In the beginning, the discipline of fashion design involved the creation of attractive apparel but over the years it has started to encompass almost everything that had to do with a person's appearance. These days, fashion design can include anything from shoes to hairstyles. Because of the constant evolution of fashion design, many people aspire to have a career in this industry. Certainly, the fashion business has come a long way from just the creation of clothes. There are many other areas of the business that aspiring fashion designers can make a career out of. Early Fashion Design During the 19th century, artists were asked by design houses to create illustrations and paintings of clothing. These were then presented to clients who would then choose the ones that captured their fancy. Only then would the actual garment be sewn as this was seen as more economical for the design houses. And thus was born the practice of fashion design. Charles Frederick Worth is considered to be the first fashion designer. He used to work as a draper before he set up his own design house, which he called The House of Worth. Paris as Fashion Hub Fashion design as a business continues to gain more ground seeing as more and more people are becoming aware of the varied ways in which they can improve their appearance. Paris becomes the center stage of all things fashion and would be the standard to live up to for other countries. For a time, designs would first appear in Paris before it would become available in the United States or other parts of Europe. It was also during this time that haute couture dominated the fashion scene. Haute couture refers to the design and creation of custom-made apparel. The mass production of clothes followed soon thereafter and fashion became even more accessible to more people. The Future of Fashion Design Fashion design has become a formidable industry which a lot of young designers aspire to be part of. Aside from designing, there are various other career opportunities that are now available. If the creation of garments is not your thing, you can go into fashion photography or styling. The business side of fashion is also rife with possibilities with careers in fashion merchandising and fashion buying. Fashion designers continue to come up with innovative concepts in an effort to keep diversifying the industry. These days, green fashion is gaining more popularity as people are becoming more environment-conscious. Designers are exploring the use of organic materials in their clothing, as well as adopting manufacturing processes that make less of a negative impact on the environment. Technology also seems to figure in increasingly in the industry not only as a design accessory but also as a means of making business operations more efficient. The idea of wearable technology has emerged as another facet of fashion design with things such as mobile phone and CDs used as fashion accessories. Innovations such as design and virtual fitting software help designers create images more efficiently. There have also been explorations into the use of space technology in clothing fabrics.