Your Career as a Fashion Designer

30 Pages·2013·3.32 MB·english

by  Institute For Career Research

CAREER AS A
FASHION DESIGNER
In sti tute Re search Num ber 99
ISBN 1-58511-099-X
DOT Num ber 142.061-018
O*Net SOC Code 27-1022.00
CAREER AS A
FASHION DESIGNER
Tommy Hilfiger
Norma Kamali
Ralph Lauren
Donna Karan
Mark Jacobs
Betsey John son
THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE FASHI ON DES IGN ERS BEH IND EACH SEAS ON’S
hot test looks. Their names are stamped on our clothes, in side and out.
Their log os are splashed across scarves, sweatshirts, and handb ags.
Their names carry so much weight, they de sign ev ery thing from socks
to bed line ns to car int e ri ors.
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These fa mous fash ion de sign ers and many more not-so-fa mous
de sign ers in flu ence ev ery thing we wear from un der wear to over coats.
We see their cre ations in fashi on maga z ines, in the mov ies and on
telev is ion, in dep artm ent store wind ows, in cata l ogs, on mann eq uins
in fancy shops, and on the racks in lowly dis count stores.
Most peo ple as so ci ate fash ion de sign ers with the kind of high
fash ion seen only on the run way. But fash ion de sign ers range from the
hand ful of haute cou ture de sign ers who cre ate ex clu sive de signs for
high fash ion sa lons (where most of us can’t af ford to shop) to those
who work in the gar ment in dus try cre at ing cloth ing for the mass
mark et that will be worn by mill ions of Amer ic ans. The fact is that
ev ery piece of cloth ing we wear – steel-toed work boots, flan nel
bath robe, plain white boxer shorts, or sparkly eve ning gown – has to
be de signed by some one. That some one, fa mous or not, is a fash ion
de signer.
Fash ion de sign ers cre ate the fash ions for men, women, and
chil dren to wear morn ing and night, at work and at play. Most
spe ciali ze in one part icu l ar type of clothi ng, such as bridal gowns,
swimw ear, ling e rie, inf ant’s clothi ng, unif orms, or men’s suits. They
work for fash ion sa lons, tex tile man u fac tur ers, big chain de part ment
stores, and pat tern man u fac tur ers. Some pre fer to free lance and build
their own cli en tele of in di vid ual cus tom ers, spe cialty shops, and
man u fac tur ers.
A fash ion de signer stays on top of cur rent fash ion trends the same
way we all do – by readi ng maga z ines, checki ng out what the act ors
are wear ing on tele vi sion, and win dow-shop ping. Only the top
de signe rs get to be fashi on leade rs and crea te comp letely orig i nal
de signs. Most de sign ers adapt ex ist ing de signs ac cord ing to
well-es tabl ished guidel ines and trends.
Any one in ter ested in this ca reer should be able to draw, have a
good eye for color and form, be able to sew, and have an ob ses sion
for fash ion. It is pos si ble to en ter the field with just a high school
di ploma, but it is not reco mm ended. Fashi on des ign is cons id ered by
many to be a glam or ous ca reer and it at tracts many tal ented peo ple.
The com pe ti tion is stiff for be gin ners. You should have at least a
two-year de gree in fash ion de sign and a good port fo lio packed with
ex amp les your great ideas.
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A car eer in fashi on des ign has a lot goi ng for it. It is ex citi ng,
crea tive, and chall engi ng. The edu c at ional req uirem ents are mini m al
and the earn ings are good, and for some very succ ess ful de sign ers,
ex traord in ary. The job mark et is small, but grow ing steadily. There are
op por tu ni ties for in ter na tional travel. And if you have the tal ent, there
is al ways a chance for fame and for tune.
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW
HIGH SCHOOL STU DENTS INT ERE STED IN FASHI ON DES IGN SHOULD TAKE AS MANY
art classes as poss ib le. Bei ng able to sketch is ess ent ial, but don’t limit
yours elf to drawi ng class. A course in art hist ory might seem irr el e vant
now, but what you learn there will be very use ful in your ca reer.
Nat u rally, any fash ion or de sign courses are a must. Even if you al ready
know how to sew, take any avail able sew ing classes. Other help ful
courses inc lude math, busin ess, speech, Eng lish, and for eign lang uage
– es pe cially French or Span ish.
