Where to Find Fashion Inspiration
Fashion inspiration can be found everywhere you look. It can be found in nature, on the television, in magazines, on the Internet, and it can even come in the form of a song or a piece of music that you hear.
The key to finding fashion inspiration is to be aware of what is going on around you at all times. You will also need to keep a sketchbook or a camera with you so that you can record the inspiration when you see or hear it. If you are running out of fashion inspiration then fear not! This article provides several places that you can find some fashion inspiration.
Fashion Magazines
One of the first places to look is in fashion magazines. Popular magazines such as Vogue are available to purchase on the highstreet, while there are also so more obscure 'indie' fashion magazines available to purchase online.
You can subscribe to these magazines so that you receive a fresh dose of inspiration through your letterbox on a regular basis.
It is worth cutting out pictures that you like the look of, and then using them to create a moodboard which you can refer to as and when you need to.
Fashion Blogs
There are millions of fashion blogs out there, many of which feature individuals expressing their own unique views and thoughts.
Try searching online for some of the most popular blogs to see if anything takes your fancy. You can also try starting up your very own blog to express your fashion sense and your creations. By starting a blog you may get some good feedback and find that it helps you to feel inspired and create more designs.
YouTube
YouTube is a great source of visual inspiration. You can check out other user's latest fashion purchases, and see what is hot at the moment. You can also subscribe to user's channels, so that you are alerted every time that they make a new video.
Pinterest allows users to pin images onto a static webpage, which they can then share with others. These images come from blogs, websites, magazines and things that they may have seen while out and about. You can even create your own Pinterest page and use it like an online moodboard. Pinterest is completely free to use.
Nature
Nature has been known to be a powerful source of inspiration for all different types of creative projects.
A simple walk in nature will allow you to let go of limiting and negative thoughts that you may be repeating in your mind regarding your recent lack of inspiration.
You can also use the nature that you see around you as a source of inspiration in itself. Look at how the flowers bloom so perfectly, how the tree branches in a certain way, and how to birds flutter across the sky.
Also notice all of the colours that are found in nature. You will be sure to find some design elements which you can incorporate into your fashion work when you are out in nature.
Finding Inspiration As an Artist
Try these simple yet effective ways to inspire creativity as an artist:
*Leave. This means your house, your studio, your job. Get out and have experiences. These can be simple and cheap outings or something more exotic.
*See everything. Inspiration can be found on the canned food aisle at the grocery store. (Who am I thinking of?)
*Create anything. It doesn't matter what, as long as you are creating it. Your materials don't matter, they can be anything you happen to have.
*Don't stop creating. Even if you tend to work in spurts. Don't let too much time get between your creations.
*Do something completely different. Painter? Try sculpting, maybe you'll like that better.
*Try everything. If sculpting with clay didn't work out, try pasta. Remember Fusilli Jerry? No? Google it.
*Find your niche. Once you have found your passion, your creativity will come faster than you can keep up with creating.
*Research. See what trends are being followed on the web, this can give you ideas for directions your ideas could go.
*Display your creations. Discover which ones make you say WOW, that's cool, each time you look at it.
*Don't pay other people to do stuff for you that you can do yourself. This will stutter your creativity if you are broke. Figure out how to photograph your work in a quality manner. Build your own website. Promote yourself. Like Joe Dirt says - "Keep on keeping' on".
*Respect your passion. If you have confidence in your work, what others think will matter less.
*Love it. If you don't love what you are creating, you are creating it for all the wrong reasons.
*Look back. Congratulate yourself for your accomplishments.
*Visualize. What more do want to accomplish? Decide what you need to do to get there.
What Inspires A Fashion Designer?
A hard-working fashion designer is by definition, an incredibly prolific artist. In order to compete in a fast-paced industry, designers who want to strike it big must be constantly absorbing ideas from the world's palate, staying in tune with the times, and creating, creating, creating new designs until kingdom come.
So where, you might ask, do designers draw such constant inspiration in order to constantly create?
We were wondering the same thing, so we did some research in order to find out the different sources that inspire fashion design's hottest garments. Here are some sources of inspiration we found, and who knows? If you're a fashion student or a designer-in-training they might inspire you too...
Visual Inspiration. While there are endless sources of possible inspiration, fashion designers who create in the realm of the visual are usually inspired by something they have seen. Visual possibilities are virtually endless.
Maybe it's a photo you've recently taken or seen. Maybe it's an accident in your studio that ended up looking better than you thought it would.
Maybe it's a film you've just watched, or a meal you just ate, or a particularly beautiful tree you've walked by in the park. In the past, famous designers have often modeled designs after people.
They have created outfits for their lovers, friends, family and other muses. A relationship with another human being is perhaps the most evocative type of visual inspiration.
Conceptual Inspiration. Conceptual inspiration could almost be considered the lack of the visual inspiration.
In other words, by looking at something, maybe you realize you want to create what you don't actually see. Maybe you realize an absence of something that you know you could contribute.
Maybe you're at the beach one day and you realize there is a need for a type of beach tote bag that nobody has. Maybe you're at a runway show and it dawns on you that another designer's collection is seriously lacking a specific element that you can create.
Just as in visual inspiration, the possibilities for conceptual inspiration are endless.
Anyone can create their own possibilities for inspiration by developing a keen eye, and really observing and appreciating all of the random beauty that the world offers to us.