Different types of surface textures from a range of objects and places of inspiration
If the digital printing form on textiles where it’s possible to render fine detail and subtleties in colour, adding texture to your design can enhance your print, lifting it beyond the end product into a realm of its own.
There are many ways to add depth and interest into your designs and playing with textures is just one of them, but considering that we come into constant visual contact with surface variations, we have endless avenues for inspiration. The bricks of a house, the bark of a tree, the frothiness of our morning coffee, the reflections out the bus window, shadows, ripples, concrete, clouds, grass…its everywhere and it all can feed through into a great design.
Different types of surface textures from a range of objects and places of inspiration
And there are just as many ways to translate a rough or smooth or in between feature. Whether you start out organically rendering the area by hand, take photographs to rework it, use features in design programs or a combination of any of these things to overlay and manipulate, its undeniable that at some point as a creative being you’ve considered the importance of texture in your current piece of work.
This is not about using it all the time and everywhere, just an observance piece how texture plays a fairly large role in the designing of fabric prints and has just as much impact as colour, scale, movement or positive and negative space.
So be aware and be inspired and take another look at the surface area of your smoked salmon wrap, what’s happening with texture there?
Great sources of texture images and inspiration can be found at the following website, some of which were used as sources for the included images:
Fine Art America
Deviantart
Pattern People
- Big and bold combinations
(L-R) Etro, Dolce & Gabbana, Paul & Joe
Its always around in some capacity, from season to season there’ll be a stripe or two, a polka dot and even a check. But recently it seems the good ol’ geo is getting a little bolder, a little more out there and even when in the standard black and white, there’s an impact being made and a statement being said.
Even simple geo prints are being teamed with more intricate florals or with a pop of colour which adds intrigue and appeal. Although wearing an all over bold stripe might be daunting for some, finding smaller pieces to go with colour blocking or quite simply a pair of jeans and flats is an easy way to dip a toe into this trend pool.
Steal the show in this impact making number by Oscar de la Renta
In any case take another look at straight or curvy lines and all sizes of spots that surround you every day at let that feed a little creativity when it comes to the simple geo. Take the trend and run with it, between, over or around the lines and see where it can take you. It could lead you right to Digital Fabrics with a great new print to wow all your friends with being so on trend and all!
Geo collage
(L-R) Peter Pilotto, Preen, Erdem
Christian Dior and Aquilano.Rimondi
For more on the geo collage styling, see the following links:
Vogue: Walk the Line
Pattern People: Black and White Interiors
Fashionising
At Digital Fabrics we love Flowers and anything Flora or Flora inspired. This weeks Flora inspiration comes from Isabelle Menin a Belgian photographer.
Isabelle Menin began her artist career focusing on painting, after several exhibitions, she decided to quit painting and to work with digital photography. To achieve her technique she takes photographs, scans fragments of nature and plays with texture and color, transforming and mixing them to create a rich and gorgeous faux nature.
vivos voco by Isabelle Menin
dark happiness by Isabelle Menin
adorata by Isabelle Menin
false niagara by Isabelle Menin
silence is blue by Isabelle Menin
happiness is a warm gun by Isabelle Menin
Images from IsabelleMenin.com
Novelty prints seem to always be in fashion, they appear in various forms from being a bold placement image or an all over print.
We have a few Novelty prints in our Design Library for purchase, if you are looking to incorporate prints into your collection, why not have a look at what we have to offer!
Here’s some inspiration for Novelty prints we have collected.
novelty prints
First row: A.P.C bear shirt, Jeremy Scott Bart cropped jumper, Comme Des Garcons’ suit, Givenchy bambi sweatshirt,
Second row: Grace Jones all over print, Street Style Disney mouses,M Missoni resort, MAN king birds top
Third row: Sibling ‘Jet Boy’shirt ,Tyler the Creator “ice cream’ jumper, Walter Van Beirendonck, Susie Bubble
Images from Style.com
Range of products on offer at Front Row Society
(L-R) Pansy Patch Scarf by Emma Smyth, Sinner Tank Top by Ivano Tella You See Your Tribe leggings by Saori Ito,
Here is an innovative brand and design house making one long front row for customers and designers to sit side by side. Based in Berlin, Germany and conjured by local Florian Ellsaesser, Front Row Society is all about “design with a story”. Fostering a collaborative open collective of designers, FRS gives their customers what they want by making them the designers.
FRS scours the whole globe for new, fresh and exciting talent through their design competition challenges. Posting a new challenge every few months, FRS gives anyone the opportunity to put forward their designs which are then voted on by the general public to get a shortlist before celebrating the five or so winners. The winners do get a cash prize but they’re also showcased on their website including the info on what challenge they entered and where the hail from.
Announcement of the winners of the most recent challenge, the Rockabilly Bash Shirt
The aim of the game for the challenges is all about prints of all varying capacities. They cycle through a range of different products from scarves and leggings, to swimwear and bags. This month’s challenge is for Autumn handbags with the theme being Pure Math or Art Deco. FRS also helps out with relevant tutorials applicable to the varied contests.
It’s a great way to engage the customer, making them not only the audience of an ever changing and exciting show, but putting out a hand to pull them on stage too. Designer or customer or vice versa. One is not necessarily the other but they could be both, which is great news for either!
