 350,000 shoe styles from e-commerce sites, from designers ranging from Christian Louboutin to Nike. Stylect enables you to filter your shoe search based on colour, price or style. It also allows you to create a shoe wish-lists, make purchases directly through the app and get alert of sale items. Out of the vast options you stand a chance of getting a pair that can handle potholes, hills and everything in between in our intimate towns. This app is available on both Android and iOS.

Whatoweather

This app uses your location’s weather forecast and gives you a daily outfit adapted to the weather from anywhere in the world. This will help inspire you to create daily looks even for those rainy days. Gone are the days of being that person who is dressed in shorts and sleeveless tops on a rainy day. Well, in Grahamstown, at least we hope so. If you share some of your wardrobe items, the app can also advise you of various seasonal trends. Whatoweather is available on Android and iOS.

While most of these apps were created for more affluent customers there are some that are accessible to everyone. This means, although some are also available on Android, some are exclusively available on iOS and products are sold in US dollars, euros and pounds. But until our local app developers step up when it comes to local fashion apps we can work with these.

The grams that get you Rands

Since its inception in 2010 Instagram took the (‘first’) world by storm, gaining millions of users in just the first month, South Africa modestly followed suit. This unprecedented popularity of Instagram gave rise to a new aspect to the fashion business.

Picture: Ruby Gold

Although Instagram’s vision was to make “fast, simple and beautiful” mobile photographs, it quickly became about selling a certain lifestyle. The Daily Vox puts in very well saying “Instagram has become a hub for SA’s rich and famous to show off, for the fashion conscious to strut their stuff”. With that in mind this photo and video sharing app has been a great opportunity for small and large scale fashion businesses.

There are surely multiple ways to make money off of Instagram but for vogue business minded people it is a wonderful opportunity to start an online fashion store. Starting online stores has in fact become popular and as a result we have to be on the lookout for online scammers. It has also been common to find students setting up online stores, at least here in Grahamstown. I spoke to two students who have started and are still running their Instagram fashion stores.

Phumudzo Ndzeru who was a student at UCKAR last year started her online store, Ruby Gold while doing her final year last year. Her decision to run the store Instagram was interestingly based on her target market. She says, “amongst Ruby Gold’s target market, that is females between the ages of 20 – 35. The average female in that age bracket who has access to social media platforms probably logs on to engage with peers more than once a day. This made social media the perfect platform to run my business”.

According to TechCentral Instagram has been the fastest growing compared to any social network in South Africa from 2014 to 2015. Clearly this is what drew Phumudzo to this particular platform. “This made social media the perfect platform to run my business” she adds.

The gorgeous @malehu21 in one of our best selling items! The Kim K inspired two piece! Soo much slayage 🙀😻!

A photo posted by Ruby_Gold (@_rubygold_) on Oct 6, 2015 at 2:21am PDT

 

Nikita Mtoba currently doing her honours degree has also started he online store,  By Yasmin, recently. Unlike Phumudzo who met and communicates with her Chinese suppliers over Whatsapp, Nikita prefers to use local suppliers and communicates with them face-to-face. Nikita also is planning to implement a popular marketing strategy on Instagram by ‘gifting’ influential Instagramers with some of the pieces she sells.  Research maintains the following: “The biggest Instagram followings are claimed by media personalities, who post photos that give fans a glimpse into both their private and public lives” and references the huge following of celebrities like Bonang Matheba who flaunts designer gowns and  receives ‘gifts’ from popular brands like Puma.

…..MOOD! Custom @taibobacar in motion… Last night was MAGIC!! 🎉🎊👯🍾❤️👑🐝 #WINNER #MustBeThatAfricanButter #blackgirlmagic #oliverawards #redcarpet

A photo posted by Bonang ”Adebimpe’ Matheba (@bonang_m) on Apr 15, 2016 at 11:36am PDT

 

Both of these young business women encourage anyone interested to start a online store as well but with a few tips. Nikita gives a business 101 tip saying you should treat your customers well, “nothing ruins a business like a bad reputation”. So if you have a dream of starting online a fashion empire and make money Instagram is great option, even if you are still a student.

