high street fashion - this is where the majority of designers work and where garments are mass manufactured (often in Europe or East Asia). Buying patterns, seasonal trends and celebrity catwalk influences play a key role in this design process. It is a commercial area and heavily media led;
ready-to-wear, also known as prêt-à-porter - where established designers create ready-to-wear collections, produced in relatively small numbers;
haute couture - requires large amounts of time spent on the production of one-off garments for the catwalk, which are often not practical to wear. Designs are usually created to endorse the brand and create a 'look'.
Typical work activities