Sketch the body by tracing the drawings of famous classical figure artists to learn proportion. Proportion is a significant characteristic of the human body, and it exists in the measurements of the body parts. According to portraitartists.org, "most people's figures follow simple rules when it comes to proportions --- and using the height of the head is a really good way of seeing how everything lines up" (see references 1). The standard human body is around eight heads tall, and it has the length of a head between the shoulder and the elbow. If the fashion designer wants a simple method to create a drawing of a human, he or she can trace a figure template (see resources 1).
Have a model pose for an hour to study her posture and proportion, and try doing gesture drawings (rapid sketches of her movement). Painter Rembrandt made noteworthy gesture drawings that fashion-design students should study (see resources 2). Gesture drawing will teach students how to imagine folds of fabric moving with the model's body. For instance, the model might pose with both hands raised. The student would need to imagine whether the fabric would cling to the model's arm or fall backward in motion. He or she would consider how a dress would move when the model stands, and might think about the movement of a scarf when the model moved her head.
Combine proportion with movement to draw a human body that will help with the creation of an original fashion design. Creating a proportional sketch of a person gives the student something to hang on that fills out the curves of the clothing. Bringing in the idea of movement gives the person who will sew the clothes together a clear idea of the type of fabric and the style of garment that the fashion designer wants.