Protest fashion: Should it be a thing?

From 17-24 April after what is called the RU Reference List was released on Facebook, we spoke about rape and rape culture as a university at the university currently known as Rhodes (UCKAR). From an outsider’s perspective its ‘business as usual’ in our campus today. It took a physical mobilisation on campus for the university to start listening but there’s nothing like hashtag protest to drag the university by the ear and have the whole country and the rest of the world talking.

Picture by: Ivan Blazic Photography

 

Fortunately having a protest continue online can have us continue conversations that need to be had and have others elsewhere join us. And a bonus, it’s significantly more difficult to silence. Via the #nakedprotest the protest had taken to Twitter and other social media platforms. Now what does the #nakedprotest have to do with fashion?

In its definition fashion is seen as the following:

• The prevailing style or custom, as in dress or behaviour.
• Something, such as a garment, that is in the current mode.
• Kind or variety; sort: people of all fashions.
• Shape or form; configuration: a garden triangular in fashion. Let us talk about what the naked protest is.

Though not in its colloquial use we saw fashion moments at the Naked Protest. Firstly in terms of Dress, or lack of dress. The bare chests of women, particularly black women in an academic space, a public space was a strong political statement. While in While little to no clothing in say fashion magazines are deemed sexy the lack of dress in this protest was counter exactly that. This was a radical stance at desexualising the women’s body, a reclaiming of agency and autonomy of women over their own bodies. The taped nipples, bare nipples, bra’s, writing on skin, all of which signify the body as an agents of change, if dressed its dress that teaches you something, for example the Silent Protest t-shirts.

In terms of behaviour, in this space we see women leading, speaking out and taking control. All what our society encourages women not to do. We see a clear disruption of the norm  and again a reclaiming of women’s power and agency. The doek (head wrap) that has come into the mainstream in fashion played a very particular role in this context. In a university public space having black young women leading protest, speaking to the masses, singing with voices that fill the campus, a doek worn with neither a long skirt nor covered upper body in this setting was also a disruption to the non-western cultural and traditional sense of what a woman ‘should’ look like, ‘should’ dress like, ‘should’ do i.e. the said ‘place of a women’.

Highly powerful messages came through here through purely through fashion and through the symbolism of dress. We have seen in mainstream fashion runways where a space was made for protest action. We saw this, though it came under harsh criticism, in Chanel’s  Spring 2015 runway in 2014 staging a  for a pro feminist show. Bringing it closer to home, the designer brand SIES!isabelle showed its support to the #FeesMustFall student protest last year.

Mainstream fashion and the fashion industry needs can afford to be involved in engaging in issues that affect people. More that that the fashion industry should evaluate how it contributes to the existing social issues. Because in its more colloquial use fashion is not just about business and looking good, what fashion is most importantly about is people.

Fashion scammers on Facebook

Online shopping is praised for its convenience, variety, flexibility etc. Although there have been some online shopping woes they were generally easily solvable issues. This, of course, was before some online stores did their advertising on Facebook.

DressLily via Facebook

Some of you might be aware of the fake Facebook account created under Khanyi Mbau’s name to sell skin care products. Khanyi Mbau cleared her name and warned people about this fake account that was using her image, fame and lifestyle to rip people off. This fake account has since been deleted if not privatised. The false advertisement accounts that seem to be more resilient are those who focus on the international market.

Fake online stores that advertise “their” products on Facebook are becoming more and more visible. These scammers use latest technology to make fake online shopping websites that look like genuine online retail stores. They use stylish designs and layouts, possibly stolen logos. The reported fake websites that do this advertising on Facebook have been Zaful, DressLily, RoseGal, RoseWe, Choies, RomWe etc.

