Do you dream of having your own fashion label? Do you have an eye for beautiful fabrics, cutting-edge colors and fascinating patterns? Are you passionate about combining your love of fashion with business? If so, you might be just the person who can succeed in becoming a fashion designer.
The primary responsibilities of fashion designers generally involve creating clothing lines for both men and women, often collaborating with other designers to create exciting new styles. The Fashion Designer will typically travel to different shows, attend fashion shows and constantly fine-tune the latest trends in the field to spot subtle trends and interpret particular color palettes, prints and patterns for each season. By hand, you will sketch your designs, create intricate technical drawings with software and address potential buyers as an experienced marketer.
Although you’ll eventually create new clothing lines for both genders, your primary responsibility will be developing new fabric designs that fit the latest fashion trends. A Fashion Designer’s life usually begins with women’s clothes. She will initially choose fabrics and patterns that will best show the latest trends in what is considered ‘funky.’ These decisions often include deciding whether or not to use bright, vibrantly colored silks and georgettes, and whether or not to incorporate intricate stitching patterns. If you are interested in taking your passion for fashion to the next level, then you may wish to consider pursuing a technical designer career. This will require that you have an advanced level of education, typically a bachelor’s degree, in the areas of textiles, fashion design and tailoring.
The Fashion Designers whose work is aimed at younger customers tend to choose more casual styles, often using bright colors and fast, playful patterns. Their clothes tend to be relaxed and comfortable, and they are usually adorned with bright, whimsical prints. Unlike the more elite technical designers, fashion designers typically do not have a lot of experience in designing women’s clothing, as their work typically involves sourcing garments from garment manufacturers and working with cutters to create custom fits.
Many Fashion Designers specialize in creating apparel for children, and other specialized clients. There are also female fashion designers who create lingerie for men, and fashion designers who focus on producing women’s footwear. These specialized fashion specialists may even be responsible for developing and launching a line of clothing for a company’s entire line of clothing.
There are also many Fashion Designers working in the fashion industry who, in addition to creating new and exciting outfits, are also responsible for helping to produce ready-to-wear clothing. This includes assisting in the development of advertising campaigns. This type of work can be very fulfilling and enjoyable, but will also require a lot of hard work. When becoming a fashion designer, you will probably need to start by working in a smaller capacity at first, until you establish yourself in the field and have enough experience under your belt to attract serious funding for your first production. Once you are ready for the big time, you may be able to take on full-time employment as a clothing designer.
