How to Make the Perfect Lookbook for NY Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week…a staple in the fashion world. For most, it is one of the largest events of the year. All of the biggest names in fashion will be in attendance, and because of this, you’ll want to be ready to make a first impression. In the fashion industry, your lookbook is everything. It is the first time many people see your work and can be a make-or-break situation for you. Your fashion lookbook is your first impression. Let’s make sure you’re prepared to make the best of it.

3 Tips for Creating a Fashion Lookbook

Keep it Simple, Yet Engaging

The first thing to keep in mind is design. You don’t want your design to overwhelm whoever will be looking at your lookbook. You want them to notice your products, not be distracted by words or other images. A fashion lookbook is one place where you shouldn’t be afraid of white space. Having open pages and a minimalistic feel will help draw the focus of the audience to your products.

Keep Print in Mind in Design

Designing something to be printed as opposed to digitally distributed is quite different.

There are many factors you have to keep in mind. The first thing you’ll want to do is design in 300 DPI (dots per inch). This will ensure all images that are printed in your lookbook are high resolution, resulting in a clear, crisp print.

Additionally, you’ll want to consider bleeding and trim in your images when laying out each page. Bleed and trim are borders or buffers around the page that you’ll want to steer clear of to avoid any images being cut off.

Focus on Presentation

After design and print, you’ll need to have your fashion lookbook assembled. Just like any book, booklet, or magazine – there are several ways to assemble, or bind, this piece together. There are many types of book bindings that are available, but typically what see the most for fashion lookbooks are perfect binding, spiral binding, and saddle stitch binding. It is not every day we see a hardcover-bound lookbook, but that is always an option. A perfect bound lookbook would be your typical soft-cover bound book, utilizing glue and a paper stock spine with pages stitched together. Spiral binding is just what it is called, a book bound together using a spiral wire. And lastly, a saddle stitch binding is bound together by staples and is usually for those lookbooks on the lower side for page count.

Once you’ve poured your heart out into your new collection for New York Fashion Week, you’re still not done! The design and assembly of your fashion lookbook are extremely important – like we mentioned before, it is the first impression. Be prepared this fashion week, and for years to come, with these design and print tips! Check out our offerings for lookbook printing and binding today.