Design Your Summer: A Creative Planning Guide for Fashion Designers & Professionals
- Britta Cabanos
- Jun 21
- 7 min read
Inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s summer planning framework — adapted for the fashion creative.
Original article: How to Design Your Summer — Gretchen Rubin
Have you ever reached the end of summer and felt like it slipped through your fingers? That you meant to do more, create more, connect more — but somehow the weeks just passed?
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Happiness researcher and bestselling author Gretchen Rubin writes about this beautifully. She reminds us that summer doesn’t have its own character — we give it one. And that a little intention, applied at the start of the season, goes a long way toward making it feel meaningful.
“Every man makes his own summer. The season has no character of its own unless one is a farmer with a professional concern for the weather.” — Robertson Davies, via Gretchen Rubin
That landed differently when I read it as a designer and creative professional. Because we know this to be true in our work. A collection, a creative practice, a season — none of these have character on their own. We give them character through the decisions we make, the intentions we set, and the work we actually do.
So this summer, let’s design it. Not rigidly. Not with a packed schedule that leaves no room to breathe. But with enough intention that when September arrives, you can look back and feel good about what you built, created, and experienced.
Here’s how to do it — adapted from Gretchen’s framework, through the lens of the fashion creative.
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01 — Choose a Summer Theme
Gretchen is a big believer in the one-word theme — a single word that captures what you want a season or year to feel like. Not a goal. Not a to-do list. A feeling, a direction, an orientation.
For designers and fashion professionals, a summer theme can do something powerful: it becomes a filter for creative and professional decisions. When you’re not sure whether to take on a project, attend an event, or pursue a new direction, you ask yourself — does this reflect my theme?
Some themes that might resonate for a creative summer:
Refine — a summer of finishing, perfecting, and getting things market-ready
Explore — a summer of research, travel, material discovery, and new influences
Root — a summer of going deeper into your craft, your identity, your why
Build — a summer of infrastructure: systems, relationships, community, foundations
Rest — a summer of genuine creative recovery and intentional slowness
Play — a summer of low-stakes experimentation, side projects, and creative joy
Connect — a summer of community, collaboration, and industry engagement
Your summer theme:
Choose one word. Don’t overthink it — what do you want this summer to feel like?
How does this theme connect to where you are in your work right now?
What is one decision you could make this week that reflects this theme?
02 — Make a Creative Summer List
Gretchen suggests making a summer bucket list — specific things you want to read, watch, try, and experience. Not vague intentions, but actual named things. The specificity is what makes them real.
For fashion designers and professionals, this translates into something richer than a task list. It’s a creative and professional wish list — the things that feed your work, expand your perspective, and remind you why you do this.
What do you want to CREATE this summer?
A sample, a capsule, a new technique, a side project, a sketchbook series…
What do you want to LEARN this summer?
A new skill, a material, a software, a process, a part of the industry you don’t yet know well…
What do you want to READ or WATCH this summer?
Books, documentaries, exhibitions, designers’ archives, fashion history…
Where do you want to GO or EXPLORE this summer?
Markets, events, cities, studios, nature, neighborhoods for research and sourcing inspiration…
Who do you want to CONNECT with this summer?
Collaborators, mentors, suppliers, community members, designers you admire…
03 — Pick Your Professional Focus
Gretchen asks, "What do you want to do more of this summer?" What do you want to do less of? Her guidance is to make the answer as specific as possible — because vague intentions are hard to act on and impossible to evaluate.
Applied to your creative practice, this becomes one of the most clarifying questions of the season.
What do I want to do MORE of this summer?
In your creative work, your professional development, your daily practice…
What do I want to do LESS of this summer?
What is draining you, distracting you, or no longer serving your work?
Your Summer Professional Focus
Based on your answers above, write one clear sentence that describes your professional focus for the summer. Make it specific enough that you could evaluate it in September.
Not: “I want to grow my brand.”
But: “I want to finalize my SS27 sampling and have three production-ready styles by September 1.”
My summer professional focus:
Habits to Keep, Modify, or Pause
Summer often disrupts our rhythms — travel, heat, shifting schedules, industry slowdowns. Gretchen recommends deciding ahead of time which habits to maintain, which to modify, and which to take a break from (with a return date).
