A freelance fashion designer explains how to select colours for a fashion collection.
Last week, I shared the black and white sketches for my SS26 fashion collection concept, Seabreeze Cocoa (see my previous post).
Today, I’m excited to step into the next stage: colour development.
As a freelance fashion designer, this is where sketches come alive through print, colour, and fabric. Where shapes, textures, and tones begin to connect and the collection finds its rhythm.
For me, it’s never just about beautiful details. A garment has to make the wearer feel good. Colour and print are at the heart of that, they can make or break a collection. You can have the perfect shape, but if it's in the wrong colour, it just won't sell so well. This is where psychology comes into it sometimes. As a freelance fashion designer I always love having a strong connection with the print team, and I have been lucky to always have worked with some talented print designers out there.
Selecting the right print and colours for each collection is to offer choice and variety, ensuring there’s something for most of your customer base. Selecting the right print or colour for the right silhouette is I feel 70% intuition and 30% sales data.... you'll always have the buyer and merch request another 'blue' print.... but I sometimes feel there is more to it and as a designer, you just get that 'ohh' feeling... and I truly feel it can be bit of art meets science sometimes.
Development is also about the placement of prints, and carefully considering finishes and fabrications. Every decision adds nuance and intention.
With Seabreeze Cocoa, I’m aiming to capture the spirit of high summer: skin kissed by the sun, those last golden days, and the sense of freedom before the layering season begins.
If you’re looking for a freelance womenswear designer to bring your next collection to life or to translate your moodboards into best selling product, I have availability from end of September onwards. Let’s work together to create designs that connect, inspire, and sell. Get in touch today via my contact page.
