Elements of Fashion Design

When thinking about fashion design, there are four elements that are important to consider in order to tell a story: color, line, shape, and texture. Each of these elements can either enhance or detract from the advocacy message. By thinking about them when designing, students will be able to use them to express their story in a stronger piece.

Teacher instruction: Say to designers: “It is important to think about Shape, Texture, Line and Color when using LEDs (lights) in the runway pieces. Lights can help tell the story or they can overtake the story — it is all in the design.”

Materials Needed for Activities

• Crayons (markers, paint, colored pencils will work as well)
• Writing utensil
• A variety of different fabric samples
• Tape, glue, or staples

📄 Worksheet: Tell Your Story Using the Elements of Fashion Design (PDF)

As designers complete the activity sheets, have them share, compare, and explain their choices. There are no wrong answers!

The Four Elements

LINE — Just like color, lines in fashion can also send a message. Lines can convey energy, calm, structure, flow. Students write a word describing the lines in each example and what message they think those lines portray.

COLOR — Color affects how people feel and behave. Certain colors have different effects and are also symbolic. Students fill in the color they associate with words like: angry, tired, powerful, princess, shy, sad, happy, rich, water, nature.

SHAPE — Shape is sometimes the first thing you see when looking at what someone is wearing. If you see something that looks like two squares on top of each other with rectangles where arms would be, you might think of a robot before you see color or lights. Students examine silhouettes and describe the story each shape tells.

TEXTURE — Students choose 3–4 textile samples with different feels and tape/glue a swatch edge to the worksheet. They write words describing the texture and qualities of each fabric. The texture of a textile affects light diffusion!

Discussion

We saw how these elements have been used to advocate for or against policies/ideas/identities in the past (women’s suffrage, zoot suits) — but what are some current advocacy events that are using color, shape, line, or texture to bring awareness to their stories? Can these elements be used to spread mis/dis/malinformation? Examples? How can we guard against being taken in by this kind of use?