Are your fashion mood boards as powerful as they could be? Explore 10 best practices (with examples!) to visualize your ideas and communicate your vision.
Whether you’re hand-stitching custom apparel or designing trendy accessories for online retail, every new fashion collection starts in the same place—with an idea. And, communicating that big idea early and effectively isthemost important step to bringing your vision to life—which is where fashion mood boards come in!
Read on to learn why fashion mood boards are so important and what to consider as you create your own. Then check out our fashion mood board examples to inspire you.
Why Fashion Mood Boards Matter
As a fashion design professional, you already know that mood boards are an essential step to building out new collections. You’ve surely experienced that “a-ha” moment that comes from working through messy ideas and identifying the creative thread that unites them all.
But, fashion mood boards are important far beyond the inspiration phase. By crystallizing your artistic vision into a format that anyone can understand, a well-made mood board will serve you at every stage of the fashion business cycle.
Fromsmall businessesto established fashion houses, mood boards can help:
- Source the right textiles, trim, and other materials
- Keep your team of designers aligned around the same vision
- Communicate your collection’s style to potential buyers, retailers, and manufacturers
- Inform the marketing and branding materials surrounding your fashion line
- Share concepts and get approval from clients (if creating bespoke pieces)
- Drive the design of your runway, props, and backdrop (if presenting in a show)
- Visualize window dressings and other merchandising decisions (if selling in stores)
10 Best Practices for Creating a Fashion Mood Board
With so many potential business uses, it’s worth getting your fashion mood board right! Here are the 10 most important tips to keep in mind as youmake your mood board.
1. Define Your Why
Start by thinking through the purpose of your fashion mood board. Is it purely inspirational and for your own brainstorming? Will it be used as a pitch deck for partners and buyers? Or maybe it’s a concept board to show to a private client.
Whatever the case may be, clarity in purpose will help you choose the right type and mix of imagery.
2. Build Your Aesthetic
As you pore through references and research (start with Shutterstockfor over 600 million inspiration pieces!), your collection’s mood and concept will naturally begin to emerge.
But it’s definitely a process!
Start by saving any and all images that speak to you for any reason whatsoever. Once you’ve got way too many images to possibly feature on your fashion mood board, go through and begin to curate, cutting anything that no longer feels 100% cohesive.
Rinse and repeat until your visual concept becomes clear.
Pro tip: Give it a name! Whether it’s Victorian Vaporwave,Barbie Glam, or Timeless Tailoring, a catchy name can help drive your creative process and communicate your vision.
3. Focus on Fabrics & Textures
Clothing isn’t just a bunch of yarn and thread; it’s an experience that’s tactile, multisensory, and rich. To make your fashion mood board equally appealing and multidimensional, pay attention toallthe garment choices that set your collection apart from others—and then source the highest-quality imagery you can find to reflect those choices!
License these images via triocean, nina merz, Morozova Oxana, Floral Deco, Valentina Azhgirevich, popovartem.com, Jelena990, Sergei Mishchenko, and MariiaVerbina.
Here are some common textile and apparel elements to include:
- Prints & patterns
- Weaves
- Leathers & skins
- Trim
- Tassels & fringe
- Floral motifs
- Textures
- Metals
- Seam detailing
- Beadwork
- Embroidery
- Lace & appliques
- Buttons
- Zippers
- Ribbons
4. Work in Your Research & References
The research that went into your collection’s overall aesthetic should be reflected on your fashion mood board, as it’s a great way of capturing both the evolution of your thinking and the final result.
License these images via Frances McLaughlin-Gill/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, John Rawlings/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Horst P Horst/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Eric T White/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, and Djeneba Aduayom/Condé Nast/Shutterstock.
These research references might include:
- Your own pencil, ink, or digital sketches
- Clippings from lifestyle magazines
- Historical references (e.g. the classic flapper girl silhouette or1840s polka dots)
- Literary & cultural references (e.g. film scenes, book cover art, famous photos, or celebrities)
- Pictures from museum exhibits or art galleries
- Images of other designers’ garments (with credit given, of course!)
- Candid shots of street style
Pro tip: Shutterstock’s editorial collection is an amazing place for fashion-related research and inspiration.Try searching the fashion category!
