You know you're destined to be a fashion designer if you:
a) spent most of your childhood making clothes for your Barbie dolls instead of playing with your friends;
b) read fashion magazines instead of your school books;
c) ran a boutique out of your basement at age 10.
In other words: if you want to be the next Yves Saint Laurent, it helps to be completely and utterly obsessed with fashion.
Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sportswear company as producing a label under your own name.
Choosing a strategy
There are as many different ways to embark upon a fashion career as there are styles of design. Ralph Lauren's Polo empire was founded on a small tie collection that he sold to Bloomingdales. Michael Kors built up a network of customers by selling clothes in a trendy NYC boutique. However, most people find that the best foundation for a design career is to get a fine arts degree in fashion at a prestigious school. "We live in a brandname society, and having the name of a good school behind you really does help," says Carol Mongo, Director of the Fashion Department at Parsons School of Design in Paris. It's hard to enter these schools as competition is high, and they tend to be very selective. You apply by sending a portfolio of drawings of your designs. Drawing is also an important skill for a designer – it is the way you communicate your ideas. In order to build an impressive portfolio it's a good idea to have some experience in sketching; taking art classes will help you understand form and proportion. What school will do for you
Most fashion programs are three to four years long. During that time you will take fine arts classes and study drawing, color composition and form. You will also learn pattern making, draping and cutting techniques. One of the most important advantages of design schools is that they work really closely with the industry. Parsons, for example, have "designer critic projects" where successful designers like Donna Karan and Michael Kors work directly with the graduating students. Ambitious students also have the chance to win prestigious awards and grants, which bring them a lot of attention as well as financial support. One very important event is the fashion show at the end of the last semester, when graduating students show their collections. A lot of important people from the fashion industry attend these shows to scout new talent.
Alternative routes
"Let's be realistic," says Carol Mongo at Parsons, "School's not for everyone. If you're just looking to get a job in the fashion industry – not a career as a designer – you probably don't need to go school." If you want to work as a seamstress or a patternmaker, the best thing is probably to apply for an internship at a fashion house and work your way up. For example, Dior's brightest new star, men's wear designer Hedi Slimane, had a degree in journalism when he started working with men's wear designer José Levy. Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière is another example of a brilliantly successful designer who learned the jobs hands-on, as an assistant at Jean-Paul Gaultier. Usually, you apply for an internship by sending a portfolio to a fashion house you're interested in.
Understanding the business
Unfortunately, it's not enough for a designer to be creative; you also have to have some business sense. A lot of fashion schools are currently increasing business classes in their curriculum. "Our students have to be smart enough to know how to negotiate a contract, or to pick a business partner," says Carol Mongo. It's perhaps telling that many of the designers that are really successful today, like Calvin Klein or Tom Ford, are involved in every aspect of the business – from licensing strategies to ad campaigns to actually designing the clothes.
A. Career in Fashion Designing
Does your creativity work unabated when you look at textiles, fabrics, embroidery? Does your adrenalin run high when you see the coverage of fashion weeks on television? If you experience all this, a career in fashion designing is just right for you. A fashion designing job gives you the freedom to explore and utilize your creativity to the fullest and earn name, fame and money purely based on your talent. The fashion industry has seen a surge in the recent years in India. Fashion has moved out from just Bollywood and the affluent Indians to the drawing room of Indian middle class.
In India, especially, a fashion designing job holds vast opportunities. There is a huge garment and textile industry in India which gives ample scope to fashion designers to innovate with fabrics, styles, embroidery, motifs and designs. It is not just garments that it is limited to although garments form the major chunk of our fashion industry. There are not just garments that one can design but also footwear, bags and other accessories that come under the purview of fashion designing. It is a glamorous and exciting job that also pumps your adrenalin.
There are tight deadlines that fashion designers work under if there is a fashion week going on or if there is demand from the customers. Fashion designers are expected to come up with original concepts and design in fascinating colors and cuts in limited time. Then, to thrive, a good market sense and knowledge of the current trends is mandatory. Since a fashion designer has to take charge and supervise from conception to execution of a design, it is required to have that managing ability. Thus, summing it all up, to succeed in fashion designing jobs, one has to be artistic and creative with good sketching and drawing skills, original and innovative with design and ideas, a good aesthetic sense, ability to synchronize well in a team, good management skills and an acute awareness of market trends and events in fashion.