Knock off nightmares via Facebook

Many of these shops are owned by one company. Although there are reliable and legit retailers in China, most of the products from these scammers are produced cheaply there. BuzzFeed News reported that at least eight of these scamming websites and Facebook accounts are connected to one Chinese e-commerce company that has made over $200 million in sales in 2014. There are reports saying these online retailers steal images from Instagram and edit and crop them for their advertising. As a result, when you revive your purchase it looks nothing like what you ordered.

These recently reported scamming Facebook accounts advertise stylish, quality looking clothing. These clothes are usually priced very cheaply and sometimes they offer up to 80% discounts. Facebook users have picked up on the said scams and openly criticise the pages and warn Facebook users as Khanyi Mbau has done. Facebook has even issued multiple warnings to some of the pages but because Facebook’s policies focus on language and images these pages are still getting away with the deception. Despite the backlash and warnings some pages are still posting new items they are selling. While some posts date back to early April some pages like Dresslily last posted a few hours ago.

Screenshots from Scamwatch

Warnings from Facebook and open criticism and judgement from Facebook users does not seem to be working. So what can you do as an online shopper to save yourself the grief?

This is how you can spot suspect retailers:

• Products sound too good to be true: products are unbelievably low price, or advertised to have amazing benefits or features.
• They insist on immediate payment: they may ask for payment via electronic funds transfer or wire services. Also they may ask insist on up-front payment for vouchers before you can access a cheap deal or a give-away.
• Online retailer does not allow payment through secure payment services like PayPal or credit card transactions.
• Online retailer that do not provide adequate information about privacy, terms and conditions of use, dispute resolution or contact details.

On a not so bleak note, is that online scamming is decreasing as more attention is being paid to it but scammers but this doesn’t mean we should relax. Scammers are also changing the nature of their attacks, making difficult for Facebook to keep up with come up with protective solutions. An ending note, be on high alert with what you click on on social media networks too.

Shop off the runway

This week (obviously!) is South African Fashion Week, one of the biggest fashion event in South Africa. As I am writing this very post fashion history is being made in Johannesburg, the fashion capital of Africa according to Fashion Lab’s Liz Ogumbo-Regisford. Since the first show in 1997 a lot has changed with SA Fashion Week and much of that change has a lot to do with the business side of fashion – and Internet.

Modified images from Wikipedia

From elegant gowns, haute couture designs and highly stylised casual wear to…wait for it… ready to wear clothing on the runway. Why is ready to wear clothing so exciting you ask? Well this now means that the garments of the top designers are accessible to you and me. High end designer clothes are no longer reserved for those who walk the red carpets and hold fat cheques.  But don’t get me wrong you still need the fat cheque, because this is still “The business of fashion”.

In the past couple of years fashion designers have increasingly, and completely in this year’s SA Fashion Week seasons, made ready to wear clothing for their runway shows. But ready to wear fashion doesn’t just mean ready to wear, it also means ready to sell and for us ready to buy. Gert-Johan Coetzee let us in on this little secret for his brand at his AW2016 Campaign Shoot last year saying: “We doing [shopping off] the ramp where you can look at fashion on the runway and then order them for next day delivery. That is how fashion technology has evolved.”

 

Screenshot from Spree.co.za

 

So if you are in Grahamstown and saw a jaw dropping garment from online reporting of SA Fashion Week Runway Online, Spree and some of the designers’ official websites will help you out. The objective of these online stores is for customers to access the latest collection pieces, not in weeks or months but straight from the runway.

As most of us know by now shopping online can be a tricky business so there are a few things to keep in mind before buying clothes online and off the runway. Phumudzo Ndzeru, an online fashion store owner has shared her most important tip for online shoppers. She says shoppers should give the most accurate sizes, it helps to know international clothing chart . If you don’t have the chart Phumudzo suggests you send your measurements rather,”try measuring [yourself] if [you] can and send [your] chest, waist etc”. This ensures that you don’t leave it to the online stores to choose a size for you.

More to keep in mind when shopping online and off the runway:

• The cuts of some clothing items sold online may differ with the runway
• Colours may differ too
• Not all the collection items may be available on online stores
• Because of runway styling some items may look slightly different than what you saw
• And there’s always the fitting issue, so make sure you know your size

Otherwise if all goes south, some online stores have really good return policies.

