Our screenshots are a representation of how epic SL designers truly are.You may ask yourself just what makes these designers more respected by SL residents than real world designers.Aside from the fact that SL fashion is more affordable than the real thing (300 lindens for a pair of designer shoes is way less than 300 dollars for real shoes), SL designers are artists in every sense of the word.If you’ve been watching our Fashion Week video picks, you’ll notice one or two that shows time lapse design of a corset with garters, set to the haunting vocals of Fiona Apples’ Slow Like Honey.

The corset and garters are one of the easier clothing items to create in SL, whereas the designs

we’ve spotlighted here, require a lot more finesse and an artistic eye.While real world designers simply sketch out their designs and go to work with a needle and thread, an SL designer has quite a bit more to do.To make something as simple as a flower, could require simple geometry, decent skills with Photoshop or another comparable image editor, and knowledge of sewing. Not because they have to sew, but because the designer has to know where to put seams in the virtual clothing, to add an element of realism.An SL designer also has to have a bit of photographer in them as they’ll need to take into account how light hits an object (or prim as it’s called in SL) when texture is applied.The texture is the SL equivalent to cloth.An SL designer also has to consider shapes.Avatar shapes, that is.Just like real life, every avatar has different shape, from skinny bitch to voluptuous dame; a good designer has to figure in how the design will fit and allow the owner to alter it if needed; without compromising the look of the outfit.

Most SL designers specialize in a certain type of clothing, such as weddings, casual, steam punk (the fav or our Gingir), Goth, Victorian and the list could go on forever.Some only make shoes or jewelry and again, if you take a peek at one of the best tutorial sites for teaching you how to design in SL, you will see just how much work is involved.These techniques are also used, to a more extensive degree, in designing clothing for avatars in most games on the market.What makes it so special in SL? The designers do this with little to no training. Most have never set foot in a Game Design school and are completely self taught.For this, we are in complete awe of these designers and are officially naming them as THE SL designs to own.And if you’re thinking of trying your hand at fashion design and want to dip in SL, these are definitely the ladies you want to study and emulate.Now if you’ll excuse us, we have some virtual shopping to do, see you in world!

More of SL's up and coming design stars below!