👗So Is Mr. Olusola a designer, a tailor, or a stylist?

The Fashion Designer, the Tailor, the Fashion Stylist: Who Does What (and Why They All Deserve a Round of Applause)

For this post, I thought I’d start with an elementary fashion framework so we can talk “fashiony” and you can feel fashioned.

Let’s begin.

Have you ever wondered the proper definition for certain terms describing the people who make others look like a million bucks? Here is a break down of the dream team and exactly what they do: the fashion designer, the tailor, and the fashion stylist

Fashion Designer: The Mad Scientist 👩‍🎨

Designers are the brains behind the operation. They are the geniuses who think up what the piece should look like in their heads. The design is their intellectual property, quite literally birthed from their intellect. The designer thought of what kind of sleeves the clothing should have, what the torso should look like, how the bottom of the piece may fall, the colors, the fabric choice, the intricate details, the “style of the dress” (as it is colloquially referred to in Nigerian fashion).

The task of the designer ends at birthing the design.

A person is not the designer if they are recreating. If Mr. Olusola stumbles across a gorgeous dress design online, makes minor tweaks to it and creates his own dress. Mr. Olusola has created a derivative work. Like a Bior mini lady, Mr. Olusola is going to jail. Straight. Do not pass GO. I kid.

In this scenario, Mr. Olusola can only be seen as the designer if his tweaks redesign/fundamentally alters the look, feel, or construction of the original piece, to the point that it is unrecognizable as the original. If the changes are small, like adjusting colors, swapping materials, or making subtle alterations to fit, most would consider this derivative work rather than a completely original design. When it is a derivative work, a re-creator is not the designer. The Original creator is, as it is still their intellectual property. In a nutshell, you are the designer if the design (“style of the dress”) is your brain child.

In fashion, it is common for designers to draw "inspiration" from past works or trends. The key is how much originality you inject.

Tailor: The Perfectionist Surgeon ✂️

Tailors are about the fit and construction. Tailoring is a learned skill that brings a designer’s ideas into tangible form. Tailors are also often knowledgable about appropriate fabrics to achieve a design. Tailors put scissors to cloth and stitches to seams. They are the surgeon who nips, tucks, and hems until the fabric cascades or stands like the designer envisioned. That suit that makes you look like James Bond? Thank a tailor. Thanks to tailors, your clothes hug you like your best friend after a bad breakup.

The task of the tailor ends at bringing the ideas (design) of the designer to life - from brain to palm.

Fashion Stylist: The Outfit DJ 🎧

Think of stylists as outfit DJs. They don’t make the clothes, but they know how to mix and match pieces to create killer looks. The stylist’s job is to take the piece of clothing created by the designer and sewn to life by the tailor, and create a symphony for the eyes. Style is a visual art, thus, the stylist plays with color theory, fabric textures, patterns, shapes and silhouettes to assemble clothing and accessorize.

A stylist’s task ends at curating a visually appealing, overall cohesive appearance by selecting the most fitting purse, shoe style, other clothing to accentuate the main piece, the perfect hairstyle/haircut, the best makeup style that all come together in perfect harmony.

At SUMI, we believe that a truly talented stylist is able to pair anything into stunning looks! Having the eye for style is the ability to pair not just the beautiful, or expensive pieces (that’s easy), but also finding ways to curate stunning looks from the “boring,” underwhelming clothing most people may consider “ugly” . With your SUMI fairy god stylist, even a trash bag will look cool after our expert touch.

In Conclusion:

Designers create. Tailors stitch. Stylists curate.

Worthy mention - several people can design one piece. Not all designers have the skill to sew. Not all designers are gifted with the eye for styling. Similarly, not all tailors can design and think up their own original creations. Also, not all tailors have the abiliy to style. Not all stylists can design and not all stylists can sew. A person may be have the ability to do all 3, 2 of the 3, or just 1 of the 3. What’s important is honest assessment of your creative strengths and collaborating with others talented in the areas where you need support. SUMI is a team of creatives with impeccable eyes for styling and the ability to design original work.

Was this a fun read or should I apologize now? Want more?

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