Who designs?

[Thorns]

I've been thinking about Parsons... I've been designing menswear for a couple years and I'm pretty good with a sewing machine, but there is just SO MUCH that I don't know its more than slightly staggering. I would love to really take a chance and try my hand, but I'm just not sure I have the balls to do it. Somehow my economics degree seems more secure. (Which is complete bullshit, cause seriously what the fuck does one do with a social science degree.) With that ramble out of the way... good luck mouko!

[onemancult]

Mouko, your blog is now in my Favorites. I look forward to reading about your journey- and hope to celebrate your success some day. Best of luck!

[mouko]

I've been thinking about Parsons... I've been designing menswear for a couple years and I'm pretty good with a sewing machine, but there is just SO MUCH that I don't know its more than slightly staggering. I would love to really take a chance and try my hand, but I'm just not sure I have the balls to do it. Somehow my economics degree seems more secure. (Which is complete bullshit, cause seriously what the fuck does one do with a social science degree.) With that ramble out of the way... good luck mouko!

If you read my last entry, you'll notice that I said I came into fashion design 2 semesters shy of getting a degree in fine arts (i have been working as a freelance illustrator since I was a junior at college). While I was making decent money and was good at my job, I wasn't satisfied. I only did it because I was good at it.

I came into fashion design without knowing a thing about menswear, womenswear and how to even thread a sewing machine.

it really depends on 1) what you see yourself doing for the rest of your life and 2) how much passion do you really have to learn something.

Design schools don't expect you to know a lot or everything. If you did you wouldn't be at school. They always tell us, now is the time to ask questions, now is the time to be really bold with your ideas and experiment and occasionally fail, because that's part of the learning process. You fail or do something crazy here, you might get a slightly lower grade, you do something crazy in the real world, you get fired.

I hope you figure out what you really want.

And for all those following my blog, I'm having a friend of mine contribute who is going to F.I.T's menswear program. FIT has a seperate degree in menswear design (while Parsons is a general fashion design degree, with the option of switching a focus to menswear senior year). I think it might interest people out there who are considering FIT, plus it will give everyone a better look at menswear design and studies, since FIT's menswear program focuses on tailoring and flat pattern (while parsons we do draping and create patterns from drapes)

[YoungPunch]

Cool blog Mouko. I'll def. check in on it periodically....

[cultpop 0217]

Mouko, your blog is now in my Favorites. I look forward to reading about your journey- and hope to celebrate your success some day. Best of luck!

ditto that.

my sister studied fashion design and im going to pass this on to her.

good luck and much success (on your own terms!).

[masuerte]

Mouko, could you also make an entry about how you got into parsons application-wise? I'm starting from scratch here, no portfolio, no design experience, just hella curiousity to create rather than make money and a biology degree. (T.T) very discouraged.

edit: just read your entry... thanks.

[mouko]

Mouko, could you also make an entry about how you got into parsons application-wise? I'm starting from scratch here, no portfolio, no design experience, just hella curiousity to create rather than make money and a biology degree. (T.T) very discouraged.

edit: just read your entry... thanks.

Well there's not much to say. My background is in fine arts, so my portfolio was extremely strong. I went in as a transfer because I didn't really need to take their 1st year foundations (which is basically learning the basics of drawing, color theory and all that bullshit)

There are a lot of kids here that I know that have prior degrees, I personally think if you are really interested in going back for design and don't have any previous art experience, go in as a first year. yeah it might suck going to school for another 4 years but parsons is much more critical of their transfer students (that transfer directly into sophmore fashion design year)

Or you can go to FIT for menswear. My friend is currently in that program right now, it is only 2 years and you learn straight hardcore pattern drafting/making and tailor construction. This is assuming that you want to learn menswear. The majority of Parsons is womenswear, with senior year's option of becoming a menswear focus student.

[tweeds]

mouko - you have my best wishes! your quotes about talent is an opinion that i've held for a long while, and it's good to see such a mature and well thought-out blog, definitely not the razzle dazzle sort of site you might expect an "artsy" fashion student might have.

i've got a question about your tearbooks, how do you file your tears? do you mount them on albums, or put them in filing pockets? and how many tearbooks have you accumulated in your course of study?

[mouko]

mouko - you have my best wishes! your quotes about talent is an opinion that i've held for a long while, and it's good to see such a mature and well thought-out blog, definitely not the razzle dazzle sort of site you might expect an "artsy" fashion student might have.

i've got a question about your tearbooks, how do you file your tears? do you mount them on albums, or put them in filing pockets? and how many tearbooks have you accumulated in your course of study?

I keep them in black folders for now. As in that post, I've just started scanning them and hope to print them out (or maybe go the fast route and just color copy them) and put them in respected binders.

My current system is a bit unorganized so its taking me along time to sort out what's what. But I do think eventually I will end up photocopying each a couple times and putting them in folders (such as dress shirts, ties, blazers, suiting, black garments, prints..etc)

It might be a bit costly, but I feel you can't pay enough for good resources/information.

[tweeds]

nice, i'll definitely take you up on your suggestion. i'm not a fashion nor a design student, but i enjoy reading coolhunting and having conversations over lunch with some of my design friends about what makes yohji yamamoto great, and mcqueen greater.

[milan_]

I design a line called Perplex & lola

http://www.perplexandlola.com/