The smart fashion choice for designers, startups, and growing fashion businesses
Fashion Smart is where fashion creatives turn their dreams into reality
Fashion industry expert Yvonne El-Alam founded Fashion Smart after seeing a need for uncomplicated guidance and support for businesses trying to navigate the confusing world of fashion.
Fashion Smart helps you take the right steps towards developing or expanding your product range. We excel at finding design and technical solutions for any business or individual wanting to develop their product. Services include:
Technical packs
Technical sketches
Technical specifications
Creating blocks
Foundation patterns
Patternmaking
Toile and sample development
Fitting solutions
Grading
Small run manufacturing
We really are Everything you need to realise your vision for your fashion business.
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Established fashion business?
If you are an established business, we can help redesign blocks, rework existing patterns, digitise existing patterns for efficient storage, patternmaking for new designs, cut and make samples to industry standards, technical specifications, grading, small manufacturing and more!
“Here at Fashion Smart, we believe in working efficiently and speaking a simple pattern language that all cutters and machinists can understand. My patterns are developed with the manufacturing process in mind to ensure accuracy and efficiency in producing garments.”
- Yvonne El-Alam
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Or maybe just starting out?
If you’re at the beginning stages of developing your fashion brand I can walk by your side through the steps it takes to launch your first apparel range. Beginning with the vision for your brand I see where you’re at now and help you create a plan to go from concept to launch.
“Fashion Smart is about being creative with patterns and garments and bringing design ideas to life. We believe that all designs are possible to implement if given the space to creatively work out ideas.”
- Yvonne El-Alam
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Technology is moving fashion forward.
Technology is here to stay, which means having the digital skills necessary to develop products in the fashion industry is essential. This is why Fashion Smart offers training to upskill businesses and individuals so they can make the most of this growing, vibrant industry.
The founder of Fashion Smart, Yvonne El-Alam, is a qualified trainer and assessor who can help you up-skill from manual to digital patternmaking and grading, technical drawing on Adobe Illustrator, advanced patternmaking and grading, and ongoing mentoring and guidance. Find out more on our Training pageQualifications and Associations:
Member of the Australian Fashion Council
Diploma of Applied Fashion Design and Technology
Associate Degree in Adult and Vocational Education
Cert IV in Training And Assessment
Hi, I’m Yvonne El-Alam
Founder of Fashion Smart | Fashion Expert and Technical Trainer.
“My passion for patternmaking has always been the driving force in my fashion career.”
Ever since I was a girl, learning how to make newspaper patterns under the watchful eye of my grandmother, I have been interested in all the little details that come together to create a garment.
Now, after 33 years in fashion and clothing production, I use my technical expertise and deep understanding of all the aspects of garment development to help others build their own successful fashion businesses. I love co-creating with others and watching designs come to life as we work together.
Another of my passions is sharing what I know through teaching and mentoring. I have successfully trained people in pattern making, grading, and technical specifications that helped them gain further employment, promotions, and the ability to upgrade their current business offerings.
I am here to support and nurture your fashion businesses so you can succeed with confidence in the fashion industry.
Let’s talk about how I can help you.
“Words cannot describe how amazing it has been to work with Yvonne. I finally found someone who was able to help me bring my designs to life and get me onto the next step with my brand.
Yvonne got my tech packs and patterns done for me extremely fast and put into so much time and effort into getting everything right. She has great attention to detail and always asks questions to ensure you are happy with everything along the way. She also provides good advice and recommendations.
I would not have been able to get to where I am without her help. She is exceptional at doing what she does, and she ticks all the boxes. I would highly recommend working with her whether you are a start-up or an established brand. I am looking forward to working with you again in the future.”
— Claudio Piviali, Aesthetic Empire
Life, Fashion, and some things you might not know about me.
I was taught patternmaking as a young girl by my grandmother. I have memories of our dining room filled with newspaper while all of us sat on the floor making patterns and cutting out garments.
I started my own fashion line in my early twenties.
I worked in the exciting Surry Hills fashion district in the 90s, where you could be made redundant by one company, walk down the street, and be employed by another the same day!
As a young twenty-something, I worked for a startup that sent me to the USA for a shopping trip to buy clothing for next season’s ranges on my own. Having never done this before I just winged it! It was an awesome and memorable experience.
I am the eldest of five girls and I made three of my sisters’ wedding dresses and bridal party dresses.
I had three children in the space of four years all while running a freelance patternmaking business.
While my children were small, I studied at night. I would put them to bed and do assignments for my Associate Degree. It was hectic and tiring, but I did it and received HD and DN for all my assignments!
I taught my children to sew when they were very young and they sewed covers for my sewing machines.
I love swimming and being in the ocean.
I do a morning walk every day. Being outside and around nature is my meditation and medicine.
I love self-development and continuous learning. You’ll always find me either reading a book or joining a new course.
We have the solutions for developing your products from concepts into reality.
Let’s talk about how we can transform your business.