Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as acloth merchant or ahaberdasher.
Drapers were an importanttrade guild during themedieval period, when the sellers of cloth operated out of drapers' shops.[1] However the original meaning of the term has now largely fallen out of use.
Margaret Bondfield (1873–1953), Britain's first female cabinet minister who, at the age of 14, began an apprenticeship at a draper's shop inHove, nearBrighton[2]
Eleanor Coade (1733–1821), successful businesswoman withCoade stone, who ran her own business as a linen draper in the City of London[3]
John Graunt (1620–1674), founder of the science ofdemography, became a freeman of the Drapers' Company at the age of 21 and worked in his father's drapery shop until his father died in 1662
A draper is now defined as a highly skilled role within thefashion industry. The term is used within afashion design orcostume design studio for people tasked with creating garments or patterns by draping fabric over adress form; draping uses a human form to physically position the cloth into a desired pattern. This is an alternative method to drafting, when the garment is initially worked out from measurements on paper.
A fashion draper may also be known as a "first hand" because they are often the most skilled creator in the workshop and the "first" to work with the cloth for a garment. However a first hand in a costume studio is often an assistant to the draper. They are responsible for cutting the fabric with the patterns and assisting in costume fittings.
