Croquis

https://www.wearview.co/glossary/croquis

This is a very important word or concept in the fashion industry: the silhouette of the human body in a flat plane, typically for clothing. This relates to what I did with the bodices and asking people what they thought a designer should use to make or design clothing. The word is used worldwide, but it is the French word for sketch. Designers use it so they don’t have to draw a new body every time they have an idea; it is basically a blank mannequin on paper. This normally looks very simple; however, I keep asking myself: how do they decide what a body is supposed to look like, and why t is there a standard they have to follow?. Tfollow?r day I was speaking with a student from another course and when I showed them the papers that I have described in the past with the different shapes of body a designer should design without me even asking her a question she just looked at the page and said that the one on the far left corner at the top was the correct one and that it was because that was what she was taught as a designer and that just made me think about how the industry was built on this idea of a body looking in a certain way with this conclusion I feel as if people who enter the industry get told a rule book. I think it is really hard for these designers to go against that rulebook. The idea behind this design, or the way it is mostly done more stereotypically, is that the proportions are more elongated and very stylized, which makes them not look real. Normally, a regular person’s proportions are 7 heads tall. Still, this designer draws more like 10, and the extra length normally goes to the legs. This is normally considered an industry default because it is believed to make the clothing look better, which is why designers often go for it. I find a lot of problems with this style and this reality in the sense that there is the world style, and that this is meant to be more style-oriented, which I find very interesting and difficult at the same time because this is so subjective: who decides what is considered more stylish and what is not, and if these are not even real people or the interpretations of one, how can people even be expected to design for real people when this is not even what is in mind. 

One reason there are fewer critiques of this is that it is used in the idea stage of design. Then, as designs move forward, they become more accurate in proportion and are used for actual manufacturing; they are the clothing and garments. 

This is a tool designers use to create a good workflow; it helps you put ideas on paper, supports the first sketches, and later becomes a selection process for the best ones and the ones that fit the brand best. (I understand logically that it makes the process easier, but maybe they could have some croquis that could be in different body types that show different representations, maybe doing the same design on the different bodies to show the differences). However, I think there is a science to this being more time-consuming, but it could also mean it is more ethical, and that is also important to consider. 

One piece of advice they give is to pick one and run with it, but like I said, how is that ethical? I have spoken to a couple of designers, and they have all said there is a correct one to use or an industry standard; some designers even say it makes them look better, and that in school they had more success when they used more stylish models. 

In the end, I think this piece is missing information or isn’t very critical because I understand this is part of the industry. Still, there are moments when I think some things should be questioned and looked at differently to see how they could change, because this is something that actually should change.