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Moodboard Fashion in 2024: We will find out what a moodboard is, why it is used and why it can be useful to start creating a collection or a new product line.
The moodboard is without a shadow of a doubt one of the most classic tools used at the beginning of every fashion collection. Here on Be A Designer it is definitely one of the most searched terms in our articles. That is why this article is constantly being updated to try to give you all the theoretical and practical information you need to create your perfect moodboard for 2024!
IN THIS ARTICLE WE ARE GOING TO SEE:
Origin and definition of the term Moodboard
The Moodboard in the creative process with the Fashion Business Designer Canvas?
Principles of moodboard construction
Practical examples of moodboards in fashion
Six tips to create an effective moodboard
From moodboard to collection narrative concept
Conclusion
Discovering the Moodboard
Let's start with the base? What is a moodboard? The term is untranslatable into Italian and wants to describe a physical space where we can group and put together ideas that will then help us to develop a collection of objects.
As you well know if you are a designer, or as you can well imagine if you are approaching this world, the creative process in the design and subsequent creation of a fashion collection is long and changeable!
The best way to codify our inspiration in a tangible way and draw guidelines for the realisation of the collection is precisely the creation of one or more Moodboards.
Origin of the term
Let us start with the origin of the term: moodboard? which is in fact a translation from English: it consists of two words and could be literally translated into ? mood indeed ?mood? and board which means board, table, surface.
A moodboard is therefore a collection of images sometimes even physical objects that represent an atmosphere a feeling, an emotion, an imagery and our personal way of seeing the world.
The moodboard acts as a sort of filter through which we see reality and perceive it, the stimuli, the colours, the inspiration, so it is intimately connected to our emotionality, to the experiential sphere and is a fundamental element of the our brand narrative.
An effective moodboard is not only an artistic or creative expression but also a tool that underpins the stylistic consistency in a fashion collection: It defines, by means of a series of more or less allegorical or coded images, the concept or series of concepts that we intend to convey through our collection.
Even if you start from a well-defined inspiration, the initial artistic cue must be refined and well modelled, so as to defining guidelines and the concept behind the initial idea from any unnecessary digressions, which could lead to deviations from the emotion one wishes to convey.
The moodboard in the creative process with the fashion business designer canvas
If you don't know me yet, I am Corrado Manenti and in addition to being founder of BAD Be A Designer, I invented a method for building your fashion brand called FASHION BUSINESS DESIGNER?.
If you are not familiar with the canvas methodology, you have to think of it as a map. Each time we go deeper into a concept we will see where on the canvas it appears. Each box on the canvas corresponds to a specific task or topic so you will always know where you are in the creative journey!
As you can see from the graphic below we are in the second dial dedicated to collection design i.e. the conception and design part of what will be your collection.
In my approach moodboards go hand in hand with storytelling to create what will be not only an emotional concept but a real narrative that will accompany us not only in the realisation of the products, but also in the communication!
[ If you are not familiar with the canvas and want to find out more, you can sign up for the Fashion Business Academy in the your private area and access the free video course where you will also find all the downloadable materials]
We need it to find the emotional thread
that will guide the creation of the
In my approach moodboards go hand in hand with storytelling for the creation of what will be not only an emotional concept but a real narrative that will accompany us not only in the realisation of the products, but also in communication!
WHAT COMES FIRST IS BRAND DESIGN
[I also talked about Brand Design in this article]
A moodboard is an instrument which serves to create stories through images. If we already have a few collections behind us and our own brand we will have our own already defined style code that makes us unique and recognisable. You should take these elements as a starting point for the creation of your moodboards.
Indeed, remember that the Brand remains consistent over time so your values as a creator must remain consistent. This allows our customers to become attached to our creations and have expectations of our new products
If, on the other hand, you do not have a brand and are at your first collection, the moodboard serves to define collection themes and help you find your own unique elements. If you don't have a brand yet, my advice is to start with YOU as the creator and work on your ideas.
The moodboard allows us to work both at both conscious and unconscious levels. If you approach it seriously and correctly, it will give you new ideas and insights.
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![A diagram [moodboard] illustrating the stages of brand design.](https://www.beadesigner.it/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/46.jpg.avif)
The intention of this first quadrant is therefore to give direction to the collection by pointing it in the right direction. The purpose of a moodboard is similar to that of a container. It serves precisely to collect (in an orderly manner) in one place, usually a flat space or a wall various elements, fabrics, colours, to find the emotional thread which will guide the creation of the collection sketches.
Always remember that every tool we use always follows human psychology in fact from a cognitive point of view:
The main purpose in making a moodboard is to create a Gestalt? that is, a collection of different elements where the whole is more than the individual parts.
In simpler words, The images that make up the moodboard have a symbolic aspect, conveying a certain message to the viewer.
