What's a good gift for a friend who enjoys fashion design?

My good friend really enjoys designing clothes in his spare time. He has no training, basically does it for fun but dreams of being a famous designer one day. He basically draws with a #2 pencil and some computer paper. His birthday is soon, but I don't know anything about design or drawing. Does anyone have any ideas of what I can buy him to help him improve his skills?

What's a good gift for a friend who enjoys fashion design?
Inspiration.


If theres one thing a designer is always hungry for, it's that.





The inspiration you buy for him will allow him to have a broader view of fashion and culture, especially if you can pull some stuff from other countries.


You can do this rather inexpensively buy buying him a bunch of media (like movies, cds, magazines; American and foreign) from places like Barnes %26amp; Noble, Borders, Ebay.





Theres a popular American fashion magazine I just saw today with Julia Roberts on the cover with a rose in her mouth; theres a special art section on this month's.


Movies are also a great source of inspiration. Classic black %26amp; whites, like 'La Dulche Vita' and modern artsy flicks like Romeo + Juliet (1996) are full of color and wardrobes.


And music is important too, like how people dress according to what music they listen to, 'emo' and 'punk' what not. I'd make him a mix 'tape' of a bunch of different songs from different artists and genres. Like a little Amy Winehouse (US) with a little David Guetta (FR), some Maroon 5 (?) and the Streets (UK).


Then I'd wrap it up - a book/magazine, a dvd, and a cd mix titled 'the future fashion mix.'





Presto.





And hopefully he'll see and hear some cool stuff that will give him ideas on his designs.





PS - a regular pen couldnt hurt too, cause pencil smudges happen. I found one that fits what I want: BiC Soft Feel medium.
Reply:Go to half dot com and search books for "fashion illustration". Having tips on how to illustrate designs properly may be a great gift.





There are various books at various prices to fit what you are trying to spend, and the style of your friend.
Reply:How about a sketch pad?





And you can do a Google/Yahoo search for "gift for a fashion designer" and that should give you some ideas.





Best
Reply:The best part of fashion design is hands-on and the most fun and least expensive way to go is refashioning. With a gift certificate to a local thrift shop or Goodwill and this website,


threadbanger.com , your friend can find almost endless inspiration for easy re-dos and have the materials ready to get going.





Happy gifting!
Reply:sewing stuff! vogue patterns....fabric! get him a gift certificate to a fabric store....thats probally heaven for him!:)
Reply:How about buying him a gift card to a local fabric store. He can go crazy buying all the necessities to fabricate his designs. Even just a pair of scissors can be somewhat expensive and to a designer they're such a treasured commodity.