If you’re looking for some visual inspiration for your next fashion project, a fashion design mood board can help you bring your ideas to life. Many fashion designers use mood boards to help them organise their ideas and come up with new ones for both personal and professional projects.

Interested in creating your own fashion mood board? Find all the tips and tricks you need in this helpful guide by Adobe Express. We’ve even got some handy fashion mood board templates to make the process even simpler.

What is a mood board in fashion?

In fashion, a mood board is a visual tool used to lay out and organise ideas and inspirations for a new fashion project. Whether you’re a designer, stylist or student, you can use a mood board to collect research, plan a project, or even build a fashion marketing campaign.

Fashion mood boards are typically used in the early stages of creation and tend to feature colours, images, textures, fabrics and more to illustrate the user’s visual direction, influences and unique style. They’re an effective way to communicate and display your vision to others without having to produce the finished product.

Examples of a fashion design mood board.

How to make a fashion mood board with Adobe Express.

Adobe Express can help you put together an inspiring fashion mood board to ensure your designs are organised and presented in the best way possible.

Follow these quick and easy steps to create one of your own.

1. Pick your theme.

First things first, you’ll need to select a theme for your fashion mood board. Brainstorm some ideas around what inspires your designs – for example, are you focused on 90s fashion or a clean, minimalist aesthetic? You should also consider what you want your end-product to look like. This can include everything from colours to textures and embellishments.

2. Choose a fashion mood board template or start from scratch.

Next, pick a suitable fashion mood board template to help you nail your design. Choose from simple styles to focus on your designs or complement your work with an equally quirky collage design. Alternatively, you can create your mood board from scratch to take full creative control of the process and showcase your unique style.

3. Select your favourite images for inspiration.

Browse the web for some image inspiration for your fashion design mood board. This can include anything from photos featuring inspiring people and iconic outfits to existing trends and movements that drive your creative vision. Consider whether and where you plan on publishing your fashion mood board – if you’re sharing it online, you might need to stick with royalty-free stock images..

4. Layer with different icons, colour schemes and patterns.

A colour palette can help to convey the mood of your fashion idea and create a consistent theme across the board. Select colours that align with a certain era or season, or pull out colours from what’s already on your board and see how they contrast with other tones.

Once you’re happy with your colour scheme, you can add some extra details that catch your eye. Think textured imagery, interesting fabrics, fun patterns or icons that you could use in your designs.

5. Add some texture with AI text effects.

Take your fashion mood board to the next level with AI text effects. Make headings, quotes, and product details pop with exciting textures and styles. You can even use attention-grabbing effects like fabrics, petals and sequins to put the spotlight on your theme.

6. Download, save and share your fashion mood board.

Once you’re happy with the final mood board, you can download your file for free with Adobe Express. Share your board with colleagues to kick off the designing process or pitch your vision for an upcoming fashion brand collection. Mood boards can also be a useful addition to your fashion portfolio for any upcoming projects, courses or job applications.

Free fashion mood board ideas for your next collection.

Things to include on your fashion mood board.

There are a few things you can add to your fashion mood board to make it extra impressive. No matter your theme, style or concept, these features can improve your overall mood board design:

• Initial sketches. Including the early stages of your designs can add a personal touch to your fashion mood board. It highlights the evolution of your ideas, offering an authentic insight into your creative process and making the final vision more meaningful.
• Brand assets. Always include any logos, signature fonts and colours in your fashion mood board to ensure your brand identity is consistent across all designs and documents.
• Colour palettes. Colour palettes can add a sense of continuity to your mood board and help to set the mood for your overall design.
• Quotes. Plenty of designers are known for their famous quotes, from Coco Chanel to Vivienne Westwood. But you could also look for quotes outside the world of fashion, to see if inspiration might be found in film, literature or even your local community.
• Keywords. You don’t have to add full sentences to your fashion mood board – single keywords can have just as much effect. Pick words that sum up your style or use some onomatopoeia (boom, zing, pow) to boost the impact of your designs.

Switch up your fashion mood board with the AI background changer.

Raise the bar on your fashion mood board designs with Adobe Express’ innovative AI background changer. Take your designs and place them front and centre on stunning backgrounds – from professional photoshoot frames to catwalk settings.

Pick the ideal backdrop to effectively showcase your designs. All you have to do is describe your desired scene in the prompt box and watch as the tool generates a background tailored specifically to your unique style.

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Good to know.

Why do fashion designers use mood boards?

Fashion designers use mood boards to visually display their work. It can help them communicate a collection’s concept, gather inspiration, and maintain a consistent theme throughout the entire design process.

What is the difference between a mood board and a storyboard in fashion?

In fashion, a mood board is used to visually convey a designer’s style and inspiration for a certain concept or project. It typically features images, colours, textures and fabrics. A storyboard, on the other hand, depicts a sequence or narrative that shows how the concept unfolds over time or within scenes. It’s typically used for fashion shoot planning or campaigns.

Is Adobe Express free?

Yes, our free plan offers many core features, including thousands of templates, photo editing and effects, animation, and 5 GB of storage. See our pricing page for details and to compare plans.