Many times, fashion entrepreneurs do not use techniques or processes in their brands simply because they don’t know how to or they are not familiar with the technique at all. Even though the fashion industry is a broad one, it is easy to get stuck up on techniques and terms for a long time, without considering a change.
Our Commonly Misused Fashion Words column is designed to correct the wrong notion people have of certain words, techniques and processes used in the fashion industry to promote frequent usage.
Read More: Commonly Misused Fashion Words: Toile, Colour Fast, Yoke
So, how are these techniques – asymmetrical hemline, gathers and fluted hems – used in the fashion industry?
Gathers
As a contemporary fashion designer, it is important to be able to infuse different sewing techniques in your brand to stand out from the crowd and make your brand unique. It is a technique used for shortening the length of a piece of fabric so that the longer part can be attached to a shorter one, as shown below.
To make the CRW fashion brand unique, Christiana Rotimi-Williams infuses gathers in most of her female ready-to-wear outfits. And like she shared,
“Gathers goes with everything, including sleeves, hems and sometimes necklines.”
Lightweight and sheer fabrics are commonly used for gathers.
Asymmetrical Hemline
In fashion designing, an asymmetrical hemline is a line formed by the lower edge of a garment, such as a skirt or dress, that is simply not straight. These type of hemlines usually appear as a diagonal slash across the body, and they are popularly used among fashion designers that cater to the fashion needs of women.
Despite being very versatile, dresses or outfits with asymmetrical hemlines may not look fabulous on all the body types. And like a fashion expert shared,
“Outfits that have asymmetrical hemlines should not overshadow the person, so fashion designers must make sure the lengths are not exaggerated.”
Fluted Hem
Skirts or dresses with fluted hems are the go-to outfits for chic and classy women. A fluted hem is a popular feminine shape which encompasses a super slim pencil skirt that flairs out at or below the knees in a style that evokes both the mermaid shape and a love of dancing.
However, one thing to note, just like Christiana Rotimi-Williams of CRW Style shared with us is that for outfits that have fluted hems, the body shape of the wearer is very important.
Why is that?
The body shape of the wearer is important for fluted hems outfit because this style is more flattering on a tall person that is moderately slim than it is on other women.
How They Are Used
Gathers are commonly used in clothing to manage fullness and movement, such as on a cuff or sleeve and can also pinch a skirt into a waistband or bodice.
The creative director of CRW Style, as we mentioned earlier also shared simple hacks regarding gathers,
“In making gathers, the hard way is sewing it with very loose stitches then pulling the thread to gather the fabric, the simple way is to gather it as you are sewing it.”
One thing to note about the asymmetrical hemline is that it is unconventional, modern, and a little edgy. Most designers use the asymmetrical hemline because it can give off both casual and formal looks with subtlety.
Achieving a fluted hem outfit is not hard at all, as one of our fashion designers shared, it only depends on what the client wants and their body shape.
These are some of the techniques in fashion designing that fashion designers commonly misuse these days. For other commonly misused fashion words and techniques, click here.
