Fashion Designer 

Responsiblities:

·         producing concepts

·         making sketches by hand or on the computer

·         developing patterns

·         overseeing production

·         Analysing trends in fabrics, colours and shapes.

 

 

 

 Personal Characteristics:

•      to be creative
• an eye for colour, texture and pattern
• the ability to visualise things in three dimensions
• technical skills in areas such as pattern cutting, grading and garment construction
• to be able to draw, either by hand or on the computer
• good communication skills to explain their ideas clearly and persuasively
• the ability to meet deadlines and work within a budget
• business skills and commercial awareness, particularly if they are self-employed
• good negotiation skills when selling their own designs
• to keep ahead of trends in colour, fabric and style
• Strong organisational skills.

 

Educational Background:

   Fashion designers usually start their career after taking an HNC/HND or a degree in fashion. There are many different courses available, some of which give a general grounding in fashion design, while others focus on manufacturing and clothing technology. Most college and universities require evidence of academic achievement, including GCSEs/S grades. A strong portfolio of work is needed to gain employment. Associate's degree programs in fashion design are 2-year programs that equip students with fundamental, technical design skills, such as tailoring, sewing and basic fashion theories. Bachelor's degree programs generally last four years and tends to offer more extensive career training, combining technical coursework with artistic and conceptual instruction. Courses may include fashion drawing, 3-D design, color theory, textiles, computer-aided design, fashion business and portfolio presentation. Universities and colleges that offer pragmas for fashion designers is:


·         Trios College


·         Everest College


·         CDI College


·         Trillium College


·         Ryerson University etc.

Advancement:

     Design Assistant

·         Design Assistant is an entry level fashion design opportunity that is more administrative than creative, with duties including assisting the design team with fashion illustration and storyboard layout. Many college graduates start at this level. Typically after six months working as a design assistant the next advancement opportunity is an assistant designer position.

Assistant Designer

·         Assistant designers are similar to design assistants, however the assistant designer gets more hands on production experience with pattern making and assisting with sample garment construction. Typically after spending three or more years as an assistant designer you can advance to an associate designer or technical designer position.

Associate Designer

·         The associate designer participates in designing garments for the seasonal collections and works closely with the head designer for creative input and design approval. With five or more years’ experience as an associate designer, you can seek out a position as a head designer.

Technical Designer

·         According to CareerThreads.com, technical designers are responsible for making sure the fashion designer's sketch can be made into a wearable garment by overseeing the production side of creating a fashion line. As with the associate designer you will need at least five years’ experience as a technical designer to advance to head designer.

Head Designer

·         The head designer is responsible for the fashion collections produced each season regardless if the collections are failures or successes. Typically a minimum of five years’ work experience as an associate designer or technical designer is needed to progress to this level; however, it is common for a design firm to require seven to 10 years’ experience.

F    Future Outlook:

    I think there is a future outlook for Fashion designers and a career in the fashion industry can offer you many unique, exciting opportunities. No matter what your area of interest entails, there are numerous opportunities in the ever-changing industry of fashion. If you are interested in fashion jobs, you must be ready and willing to start at lower positions and work your way up to higher level positions. The fashion industry has a range of careers for beginners. The L.A. Times reports that the fashion industry is a $300 billion business, yet there are major changes that are occurring in the industry that can threaten the money making potential. A major impact for the future of the fashion industry is the Internet. It is changing the ways clothes are designed, marketed, and purchased. The Internet allows consumers to have fashion at their fingertips. Customers can browse numerous Web sites for the style they want, the price they can afford, and the brand they want to purchase. Runway looks are mimicked immediately through online stores instead of the six to eight months shoppers would normally wait for the latest fashion trends. Consumers are also spending less on high-end clothing due to the recession and hard economic times, meaning designers need to be prepared to consider lower cost materials and production methods. But there may be one negative effect which is climate change as the climate changes there are fewer materials to create clothing for the growing population in the world. To respond to this challenge, some designers are focusing on green or eco-friendly design by using sustainable textiles in their design. 

Salary:

      These figures are only a guide, as actual rates of pay may vary, depending on the employer and where people live.

·         The starting salary for a newly-qualified designer may be around $13,000 to $15,000 a year.

·         With more experience, they may earn approximately $22,000 a year.

·         Senior designers may earn up to $60,000 a year.

Freelance designers charge per design. They may have to pay commission to their agents.

 

   Companies:

·         Urban Outfitters

·         The Johnson Group Inc.

·         Warnaco

·         Penney

·         FILTER etc.

Negative Aspects:

·         A budding fashion designer must be prepared to work long hours. Fashion houses may be working under deadlines or working with clients to meet their specific needs. During times like this, which could be ongoing, fashion designers could work 12-hour days. Because the industry is competitive, an individual must be willing to work these hours or be easily replaced by someone else.

·         Many people may picture an average day in the life of a fashion designer as sketching ideas and working with luxurious fabrics all day. However, this is not reality. Fashion designers have various chores on a daily basis. Completing paperwork, such as specification sheets, may be a daily function. Specification sheets include measurements, color sample specifications and a description of the product.

·         The fashion industry attracts many people. According to the website Fashion Designer Salary Data, in addition to the competitive nature of the industry, many positions are concentrated in Los Angeles or New York. Fashion designers do not have the luxury of being able to get a job in any city.

·         A starting salary for a fashion designer may not be as glamorous as its job description. Low salaries are often the norm for an entry-level design position, notes Fashion Designer Salary Data.

 

 

Why I am Interested:

      The reason I’m interesting in maybe becoming a fashion designers because it’s the same as my interest for example, I have look out for trends and clothing fashion and also art and design. It is also an interesting career and looks like fun even though you may be doing a lot of work. You meet new people and as show what you are capable of and what you can bring to the table. It’s all your design and not something you copied. It really gives you the opportunity to explore the different types of fashion and their aspects.

 Personal Characteristics:

 To be honest I do not have many but I can work on developing some characteristics required for this job but the characteristics I do have are:

Creativity

Having an eye for color and patterns

I am very organized

I keep up with trend and fashion

I have really good business schools and I’m very interested in it

This is not much but I hope to improve in the future to gain more characteristics for this career and I’m very determined to get it done.