People have often wondered where designers like Tom Ford, Donatella Versace, Ralf Lauren and Stella McCartney find inspiration? I have many a time wondered how designers can come up with the hippest designer fashion trends almost out of thin air sometimes. And they are able to create new designer clothes and accessories like handmade designer handbags year after year. Of course, some designs might not be commercial successes but they have their admirers. Suffice to say, movie stars and other celebrities make up the bulk of those who don, or more importantly, are able to afford such fine clothing.

Designers can be abstract. Some are inspired by certain hues, others by lifestyles and there are even others who are inspired by styles of a different era. But the process of converting all this inspiration into a form of wearable art is simply amazing. From skimpy lingerie to office apparel, people are always looking for something unique.

There are times when you can’t tell where the designer is coming from but there are also times when it is quite clear where a certain designer finds inspiration. For instance, it was obvious that J-Zhu got his inspiration from other worldly subjects judging by his collection at China’s fashion week recently. Of course the collection was not something one could wear to the office, a gala dinner or even in public. In fact, the collection looked more like something a mummy would be buried in. Nevertheless, the creativity of the young designer cannot be questioned and I for one can’t wait for him to design something more terrestrial for us humans to don.

Anyone remember the movie The Fifth Element? A certain celebrated French fashion designer by the name of Jean-Paul Gaultier produced an astounding 954 costumes for the film. The designs certainly fit into the whole futuristic theme of the movie but it wasn’t surprising that fashionistas the world over did not pick up on the outrageous fashion cues. Still, the mind boggles at such creativity. And it wasn’t just the costumes. Even the hair styles went full tilt. Especially eye catching was Chris Tucker’s cylindrical shaped hairdo.

Sometimes though, it does seem as though designers are going through a dry spell. How many times have we read that reducing the length of a skirt by an inch is the new look for next summer’s collection. But the moment word gets out, fashion sites are plastered with the latest looks with models donning skirts an inch shorter than last season’s. To the eye of the layman, it makes no difference. But to some fashionistas, they wouldn’t be caught dead in passé fashion.