For example, the set of colours and intensity that the images contain, which will be the input for deciding the colour range that will make up the collection.
In addition to key colours, the fashion moodboard can contain photographic examples of finished garments as well as sketches of the garments that will form the collection. Through shapes, shadows and various figures.
It is always good to define whether the collection will have stiff, strutting garments or soft draping, stretchy fits or oversized but firm fabrics, and so on.
How to make a moodboard
Composing the moodbord is an exercise that may seem simple, but care must be taken so that the result can be a useful tool.
The collage of images and concepts should not be too labyrinthine or vague, but harmonious and schematic.
Some thematic nuclei from which to build the moodboard
THE MOODBOARD STARTS WITH THE BRAND AND MUST RESPECT ITS ESSENCE
The moodboard must respect your brand essence, your communicative style, the founding values of your brand so it is always useful to rethink the work done in the BRAND DESIGN every time we make a new collection.
If you are on your first collection the problem is less because normally your brand values will be fresh in your mind, and your customer will not have a real point of comparison as your brand is just starting out. As we proceed with the collections we will always have to be mindful of our past choices and our brand values as creators. Consistency is what gives value to a brand:
Branding, which we always remember from the ancient Norse, from the Vikings who branded cattle to claim ownership.
We too must metaphorically 'brand our products' with our unique and recognisable style dictated by our brand. This is why the moodboard must always respect the essence!
THE MOODBOARD MUST BE IMMEDIATE AND EXPLICIT
The moodboard is the first step in making your idea tangible, so it must be easy to use:
a moodboard is not an intimate thing it is a working tool that you will have to share with the professionals who will help you realise your products, who will turn your idea into a prototype.
That is why it must be neither too heretical nor conceptual. The aim is to produce an emotion, a suggestion On a cerebral level, the time that passes between a visual stimulus (similarly to when we look at a painting in a museum) and an emotional response is almost instantaneous, only later does the rational part, linked to the experience and vision of the individual elements, come into play. We are only interested in the first response, the "skin response", which is why the moodboard is effective when it is immediate.
WE MUST CHOOSE A DOMINANT CONCEPT OR THEME
For this reason, the best way to study the composition of a moodboard is? choose a dominant conceptwhich will be the key image that catches the eye first and to which will be added a series of secondary images creating a sort of mini-story from which to build the concept of the collection.
THE MOODBOARD IS A DYNAMIC TOOL THAT MUST EVOLVE WITH YOUR CHOICES
The moodboard is a static but at the same time dynamic and constantly changing methodology, which is why I always suggest that the moodboard must be analogue and not digital.
You will always have the opportunity to create a digital version to archive later, but being able to touch different fabrics, materials and see it hanging in front of your eyes will help a lot in the creation process.
As you add elements you will realise that some will not be consistent with the natural progression of the story we are telling and will have to be removed.
It can be useful to keep track of our progress in creating the moodboard by photographing it from time to time and then analysing how and why we changed it. As with all the materials we produce during the work in progress can provide interesting insights into our storytelling and creative process.
The whole collection design phase lends itself well to this (secondary) purpose of creating photographic, video, audio, written material that tells the story of our experience as creators. For this kind of content nobody expects it to be perfect, but must be authentic.
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If you are on your first collection it will be even more important that the moodboard reflects our typical customer, it might also be a good idea to make a moodboard of our BUYERS PERSONAS and hang it next to our moodboard and ask ourselves from time to time: ?my typical customer would appreciate? ?would understand this choice? ? if he saw him right now what would he say?
What are your brand values?
What is your stylistic code your unique way of doing things and giving value to clothes/objects
Who will be your future customers?
Always remember that you make fashion to dress others (who buy your creations) and we need to know who our customers will be and get inside their heads!
The moodboard must be ?physical, analogue?
It is a dynamic tool that we are going to modify several times
Example of a "virtual" moodboard? (just to give an idea it MUST be analogue)
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Keep track of how your moodboard evolves over time
taking photographs at the end of each session
The structure of the moodboard collage is personal and free, but what should unite the images (or the keywords that often appear in the moodboard to clarify and make it even easier to read), is that the moodboard should be a simple, clear and simple to read collage. harmony of styleOne image must communicate with the other as if they were two individuals from different countries speaking a common language.
They may chat, argue, sing and even quarrel with each other, but it is essential that the language they share complements each other.
Every single element, whether it is a colour, a piece of fabric, a photo taken or a magazine cut-out, before being inserted into the whole must answer the questions:
?Will it help communicate my brand message??, ?Will it provoke a positive emotion in my customers, suggesting at once that it is about them and their world??
Examples of moodboards for fashion?
Here you will find some examples of preliminary moodboards we made at Be A Designer for some of our customers with a description of a possible collection concept.
