Flats & Floats

Flat (directly cited from "Creative Fashion Drawing A Complete Guide to fashion design & Illustration styles)

"A flat is drawing of just a garment without a figure or croquis draw in it. Floats are slightly less technical, more freestyle drawings that gained popularity in the 1970's and early 1980's possibly as a result of the massive increases in high street ready to wear items being produced - in what we call "fast Fashion". For the benefit of overseas manufacturers designers needed to develop a relatively quick clear drawing style that was readable and reasonably "interpretation proof" for workers who, in may cases in not speak english.

"As this was a pre-email era, follow up communication was often slow and difficult so designs needed to be instantly legible. Since then, this style of drawing has more or less become standard as a designing shortcut, and is also often used in conjunction with figure based fashion drawing as a way of offering a clear explanation of each garment that may make up an outfit".