Just like in other industries where certain words and terms can be misused, the fashion industry also has words which fashion entrepreneurs, such as clothing designers, shoe designers and many more, are not familiar with.
Fashion business owners can then utilise these words properly when they are identified and infuse them in their brands. In this segment, we focus on certain words in the fashion industry that fashion entrepreneurs commonly misuse.
Read More: Commonly Misused Fashion Words- Basting, Cording, Ruching
Toile
In fashion designing, toile is referred to as a test garment which is sewn using a similar fabric to the final fabric. The purpose of this is to visualise how the final garment would appear when it is presented to a customer.
The toiling process is an important one in fashion designing as it is key in the development of a garment. It does not necessarily need the final finishing and adjustment which a proper outfit has, but a toile garment should have the exact shape and fit as the actual garment.
Colour Fast
An outfit is considered to be colour fast when it is certain that its colour will not run or fade with washing or wear. These days, when outfits are washed many times, it is noticed that the colours fade after a while. So, those kinds of outfits are not colour fast.
It is the textile property which allows colours to retain their different characteristics despite degradation conditions, such as exposure to light and dry cleaning.
Yoke
In fashion designing also, a yoke is regarded as a frame or pattern that is fitted at the shoulders or waist to emphasise the structure of a garment. It is also designed to provide support for looser parts of the garment.
Yokes, in outfits, are also responsible for a trim and smooth upper area of the waistline in garments.
“I mostly use yokes during the interfacing process.” – Victoria Oyebode, Megan Coutures.
How These Words Should Be Used
Unlike draping, where a fabric like muslin is pinned to the mannequin to create a garment, a toile garment can be worn on the body to see how the garment fits. A client can request for a toile garment from a fashion designer to see how the prototype version of that outfit would look.
In textile designing, it is important to assure your customer of the durability and the authenticity of the fabrics used. Colour fastness is one of the terms that can be used to do this. As a fashion designer, saying the ready-to-wear outfit a customer is about to purchase is colour fast gives the guarantee that the outfit would not fade over time.
Depending on the shape of the garment, the yoke can be cut as a one pattern piece, so that the front and back patterns are merged, or separate pattern pieces. Yokes can be used in tops, skirts, trousers, coats and many more.
These are some of the words that can be utilised by fashion business owners. For more commonly misused fashion words, click here.
