Written at a textbook level, this work’s utility lies not in critical or historical perspective, but in its omnivorous, enthusiastic gathering and mapping out of global ideas to serve as inspiration for students beginning to learn the language of fashion. -Lindsey King, Yale University, for the Library Journal

I’ve always loved writing, fashion and performing arts, and teaching.

They all started to come together in 2008 when I created Parsons School of Fashion’s first ONLINE FASHION DESIGN course using video, lectures, step by step demonstrations and asynchronous group feedback sessions to take a formerly on-campus foundation course and make it internationally available online for degree students.  This is how the idea for FashionIllustrationTribe.com was born.

In 2012, after (bravely?) going to part-time at Parsons after the birth of my third child so I could care for her at home,  I signed a contract with Rockport to write a book addressing 26 fundamental principles of fashion design, illustrated with 250 pages of  photos showing each principle in action, with text and captions to explain and expand.  This research brought me back in touch with the love the love that brought me into the industry 20 years ago as I reconnected with the energy of people curious to know more about fashion design, after having been immersed for so long.  I am so PROUD to be featured among Rockport’s  GORGEOUS lineup of design books, it just gives me goosebumps still to think of it.

THE LANGUAGE OF FASHION DESIGN, 26 Principles Every Fashion Designer Should Know , by Laura Volpintesta on ROCKPORT PUBLISHERS.

Click HERE to see my book in the prestigious Library Journal, reviewed by Lindsay King from Yale University.  My favorite part of this review is when she calls the book “omnivorous” and “enthusiastic”.. Have we met? …. I couldn’t be more pleased.  As much as I restrained myself to not make the book to one-sided to my own tastes,  I tried as hard as I could within the guidelines of the project to include designers and models from all OVER THE GLOBE in illustrations and photos from designers from fashion weeks everywhere.  I long to see the vision of our local magazines expand to embrace the talents and beauties of fashion from our diverse world, with all its ages, shapes, colors, and cultural references.

“Twenty-six elements of fashion design make up the alphabet alluded to in the title’s “language” conceit, including material aspects like drape, texture, volume, and contrast alongside more abstract principles such as function, motif, collection, and direction. Each concept features one exemplary designer: Rei Kawakubo for deconstruction, Diane von Furstenberg for print, etc. Rather than repeat the usual parade of famous names, however, Volpintesta (portfolio, model drawing, concept development, Parsons The New School for Design) highlights an international roster of designers, many without flagship stores or star status. The variety and number of illustrations are a major strength of this book, which also includes a brief glossary after the main text. The author points out notable design details via captions to sketches, drawings, and runway photographs from a multitude of sources. Written at a textbook level, this work’s utility lies not in critical or historical perspective, but in its omnivorous, enthusiastic gathering and mapping out of global ideas to serve as inspiration for students beginning to learn the language of fashion. VERDICT Illustrative images teach fashion principles by showing not telling. Recommended for libraries that serve design schools and aspiring designers.” — Library Journal 

It’s been a long, amazing journey, a moment that brought me back to revisit and honor the love that brought me to fashion from the very beginning.

And really marked the beginning of a new chapter and season in my career and the birth of FashionIllustrationTRIBE.

I also collaborated on the new edition of the Fashion Design Reference and Specification Book (see above) by Jay Calderin.

The Fashion Design Reference and Specification Book

I also collaborated on the new edition of the Fashion Design Reference and Specification Book (see above) by the awesome Jay Calderin

This was my first Fashion Book experience that paved the way into authoring the second title, the Language of Fashion Design.

To be honest, my first book offer came right after I had given birth to Angelina AND my new Dean at Parsons School of Fashion had just doubled my work schedule (and yes, I was commuting from Connecticut 2+ hours each way). So I politely declined, hoping that I could keep my full time faculty position (and also because I was actually pretty afraid to write a book, even though I always dreamed of writing a book!!!).

The second call came about THIS book. It was already written and published, but they wanted to refresh it a bit. They asked me to read it and recommend any new material or revisions. So I did. This process taught me so much about the process of creating material for a fashion design book: the size and resolution of files, the way we shared them, what it was like working with the Contributions Editor (Emily Potts, she was amazing) and graphics teams, etc, etc, etc.

I created the new materials and some illustrations too, and voila….. the new version of the book came out! (It had previously been titled “Form, Fit, and Fashion”). By the time I had completed this project (nursing the baby and no sleep all the while haha), I was much less “frightened” when they offered me the Language of Fashion Design.  Now I really had a good idea what that commitment would entail (or so I thought :0)!!!!!

It was a huge task with so may considerations!

I enjoyed it immensely, though it was so very intense, and my kids who were homeschooled at the time really got a taste of what that was like. I was glued to the laptop and the baby a LOT of the time, but it was an epic adventure.

I would love to write another book soon. This book, Rockport already had the title and concept decided…. I “just” did the research and the writing.

One day I dream to write a book based completely on my own, free-wheeling research. For now, I use instagram for a lot of that fun kind of curating, writing, and sharing.

Of course, there is nothing in the world like a hand-held book………

 

Come join us on the Facebook group: go to the Facebook page, and click “join” to join our community where we are sharing, asking, learning, inspiring, laughing, and drawing!!!!!!Click the box below

 

I SPENT A YEAR RESEARCHING THOUSANDS OF PHOTOS FROM FASHION WEEKS AROUND THE WORLD, INCLUDING BRAZIL, US, TRINIDAD, AUSTRALIA, ITALY, FRANCE, CROATIA, MOSCOW, SOUTH AFRICA, SINGAPORE, THAILAND, CHENNAI AND COLOMBIA, TO NAME JUST A FEW CITIES AND COUNTRIES.  THE BOOK FEATURES DIVERSE PHOTOS AND ILLUSTRATIONS REPRESENTING 26 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF FASHION DESIGN, EACH IMAGE IS USED TO TEACH AND EXEMPLIFY  ELEMENTS FOR DESIGNERS AND DESIGN LOVERS.

I AM BLOGGING MONTHLY FOR ROCKPAPERINK (Rockport’s Blog) MY FASHION BLOG IS CALLED GLOBAL FASHION VOICES.

 

LET ME KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS!

Love,

Laura