As a fashion designer, at the job, you would be required to design and create stylish outfits and accessories to match. Your seniors would approve the designs that you create and would also suggest modifications. It is always better to work with a senior designer to get a feel of ho things work in the industry. If you are good at your work and hard-working, you would surely be noticed. Each designer has different work ethics. There are ample job opportunities with professional designers, manufacturing units, export houses, boutiques and fancy stores and in TV and films as costume designers.
B. When You Absolutely Must Become a Fashion Designer
Becoming a fashion designer means so much more than understanding clothes. Learn that, and your career potential may very well be unlimited.
The Fashion Design 411 The fashion design industry is comprised of a wide variety of professional positions that range from the creative to the systematic.
The median annual wage of fashion designers in May 2007 was $62,810, with the top 10 percent earning $121,640 and the bottom 10 percent earning $31,340. Potential salary and employment opportunities should be best with design firms that create mass market clothing. Also, because about 25 percent of professional in this field work temporary or contract positions, the environment can be right for entrepreneurs and business self-starters.
Becoming a Fashion Designer: What It Takes to Get There The road to become a fashion designer is similar to most trade or artisan fields. Two paths exist: a traditional academic route and a career training alternative. Approximately 250 postsecondary institutions accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design offer 2- or 4-year degrees in fine arts. Opportunities for interdisciplinary and international study should be available to promising students.
Program and Course Requirements The changing landscape of the fashion design industry is taking students through an unusually contemporary readiness strategy. The emergence of Auto CAD as a design tool is placing a premium on candidates with advanced technical skills. Also, communications remains an integral part of the job and encourages students to consider the academic development option.
Common courses may include textiles, color, pattern making, sewing, tailoring, fashion history, and more.
a) spent most of your childhood making clothes for your Barbie dolls instead of playing with your friends;
b) read fashion magazines instead of your school books;
c) ran a boutique out of your basement at age 10.
In other words: if you want to be the next Yves Saint Laurent, it helps to be completely and utterly obsessed with fashion.
Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sportswear company as producing a label under your own name.
Choosing a strategy
There are as many different ways to embark upon a fashion career as there are styles of design. Ralph Lauren's Polo empire was founded on a small tie collection that he sold to Bloomingdales. Michael Kors built up a network of customers by selling clothes in a trendy NYC boutique. However, most people find that the best foundation for a design career is to get a fine arts degree in fashion at a prestigious school. "We live in a brandname society, and having the name of a good school behind you really does help," says Carol Mongo, Director of the Fashion Department at Parsons School of Design in Paris. It's hard to enter these schools as competition is high, and they tend to be very selective. You apply by sending a portfolio of drawings of your designs. Drawing is also an important skill for a designer – it is the way you communicate your ideas. In order to build an impressive portfolio it's a good idea to have some experience in sketching; taking art classes will help you understand form and proportion. What school will do for you
Most fashion programs are three to four years long. During that time you will take fine arts classes and study drawing, color composition and form. You will also learn pattern making, draping and cutting techniques. One of the most important advantages of design schools is that they work really closely with the industry. Parsons, for example, have "designer critic projects" where successful designers like Donna Karan and Michael Kors work directly with the graduating students. Ambitious students also have the chance to win prestigious awards and grants, which bring them a lot of attention as well as financial support. One very important event is the fashion show at the end of the last semester, when graduating students show their collections. A lot of important people from the fashion industry attend these shows to scout new talent.
Alternative routes
"Let's be realistic," says Carol Mongo at Parsons, "School's not for everyone. If you're just looking to get a job in the fashion industry – not a career as a designer – you probably don't need to go school." If you want to work as a seamstress or a patternmaker, the best thing is probably to apply for an internship at a fashion house and work your way up. For example, Dior's brightest new star, men's wear designer Hedi Slimane, had a degree in journalism when he started working with men's wear designer José Levy. Balenciaga's Nicolas Ghesquière is another example of a brilliantly successful designer who learned the jobs hands-on, as an assistant at Jean-Paul Gaultier. Usually, you apply for an internship by sending a portfolio to a fashion house you're interested in.
