Future Fashion Folio

Submissions for Part 1, the Design Contest, were open from April 2020 through October 2020.  No new submissions will be accepted.

The Future Fashion Folio & Show is an event in two parts. The basic idea for Future Fashion originated in 1958 and it has been a part of Costume-Con in some variation since the beginning.  The first part is the design contest, and the second part is the fashion show.

COMPETITION PART 1 –

Future Fashion Design Contest

The Future Fashion Design Contest is a design competition open to anyone, and takes place before the Costume-Con 39 convention. You do not have to have a membership to the convention, or be affiliated with any particular costuming group or organization to enter the design part of the contest.
Designers whose work is selected for publication will receive a digital copy of the Folio, even if they are not members of the Convention.
All submitted designs are reviewed by a judging panel who decide what will be included in the Future Fashion Folio for Costume-Con 39. Designs that have been accepted for the Folio will be organized into a PDF file just as if it were an e-book.  A link to the download will be emailed upon the Folio’s publication to both convention members and all designers whose work appears in the folio. Designs submitted for the folio are automatically entered in the Future Fashion Design competition.

You will not have to construct the garment you design, so are not restricted to existing materials or techniques, or natural or physical laws. Of course, wearability would certainly affect whether your design might be chosen by a potential creator for the Fashion Show.
We would like a wide variety of designs so below you’ll find a list of past categories. Let them be an inspiration to you, this is not a limited list but a jumping off point. We will create judging categories to fit what we receive, not the other way around.

Categories may include:
Children’s Wear • Teens Wear • Couples • Day Wear • Workwear • Business / Occupational Wear • Formal / Evening Wear • Court Wear • Ceremonial or Religious Wear • Bridal Wear / Wedding Wear • Ethnic Outfits • Festival Wear • Pseudo-Historical • Hostess Wear • Leisure Wear • Lingerie • Maternity Wear • Entertainers (singers/actors/dancers/musicians) •Heavy Worlders (higher gravity/larger body types) • Sports Wear (including sports not yet invented) •Uniforms (civilian or military, every day or dress)

You may submit as many designs as you like, but they must be received by September 13, 2020 by midnight.

All designs must be ORIGINAL IDEAS. Designs are judged only on the design, not the quality of the drawing. You can draw your designs on a traced croqui figure or have someone else draw it for you, but the design must be original. Please give credit to anyone who helps you. If you need figures to draw on, try these sites:
www.alleycatscratch.com/ffashion/Figures.htm
http://www.designersnexus.com/fashion-design-portfolio/fashion-design-croquis-template/

Designers wishing to reserve exclusive maker rights to their own designs (for themselves or anyone else) should indicate this at the time the design is submitted. If you do not “reserve” the design, then any convention member can use it to enter the Fashion Show part of the competition.  Such designs will be marked as “Reserved” in the folio if so indicated.

You may submit any number of designs, but you may appear on stage yourself only once. Design submission rules are below, please read them all before submitting your designs.

Submission Rules

Designs should be black and white unshaded line drawings. You may also submit a separate drawing of the design in color, but we require a black and white line art copy of your design for reproduction in the Fashion Folio. Please make sure your drawings are neat, and will reproduce well.

Please pick a distinctive short design name for each design (eg. Moonmaiden) that you will use consistently for labelling purposes.

Each design submission includes:
– A black and white line drawing of the design,
– Information sheet with the designer name, designer e-mail address, and the short design title. It may also include notes about sources of inspiration, information to help a maker construct the design, and any special features of the design,
– Color drawing of the design (optional).

Designs must be submitted via e-mail.  Submit each design in a separate e-mail.  The subject line should be “CC39FF your short design title”
The design and information sheet should be sent as e-mail attachments.  Send all documents (black and white illustrations, information sheet, optional color illustrations) in the same e-mail.  Do not include the documents in the body of the e-mail.
If designs are too large to attach, you may upload them to a repository (Dropbox, etc) and include the file urls in the e-mail message.  Make sure that we have permission to access the files.

Submit via email to: futurefashion@costumecon39.org

Digital format details:
– images may be in jpg, jpeg, png, tiff formats
– image resolution should be no less than 300 dpi and no more than 600 dpi
– images will be scaled to 8.5″ x 11″
– supporting documents may be in doc, docx, pdf formats
– supporting documents should be letter size (8.5″ x 11″)

By submitting your designs to Costume-Con 39 you agree to the non-profit use and publication of said designs by Costume-Con 39 prior to and during the run of the conference and to their reproduction for the Fashion Show. The designer retains all other rights to the design.

Contact  Information
Kathe Gust
futurefashion@costume39.org
Other questions? Same email!

COMPETITION PART 2 –

Future Fashion Show

Once the Folio is complete, the next steps in the process lead to the Future Fashion Show.  All members of Costume-Con 39 may choose to make one of the designs for the Future Fashion Show, which occurs during the convention.  You must be a member of Costume-Con 39 to take part in the Future Fashion Show.
As always, there may be some variations to the rules, so please read all of the directions for Costume-Con 39.

The Future Fashion Show will take place at the convention, usually on Sunday. Once the Folio is released, members of the convention will be able to request use of an un-reserved design for the show. Multiple recreations of a design are allowed, but we will tell you if a design has already been requested before and how many times, in case you want to switch to another choice.

You may make more than one design, but you may only appear once on stage yourself, so you must find other members of the convention to model your other entries. It is acceptable for an entry in the Fashion Show to be made by one person and modeled by another, but both maker and model must be members of Costume-Con 39. Entries must be modeled by a living person (not a doll or pet). The Future Fashion show is a simple catwalk format and thus a great way for new convention participants to experience costume competition.

If you wish to participate in the Fashion Show, you must reserve your entry by emailing the show directors Phil and Kathe Gust at: futurefashion@costumecon39.org no later than February 1st, 2023 with your name and the title/number of the design you want to create.  You will receive confirmation. If for any reason you discover you will not be able to participate, please let the show director know as soon as possible so that adjustments can be made.  Entrants must be on the director’s list to participate in the Fashion Show.

Participants are not responsible for providing their own soundtrack, but are welcome to email the show director in advance with special comments about their entry, which can be read during their introduction.
At Costume-Con 39, please check in at the Future Fashion Show table to verify that you are still presenting (we all know how life can get in the way). There will be a mandatory rehearsal at the convention, so you will become familiar with the stage and the plan for the show.  Judging takes place in the green room before the Future Fashion Show.  Entrants will receive a message about when these events will occur.

Current awards planned are:
Best Outfit Made by its Designer
Best Outfit Made by a Non-Designer
Best Overall
An additional special category this year is best use of the theme “Things that Go Bump in the Night.”  Interpret that as creatively as you dare.

Depending on the number of entrants, the Director has the discretion to authorize the judges to give out extra awards.
Questions or concerns about the Future Fashion Show can be sent to the FFS Directors, Phil and Kathe Gust at: futurefashion@costumecon39.org