Read. Foll ow the trends by read ing all the fashi on mag az ines you
can get your hands on. Sub scribe to the bi ble of the fash ion in dus try,
Women’s Wear Daily. Pro fess ional fashi on des igne rs (and ev ery one else
in the fash ion in dus try) read it re li giously to stay in the know about
what’s go ing on in the in dus try and to keep up with ev ery-chang ing
trends.
Experiment Even if you aren’t sure what you’re doing, try your hand
at designing and making some clothes. Pick up some cheap clothing at
the nearest thrift shop or yard sales. Take them apart and redesign
them into new shapes with different trims. It is a great way to exercise
your creativity. Plus, you will learn a lot about how clothes are
constructed.
Explore Visit art galleries, attend fashion shows, pay attention to
what trend setters are wearing on TV, and make regular trips to the
mall to check out what’s new. If there is a garment factory in your city,
ask your school guidance counselor to help you arrange for a tour so
you can see the pros at work.
Work A job in the summer or after school in a clothing store will give
you an education in fashion merchandising. A job in a fabric store
would provide an excellent opportunity to learn about textiles,
notions, trims, and patterns.
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HISTORY OF THE PROFESSION
PEO PLE HAVE BEEN WEAR ING CLOTHI NG SINCE THE BEG IN NING OF TIME, BUT AT
first putti ng on clothi ng was solely a prac ti cal matt er. Tod ay, ani mal
prints are the rage and no ward robe would be com plete with out a
leop ard print dress or faux fur jacket. But cave men and women had
no idea how styli sh they were when they wrapped thems elves in real
ani mal pelts – they just wanted to stay warm. Clothi ng rem ained
pri mari ly util i tar ian for thous ands of years, with most garm ents be ing
hand made at home.
Per haps the first fash ion maven in his tory was Cle o pa tra, but it
was her makeup and ac ces so ries that made a state ment, not the
shapel ess fabr ic draped like cur tains. Nonet he less, the Queen of the
Nile set a his tor i cal pre ce dent – po lit i cal fig ures, roy alty, and other
cul tural icons have since in flu enced what we wear, set ting fash ion
trends through out the cen tu ries.
Fashi on des ign as a prof es sion started in the 1600s and it beg an
right where to day’s fash ion cen ter of the world is – in France. Around
the mid dle of the cen tury, it was the fa mous French King Louis XIV
who said that “fash ion is a mir ror.” Louis was re nowned for his style,
which inc luded heavy use of ext rav ag ant laces and vel vets. It was an
ind ulg ence only the exc eed ingly rich could aff ord. For a while at least,
fashi on seemed dest ined to be res erved for the ari st oc racy and
priv i leged classes. But by the 1700s, fashi on mag az ines were
publ ishi ng the late st styles so even comm on folks could see what was
go ing in in side the French Court – though they could only dream of
wear ing such fin ery.
The first cele brated fashi on des igner was also French. She was
Rose Bert in, a French mill in er who dressed Mar ie Ant oin ette in the late
18th cen tury. Women’s fash ions dur ing the French Rev o lu tion were
heavily in flue nced by Ber tin’s de signs. Wealthy women and
pro fes sional dress mak ers paid big bucks to any one who could pro vide
sketches of the royal ward robes be fore the pop u lar press got them.
Soon af ter the turn of the cen tury, fash ion de sign came to be
def ined by eras. The Georg ian Era, named aft er George III, lasted from
1800 to 1820. Fash ions from this era were known as Re gency Fash ion.
It was based on class i cal princ ip les; only the or nam en ta tion changed.
Greek in spired bord ers evolved to more exo tic Egypt ian, Spani sh, and
orie n tal de cor ins pired by Nap ol eon’s ex pe di tions. Near the end of the
Geor gian Era, Gothic inf lue nces dis solved the clas si cal lines, maki ng
way for the Ro man tic Era. The ro man tic spirit lin gered un til 1850.
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All garm ents were made by hand unt il 1846 when Elias inv ented
the sewi ng ma chine. Soon, fash ion houses were set ting up fac to ries
where fashi ona ble clothi ng could be pro duced quickly and in large
quan ti ties. For the first time, even or di nary peo ple could af ford to be
fash ion able.