Screenshot from Spree.co.za

What is really great with online shopping is that most online stores give the customers different views of the desired garments. For example, you have options to seeing the clothes on a real body, you can zoom in and out, you are able to see front and back views and sometimes side views. In addition to this, you can see which items are still available and which are sold out. All this is an attempt to make the shopping process easier, where ever you are.

Above all the biggest advantage of these recent changes is that South African’s and international customers can support our local designers and brands.

So thank you Internet for bringing designer fashion to us 🙂

Pattern making with CAD

­­Picking up from the previous post, today we’ll be talking about pattern making. Like everything else the fashion industry has encountered industry changes with the rise of the digital age. In fashion there are increasingly more exciting ways digital technology is used. Another example is in pattern making.

Picture: Wikipedia

Pattern making is one of the most crucial part of manufacturing clothing but it is also extremely time consuming. Consumers of fashion have become more demanding, looking for the latest trends and styles more frequently. Because the fashion market is customer orientated, this puts a lot of pressure on manufacturers to produce clothes at a much faster rate – and its a lot harder when everything is done manually.

The pattern making process is long and tedious. It includes transferring measurements from sizing process, drawing a pattern, adjusting that pattern for size small to XXXL (grading), transferring 2D drawing of pattern to 3D and tracing that pattern on material used for the item. Doing each pattern by hand on its own sheet of paper to its own piece of material for every single item of clothing is strenuous and repetitive.

Picture: Wikipedia

Imagine Mr Price manufactures making all their clothing patterns by hand on a separate sheet of paper for each item. With this increased pressure fashion manufactures have welcomed the assistance of CAD with open arms.

Pattern making with computers

How computers have improved the ever demanding pattern making process:

• Reduces the overall time of production
• Designing can be done from anywhere and designers can control the process from remote locations
• Online designs can be easily stored, shared and received through computer files
• These designs can also be saved on useful storage spaces like Google Drive, Dropbox, Cloud storage etc.
• You can have more precise designs
• It can reduce manufacturers carbon footprint (environmentally friendly!)

Picture: Wikipedia

With the help of computer programs patterns can be created on screen by what is called making free-form patterns or using a photograph of an already existing pattern and digitise pattern lines or curves over the image. By using computer tools, a pattern maker can make a standard pattern and then store it in safe internet spaces. This eliminates paper and fabric wastage because corrections can be made on the computer and not on fresh pieces of paper and fabric.

When the patterns are finished there are computer software that can be used to make 3D virtual prototyping. This is where the pattern can be viewed on a physical prototype made with the assistance of Computer Aided Engineering (CAE). An added advantage here is that different fabrics can be tested on this prototype to how it is impacted by movement, stretching, colour, function and to view its overall aesthetic appeal.

Picture shared from Pixabay

Only after all this the garment is sewn together and prepared for the store racks. All this and more has resulted in what you are wearing now. And the new item of clothing you might be thinking of buying can get to you faster because of CAD.

Look out for next week’s post!

 

Computer couture

Interesting fact: In the 19^th Century all clothes were custom made. Clothing was made for one individual at a time and was hand stitched. Fast forward to today clothes are mass produced with the help of computers. In this post we’re introducing a very important term in the fashion industry. It’s called CAD.

Picture by: Julian Burgess shared from Creative Commons

CAD stands for Computer Aided Design, AKA CADD (Computer Aided Design and Drafting). It’s the use of computer software to process designs and design-documentation. The benefits? It minimises the high demand of manual sketches, pattern making, pattern grading etc. but in this post we’ll focus on fashion design illustrations.

Most designers today still sketch their designs by hand initially but a growing number translate their sketches to the computer. CAD software allows designers to view designs on virtual prototypes and in various colours and shapes. As a result, this saves time as it requires fewer adjustments of samples later.

What else is CAD useful for?