Example of a sportswear brand moodboard
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Here, classic women's tennis dresses are reinterpreted with fluorescent geometric inserts that slim the silhouette. Stretchy recycled fabrics, in various weights and with different technical performances, are cleverly incorporated in the garments with the aim of supporting and protecting the breasts from sudden shocks and stresses, offering the best performance during sporting activity.
The garments are designed to last, guaranteeing a fit that perfectly follows the body's movements, even after numerous washes. Again in keeping with the brand's mission, we have included pockets and zips in the garments to carry objects (keys, gym card, mobile phone, balls, etc.) in order to guarantee maximum security for our personal belongings. You can see the complete project at: www.zancobel.com
Example of moodboard brand nightwear
Abundance, elaboration and complexity are the three key words that best summarise the vision of 18th century fashion influenced by the Rococo movement in its various artistic forms.
In this project we wanted to combine the sumptuous world of French Rococo with the practicality and essentiality of underwear and nightwear. You can see the complete project at: www.pellicanonightwear.com
What to do after the Moodboard?
From Moodboard to Collection Concept how we build and tell a story through our garments.
If our clothes did not have a IDENTITYif they did not have a COHERENCE each other and if they did not have a HISTORY we would only be talking about clothing and therefore we would not be doing fashion.
Many times when I ask a designer to tell me the story behind their garments I immediately see blank stares as if I have asked them something very strange!
It is also true that if you are on your first outing you may not think you have to tell a story because it almost automatically blends in with your creations and your value system.
If you are already an established brand with a few collections under your belt, you will certainly have noticed that each collection has its own story and narrative concept that encapsulates both the moodboard that it storytelling.
If there is not much doubt about how moodboards work, a subject we have explored many times in this article, we will see how they are almost the basis of a collection concept and how to build a story that will captivate our customers and be memorable.
When the time comes to go to market, such as with a presentation at an event or an actual launch, you will discover how essential it is to have a story to tell. This will be the basis of what will be our communication and our marketing.
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Every story needs its HEROES
Even in our narration we must not be WE or OUR PRODUCTS but our customers!
History is the greatest weapon we have to combat confusion, because it organises information in such a way that people are forced to listen
Donald Miller [StoryBrand]
So what are the elements that make up a story? Let's find out together!
Each collection has its own HISTORY this revolves around three fundamental elements:
1) You as creator your world, what inspired you, your brand imagery
2) The elements of your collectiondesign and modelling choices, the materials you used
3) The Customer and how you relate to the first two elements
Obviously we will see how the heroes of the story will have to be our customers and NOT US o OUR BRAND / PRODUCTS
The creation of a fashion moodboard subsequently involves an explanationThe best way to maintain coherence between the moodboard and the collection is to make it clear what you wanted to express with that series of images and concepts. The best method to maintain coherence between the moodboard and the collection is to imagine telling a story through images and garments.
A bit like the paraphrase of a poem, which makes the narrative lose its musicality and rhythm but explains and synthesises its meaning, when creating a fashion collection, the need for the paraphrase is felt. written concept of the collection, a sort of 'paraphrase' of the moodboard, interpreting its visual allegories.
Of course, as with the creation of the moodboard, The concept does not require long-winded explanations, but is composed of a flowing and comprehensive description of what the collection wants to achieve in terms of conceptuality, silhouettes, and colours.
Many collections also aim to send a more or less strong social message. Fashion designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood and Miuccia Prada are often involved in campaigns to raise awareness of issues ranging from politics to war and ecology.
This is why it is essential clarify any possible doubts and conceptualise their purpose in wordswithout pedantry, attempting without pedantry to set a biting tone that would intrigue the interlocutor.
Conclusion
There is no right or wrong way to make a moodboard, always remember that the whole is more than the individual parts, so it is always the overall view that will give you direction.
Show it to friends, colleagues and ask their opinion as if they were looking at a painting or a work of art.
Try asking what emotions it conveys? Are they the same as you imagined?
If you have made a moodboard and want MY opinion leave a comment below this article! Did you like this article?
It is a long road from idea to market, and you also have to find the right angle of attack in which to position yourself among all your competitors.
Because to succeed you have to sweat and fight, but most of this war is fought before you get on the battlefield (the market) and above all in the minds of our potential customers even before we make a single dress.
Now that you have all the tools to create a moodboard you will realise how making fashion is a very complex subject where every single element must work to achieve the final result!
For this you MUST ABSOLUTELY read my book:
"Do you also want to be a designer?" which explains all the steps before and after the moodboard and all the mistakes NOT to make while realising your collection!
Did you like this article? Leave me a comment below and share it on your social networks with everyone who might appreciate it! That's all from Corrado! See you next article!
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If you don't know where to start, this is the best way to begin!
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