Introduction to Fashion and Garment Making – SS1 Fashion and Garment Making Lesson Note (First Term)

Fashion is the style of clothing, hair and accessories that people wear at a particular time. Garment making is the process of turning fabric into wearable clothing by cutting and sewing it with hands, machines and tools. Fashion matters for self-expression, protection, culture and identity, and job creation, and it offers many careers.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

• define fashion, garment and garment making;
• state four reasons why fashion is important;
• name careers on the creative side and on the technical and business side of fashion, and say what each person does;
• list the three basic groups of garment-making tools.

What is fashion?

When we hear the word “fashion”, we often think of runways and models. In reality, fashion is much more personal. It is the style of clothing, hair and accessories that people wear at a particular time.

Garment making, on the other hand, is the actual process of turning fabric into wearable clothing. It is the “how-to” part of fashion: using your hands, machines and tools to create something beautiful from a flat piece of cloth.

Key definitions

• Fashion: A popular trend, especially in styles of dress and ornament or manners of behaviour.
• Garment: Any item of clothing (a shirt, a skirt, a pair of trousers).
• Garment making: The art of cutting and sewing fabric to create clothing.

Why does fashion matter?

Fashion is not only about “looking fine”. It matters in our daily lives for several reasons:

1. Self-expression: It is how we tell the world who we are without speaking. Your clothes can show your personality, mood or even your religion.
2. Protection: We wear clothes to protect our bodies from the weather (heat, cold, rain) and from hazards (like wearing overalls in a factory).
3. Culture and identity: Fashion helps us identify where people come from. For example, the Agbada or Iro and Buba tell a story about Nigerian heritage.
4. Job creation: Millions of people earn a living through fashion, from the person who grows cotton to the person who sells the finished shirt in a shop.

What careers are there in fashion?

The fashion industry is massive. Careers fall broadly into a creative side and a technical and business side.

Creative careers

If you enjoy drawing and coming up with ideas, these roles might be for you:

• Fashion designer: The “architect” of the outfit. They dream up the styles and draw the sketches.
• Illustrator: Someone who specialises in drawing fashion figures and designs for magazines or advertisements.
• Textile designer: These people create the patterns and prints you see on fabrics (like Ankara patterns).
• Fashion stylist: They do not make the clothes, but they coordinate the whole look, choosing the right shoes, jewellery and outfits for celebrities or photo shoots.

Technical and business careers

If you prefer the “doing” part or the business side, consider these paths:

• Pattern maker: They translate a designer’s sketch into paper templates used to cut the fabric. This requires great precision.
• Tailor/dressmaker: The professionals who actually sew the garments.
• Fashion merchandiser: These people handle the business. They decide what clothes to buy for shops and how to display them so that people want to buy them.
• Fashion blogger/journalist: For those who love to write and talk about the latest trends and designers.

What tools do you need to start garment making?

To get started in garment making, you will need to become friends with some basic tools. We will study these in more detail in the next lesson. Here are the “Big Three”:

1. Measuring tools: Like the flexible measuring tape (your best friend for getting the right fit).
2. Cutting tools: Sharp fabric shears (never use them on paper) and seam rippers.
3. Sewing tools: Needles, threads and, of course, the sewing machine.

Teacher’s note: Fashion is a skill you carry in your hands. It combines maths (measuring), art (designing) and hard work. As we go through this term, you will move from just wearing clothes to understanding how they are built.

Evaluation

1. Define fashion, garment and garment making.
2. State four reasons why fashion is important.
3. What is the difference between a fashion designer and a pattern maker?
4. Name the three basic groups of garment-making tools and give one example of each.

Assignment

List four careers in fashion. For each one, write one sentence to say what the person does.