Where Design Ends and Cutting Begins
The creative space where fashion actually comes to life.
I once heard Vivienne Westwood say something that stuck with me ever since:
“Your sketch is not the design. The design is the finished garment.”
She was speaking to students — reminding them that design doesn’t stop at the sketch. It continues in every seam, every line, every fit correction and fabric decision. The inside of the garment and how every seam has been finished, all of it, to the choice of the thread is design at work.
It Was Never Just a Sketch
Between the moment a designer hands over their sketch and the moment a sample gets sewn, there’s a whole world.
Fabric choices. Structural decisions. Grainline. Drape behaviours. Proportions. Function. Feel. Balance. Linings. Fastenings. And that’s before you even get to making the damn thing.
One line drawn in a sketch might mean six hours of construction troubleshooting. Because 'just add more volume here' isn't an instruction — it’s a puzzle. A weight. A ripple that affects everything.
Even though product development is technical, it’s also creative. Entirely. Being a creative pattern cutter, I have the privilege of being in the zone of creativity all day, every day.
As a pattern cutter — especially one who drapes — I don’t just ‘execute the design.’ I help shape it. I interpret it. I problem-solve, re-balance, and build it in 3D. I get to think with my hands and sculpt with fabric. And no, it doesn’t come from a magic wand.
The Joy of Being a Pattern Cutter
Most people have no idea what pattern cutting actually is. They imagine it’s like tracing paper over a sketch, or plugging numbers into a computer. They get the idea of a designer. They understand the machinist. But the person who makes the idea real? Often invisible.
But here’s what it really is: it's *creative engineering*. It's applied design. It's solving a sculptural puzzle in real time with fabric and form.
From Idea to Garment: It’s Never Linear
Every sketch is a conversation starter. Every fabric has its own rules. Every idea has to meet reality.
True magic happens when the conversations between everyone is collaborative. When the designer understands the language and the issues raised by the technical staff, other solutions can be explored.
It's unfortunate — and this happens more commonly — when the designer doesn’t have any knowledge in construction and gets frustrated about why their sketch isn’t being respected in the first proto.
Well, maybe because you asked for a fitted bodice out of a non-stretch woven fabric and without any darts or seams, love! Hello? (More on this in another entry — I could fill a book with stories like this.)
It Takes a Team (But Not a Silent One)
In the best studios, design is a group sport. The cutter, the designer, the machinist — all moving the idea forward.
This is the magic of creation!
Cutting is creative. Draping is design. And if you’ve ever worn a garment that felt incredible — there’s a cutter somewhere who made that happen.
That’s the job. And it’s one hell of a job.