• It takes over the repetitive jobs
• Used to translate 3D visions into 2D materials (Which also saves a lot of time)
• Enhances sketches (or what fashion professionals may call ‘croquis’)
• It makes very precise designs
• Enables us to view designs on an actual body
• It can be used to email samples to different departments
• It helps minimize waste of material

CAD is widely used by major fashion houses, independent designers and illustrators like Papa Oppong, Peniel Enchill and Hayden Williams. This ,however, does not mean that CAD software is only for professional designers. The are many programs out there but here are a few examples that are easy to use and easily accessible to those who are not trained in fashion design or illustration:

Inkscape

Inkscape is best for illustrators, designers, web designers or anyone else who needs to create what is known as vector imagery. It has flexible drawing tools, broad file format compatibility and great text tool. If you are a beginner with Inkscape here‘s a useful tutorial.

Virtual Fashion

This is a more fashion focused software. It allows you to create your own garments in a style that suits you. It offers various effects, the designs can be viewed in 3D and it also gives you access to precise fabric textures – this gives your designs a realistic edge.

Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is the most popular program for almost any kind of image editing. It creates bit-mapped or raster graphics. If you struggle using this problem there is no need to worry, there are plenty of tutorials out there. A really useful tutorial for fashion designs specifically is Glamnicism.

Red pattern by: Marina Shemesh shared from Creative Commons | Sketch from Wikipedia

 

This is not to say that CAD is replacing manual methods of design. A good understanding of manually figuring size adjustments and cutting pattern pieces is always useful. It instills timeless knowledge because let’s face it, technologies change.

With that being said, these are exciting times for designers! Lookout for the next post that will be about CAD’s influence on pattern making.

What ICT has to do with Fashion

Fashion is a popular or the latest style of clothing, accessories or behaviour. It’s about, expressing yourself, and for many, it’s about just getting dressed. Fashion is also, however, a business.

Picture: Onyinye Ibeagi

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is a broad term that includes any communication device or application. This involves radio, television, cell phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems etc, as well as various services and applications associated with them. Yes, that includes social media too.

Fashion and ICT

So what does fashion and ICT have to do with each other you ask?

Well in this blog I will explain how these two disciplines cross paths. It starts with the first step of creation which is fashion design. While some artists may savour the moments of putting pencil to paper or paint on canvas, for professional fashion designers this stage may become tedious and time consuming.

The straining work of a designer doesn’t end with drawings. It includes measurements and mathematics. A simple calculator is not enough to speed up the process.

Dissecting the body to measure the neck, over bust, bust, under bust, natural waste, hips, arm hole, bicep, arm length etc. can be quite taxing. A 21^st century piece of technology to study body shape can add some ease to this measurement process.

When the preparations are done the garments need to be made. The first thing needed is fabric. Clearly most fabrics that make our clothes aren’t hand woven and manually printed on. Some technological machine did that.

As mentioned above fashion is a business, it’s a very big business. This means these clothes need to be sold. So, if you live in a small city like Grahamstown David Tlale’s luxurious designs you saw on a catalogue are inaccessible. So is that special Mr Price top you saw on TV but can’t find at your local branch.

For these common and often stressful dilemmas David Tlale now sells his items on Spree and Mr Price has an online store. Now anyone anywhere in South Africa can easily buy them.

Surely the clothes we buy are influenced by popular trends. So we see updates on what celebrities wear. Otherwise how would we know what Kim K wore last night, or what North West wore to her ballerina class. It’s the internet of course. This includes fashion blogs, social media, and E!Online.

 

Picture: Wikipedia

 

At the end of the day when we have our clothes to wear and are informed about the trends around us, we know a professional fashion designer was behind it all.

Fashion design education

And how do fashion designers become professionals?

Well one of the ways is through studying fashion design.  And if you are me, in a small town where the only tertiary institutions don’t offer such courses then distance learning and online courses are your only options.

Clearly ICT has plenty to do with fashion. In case you think I just gave everything away, catch the next post on the most amazing technologies in the fashion industry.