Understanding the business
Unfortunately, it's not enough for a designer to be creative; you also have to have some business sense. A lot of fashion schools are currently increasing business classes in their curriculum. "Our students have to be smart enough to know how to negotiate a contract, or to pick a business partner," says Carol Mongo. It's perhaps telling that many of the designers that are really successful today, like Calvin Klein or Tom Ford, are involved in every aspect of the business – from licensing strategies to ad campaigns to actually designing the clothes.
A. Career in Fashion Designing
Does your creativity work unabated when you look at textiles, fabrics, embroidery? Does your adrenalin run high when you see the coverage of fashion weeks on television? If you experience all this, a career in fashion designing is just right for you. A fashion designing job gives you the freedom to explore and utilize your creativity to the fullest and earn name, fame and money purely based on your talent. The fashion industry has seen a surge in the recent years in India. Fashion has moved out from just Bollywood and the affluent Indians to the drawing room of Indian middle class.
In India, especially, a fashion designing job holds vast opportunities. There is a huge garment and textile industry in India which gives ample scope to fashion designers to innovate with fabrics, styles, embroidery, motifs and designs. It is not just garments that it is limited to although garments form the major chunk of our fashion industry. There are not just garments that one can design but also footwear, bags and other accessories that come under the purview of fashion designing. It is a glamorous and exciting job that also pumps your adrenalin.
There are tight deadlines that fashion designers work under if there is a fashion week going on or if there is demand from the customers. Fashion designers are expected to come up with original concepts and design in fascinating colors and cuts in limited time. Then, to thrive, a good market sense and knowledge of the current trends is mandatory. Since a fashion designer has to take charge and supervise from conception to execution of a design, it is required to have that managing ability. Thus, summing it all up, to succeed in fashion designing jobs, one has to be artistic and creative with good sketching and drawing skills, original and innovative with design and ideas, a good aesthetic sense, ability to synchronize well in a team, good management skills and an acute awareness of market trends and events in fashion.
As a fashion designer, at the job, you would be required to design and create stylish outfits and accessories to match. Your seniors would approve the designs that you create and would also suggest modifications. It is always better to work with a senior designer to get a feel of ho things work in the industry. If you are good at your work and hard-working, you would surely be noticed. Each designer has different work ethics. There are ample job opportunities with professional designers, manufacturing units, export houses, boutiques and fancy stores and in TV and films as costume designers.
B. When You Absolutely Must Become a Fashion Designer
Becoming a fashion designer means so much more than understanding clothes. Learn that, and your career potential may very well be unlimited.
The Fashion Design 411 The fashion design industry is comprised of a wide variety of professional positions that range from the creative to the systematic.
The median annual wage of fashion designers in May 2007 was $62,810, with the top 10 percent earning $121,640 and the bottom 10 percent earning $31,340. Potential salary and employment opportunities should be best with design firms that create mass market clothing. Also, because about 25 percent of professional in this field work temporary or contract positions, the environment can be right for entrepreneurs and business self-starters.
Becoming a Fashion Designer: What It Takes to Get There The road to become a fashion designer is similar to most trade or artisan fields. Two paths exist: a traditional academic route and a career training alternative. Approximately 250 postsecondary institutions accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design offer 2- or 4-year degrees in fine arts. Opportunities for interdisciplinary and international study should be available to promising students.
Program and Course Requirements The changing landscape of the fashion design industry is taking students through an unusually contemporary readiness strategy. The emergence of Auto CAD as a design tool is placing a premium on candidates with advanced technical skills. Also, communications remains an integral part of the job and encourages students to consider the academic development option.
Common courses may include textiles, color, pattern making, sewing, tailoring, fashion history, and more.
- Make Contacts. Use your preparation period to cultivate valuable industry and career contacts that you can leverage when job-hunting.
- Continue Learning. Your fashion design career should be what you make it.
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