Book Review: “Creating a Successful Fashion Collection” by Steven Faerm

If you are a fashion student or want to be one, "Creating a successful fashion collection" by Steven Faerm is a great resource for you. It is a valuable guide for creating a Graduate collection and successful presentation (portfolio). You can find everything from concept and inspiration to  final merchandising plan here. There is also a part on preparation for job hunting with great tips and strategies that can help you find a job in the fashion industry after college.

This book consists of 160 pages divided into 3 main chapters: Building a graduate collection, Maximizing Your Portfolio and Going Professional. The main goal of the book is to teach students how to present themselves professionally in the competitive world of fashion industry. There is abundance of designers everywhere and you should do everything in your power to distinguish yourself as a valuable professional in the fashion design world with a team player attitude and a high degree of self-awareness.

The first chapter focuses on the graduate collection. It starts with developing concepts, research and identifying a customer base for your collection. Then follows an overview of the design process from making a croquis book, choosing fabrics to draping and merchandising plan. Here you will find a very useful overview on how should a great graduate collection look like and how you can strengthen your final presentation.

The second chapter helps you maximize your portfolio. You will find advice on portfolio organization, how to make a successful layout, how to benefit from online exposure and how to adjust your work for specific markets.

The final chapter concludes with tips on transitioning from classroom to the design room with success. It also offers a listing of careers within the fashion industry to provide a deeper understanding for portfolio development.

Content and Images

What I like the most in this book is that the ratio of visual and written is almost 50:50. Very often you will find books on fashion design that have mostly text and only a couple of images thrown around randomly. This books offers great visual aid for every heading and it makes it easier to put in practice when you have clear examples. Images in the book are a combination of realistic photos, runway photos, fashion illustrations and examples of portfolio images.

Text is very clear, on point and briefly discusses all the important things you should consider when working on your graduate collection. It doesn't go into depth with each of the topics but defines main points that are the most important for a well rounded collection and a great, professional looking portfolio.

Final Thoughts

I believe this book was a good investment for me even though I'm not a student or working in fashion design. There were many useful tips and guidelines on fashion design process and the entire concept of the book was very appealing. It provides a good overview of everything you need to do to make a successful collection, present it properly in accordance with your target market and use it to get a job in the fashion industry.