Up unt il this time, fashi on des igne rs were al most all women. But
in 1858, an Engl ish tail or named Charles Fred er ick Worth opened a
fashi on house in Paris. He had im pec cab le ref er ences, hav ing been the
cout u rier for Em press Eugenie (cons ort of Na po leon III). In his Paris
sal on, Worth crea ted de signs for ac tresses and other wealthy ce leb rity
cli ents who could af ford to have cloth ing de signed spe cif i cally for
them. Worth is cons id ered the first mod ern cou tu rier for sev eral
rea sons. He was the first de signer to sel ect his own fabr ics rather than
usi ng fabr ics prov ided by cli ents. He was also the first to disp lay his
de signs on live mode ls.
The Vic to rian Era of the 1800s lasted for 64 years. Through out this
pe riod, fashi ons evolved from bus tles to Gib son Girls to tai lor made
suits. The Vic to rian Era and the 19th cen tury ended with a bang in a
pe riod known as the Naughty Nineties.
Next came Art Nouv eau with its gracef ul lin ear curves in dress,
deco r at ive arts and de sign. This was the first style to domi nate the
world of de sign in all forms in clud ing fash ion, fur ni ture, fine art,
jew elry, ar chi tec ture, and home décor ac ces so ries. Such ma jor de sign
styles that set the tone for fash ion able liv ing are rare. Art Deco of the
1930s and Space Age (also known as Atomic) of the 1950s were the
only two to come close to hav ing the all-en com pass ing in flu ence of
Art Nou veau. Erté, con sid ered the fa ther of Art Deco, was not a
fash ion de signer and yet he in flu enced nearly all fash ion de sign ers
be tween 1915 and 1936.
From 1939 to 1945, fashi on was aff ected most by the World War.
Clothi ng in Great Brita in was ac tua lly rat ioned und er the Ci vil ian
Clothi ng Utili ty Scheme. Garm ents were aust ere and pract i cal,
re flect ing the mil i tary gar ments of war time. When the war was over,
fash ion bounced back with lav ish use of fab rics in full-skirted dresses
and Hol ly wood glam our.
One of hist ory’s most cel e brated fashi on des igne rs, Chris tian Dior
launched his new line in 1947. Life mag az ine dubbed it “The New
Look.” It was one of the lon gest last ing “looks” any de signer has ever
pro duced, re main ing fash ion able for about 10 years.
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The 1950s brought huge changes to all ar eas of life in Amer ica.
For the first time in his tory, fashi on was spec ifi cally de signed for young
men and women, coined “teen ag ers.” Rock and roll icons like El vis
Presl ey and James Dean ins pired teena ge fash ion. Jeans made their
de but as a fash ion sta ple, and sep a rates were pop u lar for the first
time be cause they were comf orta ble for danc ing to lively mus ic.
Haute cou ture took a back seat to ready-to-wear from 1950
on ward. French de sign ers put up the most re sis tance to the idea of
fash ion for the masses, but even there, prêt-à-por ter (ready to wear)
even tu ally out sold haute cou ture sa lons.
It was n’t long un til fash ion de sign ers fig ured out that they could
reach a much larger mar ket (and make a lot more money) by get ting
into the re tail mark et them selves. Dur ing the Swinging Sixties in
Lond on, de signer Mary Quant opened a string of in di vid ual re tail
out lets on both sides of the pond. She ap pealed to the teen age
pop u la tion by pro duc ing youth ful clothes for the big gest mar ket of all
time – baby boom ers.
Through out the sec ond half of the 20th cen tury, fash ion was
de fined by de cades. The 1960s were filled with Op Art and mini skirts.
The 1970s started with the peasa nt look popu l ari zed by hipp ies and
ended with the flashy night club looks of Disco Fe ver.
The 1980s had two main styles, The New Rom an tics and Power
Dress ing. Dia na the Princ ess of Wales was the fashi on leader for the
New Ro man tics, mov ing the fem i nine look into main stream fash ion.
Meanw hile, yupp ies ev ery where foll owed the adv ice in John Moll oy’s
Dress For Suc cess. The book had women wear ing suits with shoul der
pads and men wear ing red sus pend ers and ties. The two looks were
repr es ented by then UK Prime Mini st er, Marg ar et Thatcher and
Prin cess Di ana. While Dia na was seen on maga z ine cove rs in flowi ng
chif fon, Thatcher was seen on daily TV in her struc tured power suits
that de manded re spect for her au thor ity.
