Fashion Designer
Created by Hannah Cherusseril
What must one do to be a Fashion Designer?
- Go to fashion shows
Know what what is trending or in season to create garments people will like
- Design Clothing
-Producing accesories, clothing, and footwear for the modern day shoppers
- Running your own label/ business
-Being in charge of and controlling prices/merchandising
-Branching out your label (around the world and by hiring designers under you)
- Approving/ pruchasing all materials and tools used for making clothing
-Looking at textiles and fabrics
-Buying materials from foreign suppliers
Sketches
Sketches are a huge part of designing. Not only are they for you to base the clothing off, but sometimes you have to send them around the world to be approved by foreign designers. This requires you to be able to write your descriptions in whatever language necessary. Sometimes you may have to present sketches and most likely you are trying to sell your products to places in other parts of the world. Being bilingual or multilingual could help your brand to become known globally.
Models
When you're a fashion designer, you get your designs out there by displaying them on models. Usually when designers create a certain line for a specific season, they will hire models from regions of the world that are particularly associated with that season. So knowing how to communicate with the foreign models is important. Your models also travel with you to fashion shows all around the world.
Fashion Shows
Fashion shows are where your foreign models are displaying your work. Like the models, fashions shows for specific lines focused on a season take place in the actual country or region the line is based on. A responsible designer will always follow their models and fashion shows to every designation so it requires traveling a lot. As well as traveling to other designers' shows. Having to go from country to country and communicating with other designers may require you to know multiple languages.
Career Requirements
Education needed
Skills
- Color
- Textiles
- Sewing and Tailoring
- Pattern Making
- Fashion History
- Computer-Aided Design
- Design of different types of Clothing and/or Footwear
Career Details
Possible Universities to Attend to Become a Fashion Designer
The Arts Institute
The Art Institute has campuses all over the country. They offer several fashion design classes focused on developing your talent such as Fashion Design (AA, AS, BA, and BS) and Apparel Design (BS).
Academy of Art University
The Academy of Art University is the largest private art and design school based in San Francisco. It offers a Fashion Program in Coursework, Certificate, Associate, Master, and Bachelors degrees.
PennFoster Schools
PennFoster is an online school that is affordable and allows you to learn on your own time. They offer programs such as Jewelry Design & Repair and Dressmaking & Design.
Base Entry Salary in Fashion Design
Advantages and Dangers
- All expenses paid trips
- Meeting different people all over the globe
- Collaborating with new people
- Setting your own trends- deciding whats "cool" and what is not
- No boundaries and using your own expressiveness
- Harsh critiques can sometimes destroy your career
- Takes a long time to get a big break or you may not ever get one at all
- Business issues- legal matters, copy rights, merchandise fraud
- You travel constantly so there's little time for family and holidays
- Could make you bankrupt at one point