In 2002 SHOWstudio launched the first Design Download - a series offering prestigious designer garment patterns for free, seeking to demystify and democratise the fashion process. SHOWstudio viewers are gifted a unique opportunity to study, interpret and construct intricate runway pieces, and invited to submit the results to inspire future learners. In some years chosen viewers have won prizes for their submissions, from original art to fashion films featuring their garment.
The ongoing project began with a pattern by internationally acclaimed designer Yohji Yamamoto, whose donation echoed the enigmatic nature of the designer's work by providing only a cryptic hint in place of the step-by-step instructions usually supplied with domestic dressmaking patterns. In the ensuing years, venerated talents such as John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Martin Margiela and Antony Price have allowed viewers to download the building-blocks of key pieces, alongside then-emerging designers including JW Anderson, Simone Rocha and 1017 ALYX 9SM and experimental visionaries Gareth Pugh and Iris van Herpen.
Explore the invaluable archive of garment patterns, study the pieces made up in fashion films, editorial images and submission galleries, and get inspired to make your own couture creations.
To enjoy to their full potential, patterns are best experienced via laptop or desktop.
Send in images of your creations with your name and location via the email design.download@showstudio.com to be featured on the website!