Learn To Illustrate Fashion – Fashion designer Mitu Malhotra holds illustration workshops at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation .
Fashion is totally new concept in U.A.E. People may be looking out for someone who can help them in designing clothes and also re-organizing their personal wardrobes. Aspiring students who wish to take up fashion designing as a career, may be looking out for someone who can help them in putting together a portfolio. There?s a lady who has done Textile Design Specialisation from the National Institute of Design- Ahmedabad India, and above all a Gold Medallist in Fashion Designing from National Institute of Fashion Technology New Delhi ? India. Meet the lady of Fashion Designing and Illustration ?Miss Mitu Malhotra?.
Mitu Malhotra teaches Fashion Illustration not only the aspiring designer but also the lay person who has an interest in clothes. They will find this course useful. She conducts classes at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation and the course is run over 8 sessions and covers range of topics leading up to presentation of a student?s ideas in the final class, where they will create story boards and drawings of themed collections.
Her entire course covers a brief introduction to Fashion ? historical and contemporary. It has an introduction to female form drawing, exaggeration and alteration for fashion drawing. Illustration of the garment, shape and silhouette. Development of a croqui. Garment drape and design details. Fabric pattern and textures. Exploration of accessories, millinery and footwear. Experimentation with various drawing media. Presentation skills, fashion figure and design component, story boards and drawing of themed collections.
According to Mitu “Fashion Illustration has two main aspects- the real and unreal”. The real bit is the garment which is drawn true to its details and form so that the viewer understands exactly what it is, and what kind of neckline, how low the waist, or what sort of material is required ? light, heavy or tweedy. The unreal part is the exaggerated form ? the elongated style of body, wild hair, facial and limb details. This is where the illustrator uses one?s true imagination and licence.
Fashion illustration is a very specific and creative skill says Mitu Malhotra. Parents of enrolling children normally ask me whether they need to possess certain skills to learn or are there any specific requirements to be fulfilled. According to her, once a student enters her workshop that deals with design elements then their mind starts producing different ideas. It is only then you learn to put those ideas generated by the powerful mind on a paper with clarity?The ideas that crop up from the mind are called design concepts ? she says.
In the end her students can prepare their own portfolio. It helps a person in enhancing his or her presentation skills, and looks at some key elements and how they can be used to build a collection of outfits. During the course students learn to use spec sheets- flat drawings of garments without a stylized figure.
Finally, Mitu says that the whole idea of the workshop is to build confidence in somebody who has never done a sketch before. Her students by the end of her course get a clear idea of what it is like to create on paper, and understand the details of designing. They also understand and learn the fashion terms. They understand the basics. I help them to be logical in their thinking and prepare them for the fashion world.
Author: Claude Fernandes- UAE