The cen tury ended with a glam our back lash. Grunge only lasted a
year – deconstruc tionism had seams and zipp ers on the out side of
gar ments and minimalism re duced cloth ing to neu tral tones in
sculp tural shapes. Gone were the glitz and glam our of the 1980s. In
was the pur ism of neu tral tints and shades of black, white, gray, and
beige with litt le or no jewe lry. De signers like Donna Karan, Giorgio
Armani, and Calv in Klein prod uced “mode rn class ics” within a
frame work of pure funct ion and nat u ral sim plic ity.
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Fash ion trends have a way of re turn ing. There is a say ing that if
you keep some thing in your closet long enough, it will come back into
style. Some de signe rs use styles of byg one eras to crea te en tirely new
lines. For ex amp le, in the 1990s, fashi on des igne rs Ghost and Tom
Ford found suc cess by brush ing up old looks from the 1960s. They
added dif fer ent trims and de vel oped vari a tions to pop u lar ize the
“new” BoHo style.
One thing is cert ain in fash ion. It is alw ays chang ing. New fashi on
ideas come from mus ic, tele vi sion, and world events. A mu sic video or
sing le hit movie can spawn a fashi on rage. Ray-Ban sold mill ions of
sung lasses aft er the movie Men in Black. And pare nts shudd er when
their young daugh ters dress for school look ing like Brittany Spears.
WHERE YOU WILL WORK
NEW YORK CITY, SAN FRANC ISCO, AND LOS ANG ELES ARE THE MAJ OR FASHI ON
cent ers in the US. These citi es are home to large and small comp an ies
that em ploy the ma jor ity of Amer i can fash ion de sign ers. You can find
some de sign jobs in Chic ago, Dall as, and other big cit ies, but only in
very small num bers.
A few fash ion de sign ers are lucky enough to work in large fash ion
houses such as Liz Claiborne or Calv in Klein. It is usu ally diff ic ult to get
hired by one of the top fash ion houses be cause there is so much
comp e ti tion for a limi ted numb er of cove ted po sit ions. There are
how ever, some maj or de signer lab els that have dev elo ped a need for
more fash ion de sign ers be cause they now also make clothes for the
mass mar ket. Donna Karan, for ex am ple, has a sec ond ary line of lower
priced clothi ng that sells un der the la bel DKNY. Giorgio Armani has an
equally succ essf ul seco nda ry lab el for men called Emporio.
Most fash ion de sign ers do not work for fa mous de sign houses nor
do they work in high fash ion. Most work for large gar ment
man u fac tur ers that pro duce cloth ing for the mass mar ket un der
mult i ple lab els. Many are inhouse des igne rs for maj or re taile rs such as
K-Mart, Tar get, and JC Penney. Small spe cialty shops and bout iques
also have their own fash ion de sign ers on staff. They cre ate de signs for
off-the-rack gar ments as well as fill ing cus tom or ders for cus tom ers
who are willi ng to pay for exc lus ive de signs that no one else will be
able to buy.
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Not all fash ion de sign ers work for ap parel man u fac tur ers. Fash ion
de sign ers work in a num ber of dif fer ent in dus tries de sign ing tex tiles,
pa per pat terns for home sew ing, shoes, and var i ous ac ces so ries. A
small num ber work for en ter tain ment pro duc tion com pa nies as
cos tume de sign ers for tele vi sion, mov ies, the ater, and bal let. Fash ion
de sign ers have even more into the home fur nish ings field, which is
now com monly known as “home fash ions.” They de sign items like bed
and bath line ns, drap er ies, and rugs.
The work en vi ron ment for de sign ers var ies de pend ing on the
ind ust ry and size and type of em ployer. Some spend pleas ant days
with one or two co-work ers in quiet and spa cious rooms with am ple
natu r al light. Many more work in crowded workr ooms filled with big
tab les, noisy cutt ing and sewi ng mac hines, and mini m al vent il at ion.
