Working in the fashion industry can be a rewarding career if you are passionate about design and clothing. You may need a combination postsecondary education and professional experience, as well as role-related skills, to become a fashion design. You can ensure that you have the technical and professional knowledge and credentials you need by understanding this career and how you can pursue it. This article explains what fashion designers are and how they become one. We also answer some of the most frequently asked questions. Key Takeaways:
- Fashion designers create designs, select materials and produce prototypes. They also choose themes for collections and supervise fashion and clothing production.
- You can pursue a career as a fashion designer by pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree, building a professional network, and creating an impressive fashion portfolio.
- Fashion designers may work in studios and keep regular working hours, but they might also work overtime during busy times or when preparing for fashion shows.
What is a fashion designer?
Fashion designers create apparel, footwear and accessories. Typically, fashion designers create both the initial designs and the finished products. They can also create complete collections. Fashion designers have specific responsibilities.
- Designing: Fashion Designers use both manual tools such as pencils and papers, as well digital tools, like computer-aided designs (CAD) software, to develop preliminary designs. The majority of fashion designers prefer CAD design because they can change colors, textures, and elements digitally.
- Selecting Materials: Fashion designers select materials after completing an initial sketch. They may take into account many factors when making this choice, including color, texture and durability.
- Making prototypes: Fashion designers create a prototype after sketching out a design, choosing the materials and sketching it. Fashion models often wear prototypes to help fashion designers see how the garments move and wear.
- Selecting themes for collections: Most fashion designers produce collections of clothing, accessories, or footwear instead of creating multiple separate items. The designers choose themes, and then develop designs that are relevant to the seasons and trends.
- Marketing collections. Fashion designers can market their collections after they have produced them. Some fashion designers market directly to the consumer, while others sell to retailers who handle sales.
- Supervising production: Many designers hire manufacturing companies and skilled workers to oversee the production process. Fashion designers manage the production, which can include visiting the factory and inspecting finished products.
How do you become a fashion designer
You can pursue a career in fashion design by following these steps:
1. Get a bachelor’s degree
Consider earning a Bachelor’s Degree in one of these areas to qualify for a job as a Fashion Designer:
- Visual art
- Fashion design
- Fashion merchandising
Visual art will help you learn color theory and design concepts, while fashion design will allow you to experiment with fabrics and develop prototypes for clothing and accessories. You can gain more knowledge about marketing and business if you choose to major in fashion merchandising.
2. Develop a portfolio
You can start building a portfolio while you are studying fashion and creating designs. You can save images of your sketches, collections and prototypes. Your digital portfolio can be shown to prospective employers as a way to showcase your style and accomplishments. You can use this to highlight your skills and training when applying for internships and entry-level jobs, even if you have limited experience.
3. Create a Resume
Create a resume to share with employers if you want to land your first fashion job. Consider including sections such as:
- Contact Information
- Education
- You can also learn more about
- Relevant work experience
- Award-Winning Businesses
- Volunteer work
If you want to know what your potential employer is looking for, review the job description and include these qualifications in your resume.
4. Apply for an internship, or a role at the entry-level
Consider interning before you look for an entry level job in the fashion sector. You can learn a lot by working with an experienced fashion designer.
- Basic Job Skills
- Improve your understanding of the industry
- Make connections with influential figures in the fashion world
After gaining this experience, you are able to submit your resume along with other documents and start applying for entry level roles.
5. Create a professional network
You can grow your network to get the job in fashion you desire. You might want to consider the following steps in order to make connections with other professionals.
Attending fashion shows
Joining professional organizations
Entering amateur fashion contests
You can learn more about the fashion industry by interacting with professionals.
6. Cultivate important skills
It’s crucial to develop your skills as you gain experience in the fashion world. You can, for example, read blogs and fashion magazines to keep up with the latest trends or take classes to learn how to use essential design software. You can improve your creativity by challenging you to create a certain number or sketches each week.
7. Select a speciality
Consider choosing a specialization to establish yourself within the industry. This can help employers and collaborators recognize your work on a crowded market. This strategy may help you build a loyal audience. You might, for example, focus on:
- Women’s luxury clothing
- High-end Accessories
- Unique footwear
- Elaborate costumes
Fashion designer skills
You may use both hard skills and soft skills as a fashion designer. Hard skills are technical abilities required for the daily duties of fashion designing. These include:
- Drawing skills
- Sewing Skills
- Presentation skills
- Design computer programs
- Color theory
- Knowledge of textiles and fabrics
- Fashion history: Understanding the past
- Current fashion trends are important to know
Soft skills are personality traits which make professionals good at their jobs. Fashion designers can benefit from soft skills such as:
- Patience
- Creativity
- Attention-to-detail
- Teamwork
- Communication
- Collaboration
What do fashion designers earn on average?
The average annual salary of fashion designers in the United States is $64,526. Fashion designers are usually full-time workers and earn a salary, not an hourly wage. Their salary can vary depending on the professional environment they work in and other factors such as:
- Experience level
- The geographic location of the company
- They can work for themselves or an employer
