The skill every designer still needs in 2026

Hi Reader,

You may or may not know this, but I teach flat sketching in Adobe Illustrator at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and every semester, I’m reminded why this skill is still so essential for designers and fashion entrepreneurs.

Tomorrow is our last day of class, and my students will be turning in their final project:
​a complete tech pack for an outerwear jacket.

The project is intentionally complex. Outerwear forces them to think like designers. Not just creatives with ideas, but designers who understand how a garment is built, how proportions work, and how to communicate their decisions clearly.

Flat sketching is what teaches construction: how seams, panels, shapes, and details actually function in a real garment.

Illustrator is simply the tool that lets you express that thinking with precision.

And with AI everywhere, a lot of people think: “I don’t need Illustrator; AI can sketch for me.”

But AI can only produce an image. It can’t tell you:

• if a design is feasible,
• if the proportions make sense,
• if the construction is realistic, or
• whether the garment can actually be produced

Without foundational construction knowledge, you can’t evaluate the sketch, whether you drew it or AI did.

Learning to draw flats yourself sharpens your design logic, strengthens your communication, and gives you clarity throughout the entire development process.

And clarity leads to better tech packs.
Better tech packs lead to better samples.
Better samples lead to better businesses.

That’s why I continue to teach this skill, at FIT and inside 383 Digital Fashion Design School.

This Saturday is my last live, online Illustrator for Fashion Design class of the year. If you want real-time feedback and hands-on support as you strengthen your foundation heading into 2026, I’d love to have you join us.

Your creativity deserves clarity, and your ideas deserve a strong foundation.