For tu nately, fash ion de sign ers do not spend all their time in their
work rooms. They are of ten seen out and about, get ting ideas and
check ing out the com pe ti tion. They visit art mu se ums, stores,
show rooms, con fer ences, and fash ion shows. Many travel to other
cit ies or even other count ries to show their new lines to buy ers.
Many fash ion de sign ers work as freelancers. They work in their
own stud ios and also spend time meet ing with buy ers, sales reps,
pro duc tion work ers, and other de sign ers.
THE WORK YOU WILL DO
FASH ION DE SIGN ERS CRE ATE ALL KINDS OF GARM ENTS AND ACC ESS OR IES. MOST
work in men’s, women’s, or child ren’s wear for their ent ire car eers.
Many spe cial ize in one type of cloth ing or ac ces sory such as ma ter nity
wear, suits, ling e rie, handb ags, or shoes.
There are a small num ber of high-fash ion de sign ers who ca ter
di rectly to in di vid ual clie nts. These are the de signe rs you know by
name, the ce leb rity trendsetters for the in dus try. Ev ery one fol lows
their lead in terms of sil houe tte, col ors, fabr ics, and trims that will be
in style each sea son. Some of these self-em ployed de signe rs head their
own fash ion houses; oth ers de velop sig na ture lines for spe cialty stores,
high-end bou tiques, or ups cale dep artm ent stores. At this level, there
is glamo ur and exc item ent, but it is also ext remely comp et it ive. Top
de sign ers pos sess a unique com bi na tion of orig i nal ity, art istry,
tech ni cal ex per tise, net work ing skills, and busi ness savvy.
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The ma jor ity of fash ion de sign ers work for ap parel man u fac tur ers.
They gen er ally fol low the fash ion trends set by the high pro file
de sign ers rather than cre ate orig i nal styles of their own. They work
und er the di rect ion of their em ploye rs, adapti ng des igns for the mass
mar ket to meet the tastes and price re quire ments of cus tom ers.
A large garm ent fact ory will typ i cally em ploy a staff of de signe rs
inc ludi ng a head des igner, sev eral as sis tant de signe rs, and one or more
samp le make rs. In some cases, des igne rs are in volved in ev ery step of
the pro duc tion. They come up with the ideas, choose the fab rics and
trims, do cost es ti mates and prici ng of fin ished prod ucts, and work
coo p er a tively with those who ac tu ally make the gar ments.
The work room is home base for fash ion de sign ers. But de sign ers
also spend a great deal of time ex plor ing and con duct ing re search.
They visit tex tile comp an ies to learn about new fabr ics and trims. They
browse through re tail stores, read fash ion mag a zines, visit
show rooms, and at tend fash ion shows. The pur pose is to not only see
what is avail able, but to get a feel for what cus tom ers are buy ing, or
re ject ing. For in spi ra tion, mu se ums and art gal ler ies are great sources
of ideas about color and com po si tion. Fash ion de sign ers keep their
eyes open wher ever they go, tak ing no tice of what peo ple are wear ing
in the real world. Very of ten, de signs are based on street trends.
Back in the work room, ev ery thing be gins with a sketch. Ideas for
orig i nal de signs can come from just about any thing – cul tural trends,
pop stars, ex otic vac at ions, old movi es, mag az ines, curr ent events, and
new tex tiles. Sketches are some times done on a com puter, but most
de signe rs still pre fer to crea te rough sketches with penc il and pa per.
Working eit her alone or with a des ign team, the idea is fleshed
out. The de signer com bines ba sic dress mak ing and tai lor ing prin ci ples
with flat patt ern work and drap ing techn iques to dev elop the de sign.
The fin al des ign is given to a pat tern maker to crea te samp les.
Pat tern pieces are drawn on pa per, then cut out of mus lin. The mus lin
pieces are sewn to gether by a seam stress into a rough mock-up that is
fitt ed on a real-life model. The de signer ex ami nes the samp le garm ent
both on and off the model. If the sam ple does n’t look right, it is
changed unt il the de sign achieves the de sired ef fect. Once the de sign
it self is acc ept able, the pat tern pieces are mod i fied, feat ures are
added, and a rough mock-up of the com pleted de sign is made. The
de sign team then chooses mat e ri als and writes speci f ic at ions for the
pro duc tion work ers that might in clude the color schemes or spe cific
ins truct ions for cons truct ion.
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