Estudiante

The fashion figure

Understanding fashion proportions
1 2 Sketch by Helena Kruczynska. Nine-heads figure template by Helena Kruczynska.

The proportions of a fashion figure are oftenexaggerated and stylised, particularly for womenswear drawings. This can sometimes be slightly confusing to the untrained eye but in fashion terms it represents a statement of an ideal rather than anactual body shape. This ideal is then aligned to a contemporary look that is viewed through the visual lens of fashion. Since the late 1960s and 1970s exaggerated proportions have generally prevailedand continue to exert an artistic influence over most fashion drawings. Most standing fashion figures are proportioned between nine and ten heads in height (if the figure’s head is arranged verticallyon the page alongside the complete standing figure). Most of the additional height is gained through the legs, with some added to the neck and a little added to the torso above the natural waist.Most women in the real world stand around 5ft 5in or 5ft 6in, but a fashion figure needs to project greater height in order to better show off the clothes and communicate the look to an audience, usuallythrough exaggerated gestural poses. Of course, a woman who might be 5ft 2in could be proportioned the same as a woman standing 5ft 10in but for fashion purposes neither would offer the desired idealproportions for communicating the look. When drawing the fashion figure the look might refer to the prevailing styles of the season, such as the position of the fashion waist, or it may be anexploration of voluminous or contoured clothing styles with reference to influences from a particularly favoured model or celebrity. There are fundamental differences between the fashion proportions fordrawing men and women. Women’s fashion proportions are mostly concerned with extending height through the legs and neck, with the resulting drawings taking on a sinuous and gently curved appearance. For...