Title: How to be a Fashion Designer

Written by: Lesley Ware

Illustrated by: Tiki Papier

Published by: Dorling Kindersley

This is a revealing and practical book for anyone who is interested in fashion design. It outlines the difference between a designer and a fashion stylist and gives hints and tips on how to be both. This book encourages the reader to hone their constructive criticism skills in a fun way.

The author is the fantastic fashion designer and sewing teacher, Lesley Ware. She outlines how to produce your own mood board, how to make your own colour palette and how to create a design that suits your own personality. There are loads of hints and tips about materials, colours and where to get inspiration. At the back of the book she has set challenges to design different items of clothing and accessories such as tee-shirts, hats, bags and shoes.

The illustrations are fun and exciting and compliment the text perfectly. You can read small bites of information with a visually stimulating illustration, which will keep even the most reluctant reader interested in true Dorling Kindersley style.

The book is aimed at 7+ but I think it would make an ideal gift for someone who enjoys drawing at any age, or someone interested in doing textiles at secondary school. It would be a good addition to your school resource books and contains loads of ideas you could use within the classroom if you are a teacher at both secondary and primary level. An inspirational book that will ignite the imagination.