Habits I want to MAINTAIN this summer:
The practices that keep your creative work moving — sketch time, sourcing reviews, community check-ins…
Habits I want to MODIFY this summer:
Things that need to shift to fit the season — maybe a lighter schedule, a different format…
Habits I want to PAUSE this summer (with a return date):
Things it’s okay to set down for a season — with a clear plan to return to them in September.
04 — Leave Room for Creative Play & Recovery
This is the part most designers skip. And it’s arguably the most important.
Gretchen cites research showing that taking time each day to genuinely recharge boosts vitality, energy, and creativity. For creative professionals, this isn’t a luxury — it’s a professional strategy. The designers doing their best work are also the ones protecting their creative energy.
Summer is one of the best invitations we get to remember this. Longer days, different pace, more access to nature, travel, and the kinds of experiences that quietly refill the creative well.
What fills your creative well?
The experiences, environments, and activities that make you feel more like yourself — more curious, more alive, more ready to make things.
Time in nature
Travel — even locally
Museums, galleries, markets
Reading outside of fashion
Cooking, gardening, making things with your hands
Time with people who energize you
Doing nothing in particular
My creative well-refilling list for this summer:
Name 3–5 specific things — not vague, actual named experiences or practices:
How will I protect at least one of these each week?
05 — Your Creative Summer Intentions
This is where it all comes together. Not a rigid plan — but a clear, personal picture of what you want your summer to look like. Something you can return to when the season gets busy and you lose the thread.
My summer theme:
The one thing I most want to create or complete:
The one thing I most want to learn or explore:
My professional focus for the season:
The habit I most want to protect:
The creative experience I’m most looking forward to:
One word for how I want this summer to feel:
Your Summer Design Checklist
Come back to this at the end of August. How did your summer measure up?
Intention
I chose a summer theme
I wrote down my creative summer list
I defined my professional focus for the season
I decided which habits to keep, modify, and pause
Creative Practice
I made or completed something I’m proud of
I learned something new — a skill, a material, a process
I explored somewhere or something outside my usual context
I read, watched, or experienced something that expanded my perspective
Connection
I connected with at least one person who inspired or supported my work
I attended at least one event — local, industry, or community
I shared my work or my process with someone
Recovery & Play
I protected time each week for something that refills my creative well
I took at least one genuine break from the work
I left room for something unplanned to happen
Reflection
In September, I will look back at this guide and reflect on what I built
A Note to Close
Gretchen Rubin writes that people sometimes worry planning ruins spontaneity — but in her experience, the opposite is true. When you know what you’re hoping for, you recognize the opportunities when they appear.
I think that’s especially true for designers. When you have a clear creative intention for the season, you notice the fabric at the market that fits your direction. You say yes to the conversation that moves your work forward. You let go of the thing that doesn’t serve your theme.
Intention doesn’t close doors. It helps you see which ones are worth opening.
So design your summer. Make your list. Choose your word. Protect your time to play.
And let’s see what you build.
Happy Conscious Creating!
Britta Cabanos — Founder/CEO, Inside Fashion Design
Source & Inspiration
This piece was inspired by Gretchen Rubin’s article How to Design Your Summer (May 2026). Gretchen Rubin is a bestselling author and happiness researcher known for The Happiness Project and Better Than Before. The Robertson Davies quote is sourced from her article. Check out her latest book: Life in Five Senses
Gretchen Rubin — gretchenrubin.com
Inside Fashion Design — insidefashiondesign.com
IFD Connect Community — insider.insidefashiondesign.com
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Summer planning always feels easier when creativity and structure work together. I once spent an afternoon building a mood board from fabric scraps, travel photos, and old jcpenney reviews, then turned those ideas into three workable designs. Setting small weekly goals kept the process exciting without making it feel rigid. Independent designers often juggle sketches, sourcing, pricing, and promotion, so a clear seasonal plan can protect both energy and inspiration. My best ideas usually appear during ordinary moments, like morning coffee or a walk home. Building thoughtfully makes the final collection feel more personal, practical, and connected to real life.
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