Battlefields II range by Stefano Popovski
Rucksack, Handbag and Clutch
It’s not the only way they create and develop their ranges but it plays a big part and they still reference the designer at all stages which is a nice indication that there’s a mutual respect happening across the seasonal lines.
So have a burl, flex your repeat design muscle and even if you don’t win you can always come to Digital Fabrics to get your spanking new design printed and then do with as you please! Now if that’s not exciting, the weekend is sure to be dull, enjoy!!
Scarf prints
(L-R) Intertwined by Emma Smyth, Coral Melody by Oana Soare, Syncretic Cycle by Valentino Fiammetta
The Mercedes-Benz Miami swim fashion week 2014, have come and gone for this year. Be inspired by our favourite printed swimsuits for summer 2014.
Mara Hoffman
Mara Hoffman
Mara Hoffman
Suboo
Nanette Lepore swimwear
CM Cia Maritima Swim
CM Cia Maritima Swim
Doloros Co
Launching your own Swimwear label? or do you simply want to make your own swimmers with your own unique print? Contact us and we can discuss prints and printing to help you stand out of the crowd next summer.
Images from Getty Images
Flipping through pages of the internet and exploring current fashion supplies we came across many beautiful fashion prints in forms of dresses, tops, swimwear etc, that’s on the market right now. Printed digitally or not, they are simply beautiful and striking, have a look at some of the fashion prints that we think deserved an extra attention.
Cameo – Warpaint Dress
Wish – Ophelia Dress
Talulah – Isla Mist Magic Dress
Nicholas – Sleeveless Dress
1&20 Blackbirds – Claude Monet Peplum Top
Staple the Label – Molten Lava Sleeveless Shirt
Stylestalker – Fractal Tank
Tallow – Voodoo Swim Suit
Soboo – Armando’s Beach Club One Piece
Seventh Wonderland – Deja Vu Strapless One Piece
There is a defined thought of summer in our minds, as we get shivering all day long in our studio. But in dreams of heat, before it gets too hot and sticky, we want to give an admiration to this season with these cool tones.
Who knows we might be back to these colours in coming summer, to cool ourselves down.
Full Piece, Full Print
(L-R) Erdem – Pistol Panties – Seafolly – We Are Handsome
Did you know that this July marks the 67th birthday of the modern bikini?? So to mark this occasion let’s have a look at some cool print trends making a splash and having a frolic in the swimwear world.
From vibrant florals and crisp clean tribal designs to 1950’s inspired prints and styles, even the one piece suits get in on the action with some great examples of the scope of digital printing onto lycra. There’s plenty of animal action as well, We Are Handsome perhaps being a little too obvious for some? And who thought food was where it’s at, Top Shop sure thought so!
Start working on that beach bod and look forward to the array of exciting colours and prints that will be on offer in the not too far off future. Here’s to sunshine that will hopefully show her rays this weekend!
1950’s Glamour
(L-R) Wild Fox – Top Shop – Orla Kelly
Happy Birthday Bikini
(L-R) Miss Selfridge – Roxy – Top Shop – Miss Selfridge
To see more great options, take a look at Vogue’s Top 100 here.
We have found a few great websites that assist fashion designers with starting up their own business. The websites we found assist designers with inspiration, keeping up to date with the latest trends, and websites that help with making, grading, pattern making, marketing and much more. We thought we would share with you our favourite and most helpful websites. If you have a favourite website for emerging designers, share it with us!
Start up fashion
Information on how to start up a fashion label, supplying articles on where to find makers for our American based followers, articles on how to market your product and articles on how to sell. This website has a lot of resources for emerging designers.
startupfashion.com
Business of Fashion
BOF featured an array of fashion articles, keep up to date with what’s happening fashion wise around the world and step by step points on how to start a fashion label and how to market.
www.businessoffashion.com
Business of fashion, 8 steps to start your own fashion business
We came across this great article on the BOF website, 8 steps to start your own fashion business.
www.businessoffashion.com/2007/02/the-business-of-fashion-basics-1-setting-up-your-own-fashion-business-what-do-i-need-to-know-first.html
Ragtrader
Rag trader is a premium Australia directory for everyone in the creative industry. You’ll have to sign up to this website and pay a subscription fee, but it is well worth the money to access fashion agents, textile agents, suppliers, labels and so much more contacts.
www.ragtrader.com.au/index.cfm
AusIndustry
This Australian government website is aimed at helping small textile business in Australia. The Textile, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) Small Business Program provides grants of up to $50,000 for projects to improve the business enterprise culture of established TCF small businesses that have not received grants or qualify for assistance from other TCF programs. Worth a look for all small fashion business’.
www.ausindustry.gov.au/programs/small-business/tcf-sbp/Pages/default.aspx
Fashion shop till u drop
Olena Lugassi runs one on one private design tuition and fashion online courses for designers who want to start their own business.
www.fashionshoptilludrop.com/index.html
Launch Initiative
Assisting designers from the start providing pattern making, grading, digitizing, sample machining, fabric advice and production services.
www.launchindesignstudio.com/index.html
Elizabeth Sonter
Elizabeth Sonter provides a pattern making and grading service.
elizabethsonter.webs.com