5. Look Outside the Industry
While your fashion mood board will certainly contain some very literal imagery (e.g. conceptual sketches and fabric patterns), there’s plenty of room for inspirational, non-fashion-related imagery, as well.
License these images via The Art Archive/Shutterstock (Enterprise only), Shutterstock (Enterprise only), Grant Cornett/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Boardman Robinson/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Constantin Joffe/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock, Patrick Lichfield/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Arthur Elgort/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Romulo Yanes/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, fstop Images, Snap/Shutterstock, and Jerry Ginsberg / Danita Delimont on Offset.
In fact, bringing in the natural and man-made worlds outside of fashion can help establish that visceral emotional resonance you’re looking for.
Consider supporting your sartorial images with others, such as:
- Abstract artwork
- Natural landscapes
- Nature & outdoor elements (e.g. water, plant life, skies)
- Architectural detailing
- Black and white photography
- Vintage magazines
- Typographic elements
- Hair and makeup collections
6. Consider the Future Environment
Are you designing an exclusive piece for an influential client? A fashion line that’ll dominate the runways ofFashion Week? A retail collection coming to big-box stores nationwide?
Wherever your work will debut, consider adding just a few details of that environment to your fashion moodboard—a pop of red for the red carpet, rack or window staging, etc.
License these images via MARYIA SAMALEVICH and LL_studio.
And, think beyond the debut, too—adding in visual details that relate to where your clothing will actually be worn.
For example, a fashion mood board for luxury resortwear might include seashells or a stylish close-up shot of a yacht’s name.
7. Pay Attention to Layout
Once you’ve got a solid selection of images chosen, spend some time playing around with the relative sizing and the overall layout. With some thoughtful adjustments, you can create a sense of visual hierarchyandreinforce your collection’s vibe.
For example, a formal collection might benefit from strong alignment to a grid with lots of white space between and around images. A more experimental clothing line might instead work best with randomized clusters of overlapping images and very little breathing room.
8. Showcase Color
Your collection’s most prominent colors will almost certainly shine through in the images themselves. (If they aren’t, that’s a good indication to find other images!)
Still, it can be helpful on a fashion mood board to explicitly communicate color in the form of swatches. Add small rectangles or circles to show the intended color palette, varying the sizes of each based on how much that color will feature in your designs.
9. Double-Check the Details
As a designer, you have a unique point of view—and your work does, too! The ultimate job of your fashion mood board is to communicate that point of view as clearly as possible.
So, before you consider the project finished, take a minute to critically examine it.
Ask yourself:
- Is there an obvious visual theme?
- Is there a title to help guide the viewer’s interpretation?
- Are all images high-resolution and high-quality?
- Do the images feel balanced in size, style, and type?
- Does the layout match the mood?
License these images via Valentina Azhgirevich, Grant Cornett/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Sergei Mishchenko, MARYIA SAMALEVICH, Patrick Lichfield/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Boardman Robinson/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, Frances McLaughlin-Gill/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, John Rawlings/Condé Nast/Shutterstock, The Art Archive/Shutterstock (Enterprise only), Floral Deco, and Jerry Ginsberg / Danita Delimont on Offset.
10. Remove Something
For the final touch, take a page from Coco Chanel: “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.”
Look at your fashion mood board and ask yourself what could be eliminated. Less is almost always more and, by simplifying, you’ll make the remaining elements even more powerful.
Top Fashion Mood Board Examples
To learn how to create effective and visually impressive fashion mood boards, examples are clutch! Check out these beautiful mood boards built fromShutterstock assets.
License these images via Shutterstock Templates x2 x3 x4.
Fill Your Fashion Mood Board with Gorgeous Photos
By now, one thing is clear: To build the best fashion mood board, you need high-quality images—andlotsof them. Find the right style, quality, and mix of assets with Shutterstock!
If it’s in your head, it’s on Shutterstock
License this cover image via Frances McLaughlin-Gill/Condé Nast/Shutterstock.
BusinessEnterpriseMarketerSMB
Recently viewed
${cat_name}
${name}
${excerpt}
