Fashion Designer as a Career

What does a fashion designer do?

These professionals make clothes, including dress designs, various types of suits, pant styles, and various types of skirts, as well as accessories such as shoes, belts, and handbags, for consumers. They may be an expert in designing clothing, accessories, or jewelry, or they may work in over one of these fields.

A few fashion designers concentrate solely on costume designing and generate wardrobes for TV, film, and theater productions. A costume designer is looking for clothing styles and time periods that make film or theater productions realistic.

If you deem to be the upcoming Tommy, Calvin, or Vera, the chances are very tiny because of the industry’s competitiveness. While some designers become well-known names, most lie unknown to the masses and create the design behind well-established brands and smaller brands.

As a fashion designer, you probably have to move to find work. This industry is limited to big cities, like New York and Los Angeles.

As a beginner, you will probably start your career with someone experienced. Model makers or drawing assistants are examples of beginner jobs in the industry. After many years of experience, you can eventually become a chief designer or head of the design department.

Fashion Designer’s Duties and Responsibilities

This position needs the individuals to perform tasks that include:

• Drawing, designing, and developing new cloth designs and accessory examples, and creation and submission documentation sheets.
• Attend seminars to discuss design and line creation and presentation and review line ideas and concepts on a regular basis.
• Identify new relevant opportunities for the company’s customers through market research.
• Manage new designs and fits and also maintain the company’s standards for bulk production.
• Do the task to cost all the components required to produce a garment.
• Help a design team communicate with suppliers on design, manufacturing, and other issues.

Fashion Designer’s salary

The earning in this profession varies depending on experience, qualification, certifications, and numerous other factors.

Median annual salary: $ 67,420 ($ 32.41 / hour)
Top 10% annual salary: More than $ 135,490 ($ 65.14 / hour)
10% lower annual salary: less than $ 33,910 ($ 16.30 / hour)
Source: United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017

Qualification, Training and Certification

You do not require a college degree to be a fashion designer, but that does not mean you should not own one.

Formal qualification:  Although not a requirement, your numerous competitors have an associate’s degree or a bachelor’s degree in fashion designing or other relevant fields.

Training – An internship is a crucial add-on to your traditional educational background.

Skills and Competencies for this profession

Along with technical skills you grasp in a class  or on the designing platform as an intern, numerous general and technical skills are required to be successful in this profession, including:

• Computer skills: It is crucial to master the utilization of programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator and Microsoft Office.
• Creativity: You need to be able to generate product ideas.
• Artistic capability: An individual should be able to convert an idea into a designed physical illustration and finally to a primitive type on which the final product will be based. You also require a strong knowledge of style and color.
• Communication skills: These professionals generally work in a group. They must be good communicators, which means that listening, speaking and interpersonal skills are crucial.
• Attention to detail: this feature allows you to notice subtle differences in the colors and textures of the fabrics.
• Desire: You should have the learning and collaboration ability to work with the members of the designing team.
• Creative thinking – It is of great help if you can process creative ideas and recognize trends.
• Flexibility – It is important to have the will to be flexible when it is related to this work.
• Ability to travel: Selected applicants have the will and ability to travel within the country and internationally.

Working Environment

Most of these professionals carry out tasks for clothing wholesalers or manufacturing brands who generate clothing and accessories for retailers, with employers are limited to New York and California. Independent fashion designers work in their own facility and produce haute couture items, custom or unique clothing, and some independent designers produce a clothing line under their own name.

Working Hours

The majority of fashion designers, about 32%, work for wholesalers, who usually require a workweek of 40 hours or more. Another 20% of fashion designers are self-employed and the rest work in the production, film, or entertainment industry and business management.

Assume to work with heart and effort and put in a lot of overtime, especially when a fashion show is approaching or when a deadline is coming. Traveling is also part of the job for most fashion designers. You will need to go to trade and fashion shows, as well as go abroad where there are many manufacturers that produce clothes and accessories.

How Do You Get The Job?

REQUEST

Visit job search resources like Indeed.com, Monster.com, and Glassdoor.com for job vacancies. You can also go directly to the clothing and accessory design companies’ websites to see if they list any vacancies. If you go to a design school, visit the school’s career center for potential employment opportunities.

After scheduling some interviews, prepare yourself by practicing possible interview questions and researching potential employers and tasks. You can differentiate yourself by creating a tailor-made project for the recruitment organization, like seasonal items, to present your initiative.

FIND A VOLUNTARY OPPORTUNITY FOR FASHION DESIGN

Look for the opportunity to volunteer as a fashion designer on sites like VolunteerMatch.org. You may need to contact numerous non-profit agencies and present your fashion design services. Go through the web for other event-based chances, such as volunteering to help with New York Fashion Week.

FIND AN INTERNSHIP

Let yourself be guided by collaborating with an experienced fashion designer. You can find internships for fashion design on online job sites. The same websites can also list volunteer opportunities, which may not be the same as internships, but which can still help you market yourself and get in touch with potential recruitment companies.