Fashion Design Manual
Young Adult Non-Fiction Textbook Fashion Design Business & Economics Professional Development Australian Fashion
Pamela Stecker’s Fashion Design Manual (2003, hardcover) is the go-to reference that Australian design schools have relied on for two decades, and clean second-hand copies are now snapped up by fashion students, career-changers and small-label owners alike. Packed with 294 heavily-illustrated pages, the book walks readers through the entire garment life-cycle: trend forecasting, fabric selection, pattern-making, range planning, costings, ethical production and the all-important marketing pitch. Because it was written for the Australasian market, it explains local sizing standards, supplier directories and pricing in Australian dollars—information that generic international texts simply don’t cover.
What makes this copy special is its condition: a tight, unmarked hardcover that shows almost no shelf wear, so every full-colour flat sketch, technical diagram and industry brief is crisp and usable. Unlike later reprints, this first edition keeps the original lay-flat spiral-hidden binding inside a durable board cover, meaning it survives constant flips in studio classes or on the sewing-room table. No previous owner’s notes or ex-library stamps clutter the generous margins, leaving plenty of space for your own annotations as you develop your portfolio.
Collectors and practising designers value the manual because it bridges creative inspiration with commercial reality. Stecker—who trained at East Sydney’s prestigious fashion programme—includes real-world case studies from Australian labels that went global, checklists for preparing a range for Melbourne Fashion Week, and pro-forma cost sheets that still match today’s industry software outputs. Whether you need a single reliable textbook for a fashion course, a self-teaching guide to launch an indie label, or a nostalgic reference that charts early-2000s Antipodean style, this very-good copy delivers enduring, practical insight without the retail price of a new import.
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