Draping and Its Implication in Fashion Design

The covering is the earliest fundamental and physiological necessity for individuals from the beginning, and more aesthetically, it is to be dressed up to take the place of the covering. Clothing covers a wide range of physiological and psychological needs. Clothing is essential for all people’s social interactions both physically and psychologically. That’s why clothing designs are required to become unique, innovative, and responsive to people’s aspirations and desires. Human beings demand clothing and variations in style and design. Draping is the technique of converting a two-dimensional garment design into a three-dimensional form. Draping goes back to 3500 BCE, beginning with the Mesopotamian and Ancient Egyptians. The organization of draped silhouettes like chiton, peplos, chlamys, and himation is popular in Greek fashion. All over history clothing has been classified as “fitted” or “draped”. A “draped” garment like a toga doesn’t need stitching, but a fitted garment would be sewn together and worn close to the body. The draping technique is used in the fashion industry to pattern both fitted and draped clothing. Designers prefer draping because it allows them the opportunity to observe their designs come into reality as they see the fabric in the dress form. However, a designer is first with a design sketch, during the draping process, a new and more fascinating design frequently emerges. Draping provides a designer with a sense of feel for the cloth as it drapes on the shape. Draping allows the designer to make better decisions about the appropriateness of a certain cloth for its design. Draping in fashion is the earliest way dating back to the eighteenth century. It is now considered a significant element of the design process. The layout of designing a garment is pinning the cloth on the standard size dress form. Different types and sizes of dress forms are available for ladies, men, and children to fulfill their demands through draping. A fashion designer can experiment with different types of fabric and how it falls to create new designs at the beginning of the dress design process. The toile fabric is separate from the dress that was used to create the sewing draped pattern for making stylish garments to fit an individual. Designers use a very lightweight fabric called ‘tile’ and designer mostly call it ‘muslin’ cloth.