lefashionlab

What do fashion designers do?

Blog / By

Introduction: In the dynamic world of fashion, the role of a fashion designer goes beyond sketching glamorous outfits. This blog post delves into the multifaceted responsibilities of a fashion designer, from conceptualizing designs to the intricacies of production.

Conceptualization and Trend Analysis: A fashion designer’s journey begins with a keen eye for trends and an understanding of their target audience. By tapping into the pulse of the fashion world, designers draw inspiration and conceptualize unique ideas that resonate with their customers.

Color Palette and Fabric Selection: Translating concepts into tangible designs involves the careful selection of colors and fabrics. A fashion designer meticulously curates a color palette that complements the chosen theme, while also considering seasonal appropriateness. The choice of fabrics is equally crucial, as it impacts the overall look, feel, and functionality of the garments.

Styles and Silhouettes: The artistry of a fashion designer shines through in the creation of styles and silhouettes. Balancing aesthetics with market trends, designers craft garments that not only reflect their creative vision but also align with consumer preferences. This process involves a deep understanding of garment construction and patternmaking.

Assortment Editing: Crafting a successful fashion collection requires a discerning eye for assortment editing. Designers must carefully curate the collection, striking a delicate balance between aesthetics and potential profitability. This involves making strategic decisions on which pieces will make the final cut, ensuring a cohesive and marketable assortment.

In-House Production and Custom Design: Some fashion designers take a hands-on approach to bring their creations to life. With skills in sewing, patternmaking, and garment construction, they have the ability to produce garments in-house. Custom fashion designers, in particular, specialize in creating bespoke, precisely fitting garments tailored to individual clients.

Outsourcing in Ready-to-Wear Fashion: For ready-to-wear fashion designers, the production process often involves collaboration with manufacturers. After providing manufacturers with samples, patterns, flat sketches, or detailed tech packs, designers oversee the production process to ensure the final products align with their original vision.

Conclusion: A fashion designer’s role is a dynamic blend of creativity, business acumen, and technical expertise. From the initial spark of inspiration to the final runway or retail display, designers navigate a complex journey, shaping the way we express ourselves through clothing. Whether working on custom pieces or ready-to-wear collections, the fashion designer’s impact extends far beyond the runway, influencing the way we perceive and engage with the world of style.

What is a Fashion Designer?

Blog / By

What is a fashion designer? The answer is somewhat obvious based on the title itself – a fashion designer is someone who “designs fashion.” But, digging deeper into this topic, what a fashion designer does depends on the fashion/apparel being designed and the context(e.g. who is  the customer?)

There are different types of fashion designers: there’s the designer who creates custom garments for individual clients, and there’s the designer who creates ready-to-wear garments available in different size ranges for “the masses.” Even within “the masses” there are varying degrees – for example, a smaller apparel line would have a more niche market/customer base than a corporate brand/mass retailer. The skills that are required for both types of fashion designers are the same. But, depending on whether the focus is on custom garments or ready-to-wear pieces for “the masses” the focus/emphasis is different. 

The skills required for all designers are – sketching and illustration; an understanding of fabric and how different fabric types translate in specific designs; sewing; patternmaking and garment construction; computer-aided design skills such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and CAD Design; and intangible eye for and understanding of beauty, color coordination, proportion, and trends. However, as mentioned above, the emphasis on each skill is different depending on the design context/setting (I.e. are you designing for a custom client or not?)

Skill

✅ High importance
👌 Medium importance
❌less important

C
U
S
T
O
M

C
O
R
P
O
R
A
T
E

Explanation

Sketching and Illustration

👌

✅

As a custom designer, it’s helpful to be a good sketch artist/illustrator. With this skill, you can work with your client to finalize a design – the sketch helps to provide a visual of the final outcome before a decision is reached. With this skill, there’s less chance for disagreement between designer and client because the sketch helps to solidify the final plans.
However, as a corporate designer, being a good illustrator is not only helpful – it’s virtually mandatory. As you make your way into the industry, your sketching/illustration skills are often reviewed (in the form of a portfolio) and that can help make the decision about whether or not you are offered a job.

An understanding of fabric and how different fabric types translate in specific designs

✅

 

✅

 

This is a mandatory skill for both the custom designer and the corporate designer. The custom designer will use this skill to make garments for his/her clients. While the corporate designer will not be sewing the garment, he/she needs to know how a certain fabric will translate into a specific design just based on a sketch or idea. This skill can be developed with a combination of the right training and experience.

Sewing

✅

❌

 

A custom designer must know how to sew. This is a major part of what this person does daily as he/she is responsible for making final garments for clients. As a corporate designer, this skill is not nearly as important. The corporate designer does not make clothes (although, in some companies, a corporate designer will mockup garments for presentation purposes). While the corporate designer does not make clothing, knowledge of sewing will only aid the design process as it helps to know what is or isn’t

Patternmaking and Garment Construction

✅

 

👌

 

Like sewing, a custom designer must know how to make patterns and garments. This is the very basis of what this person does daily. Some boldly branch out into this line of work without a solid understanding of patternmaking – thus being limited to purchasing patterns and attempting to adjust them to match their design intentions. Ultimately, without a very strong understanding of patternmaking and garment construction, a custom designer is extremely limited. Without these skills, he/she will not truly be able to satisfy clients with correctly fitting garments – especially if these clients have a more unique body type.
These are not mandatory skills for a corporate designer. However, a strong understanding of patternmaking and garment construction is very helpful in understanding design and fit.
(It is important to mention that there is such a thing as a Corporate Patternmaker. A corporate patternmaker must have patternmaking and garment construction skills to function on the job.)

Computer Aided Design

❌

✅

 

Computer Aided Design, in some form or the other, is mandatory for corporate designers. A corporate aesthetic designer spends a lot of time using Adobe Illustrator to sketch out designs. This is a mandatory skill for the entry-level designer all the way up to a Senior or Principal Designer. Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop is also important. A corporate patternmaker must know how to use Computer Aided Design Software (such as Gerber, Lectra, etc.) to create patterns digitally. Use of these patternmaking software first requires a thorough understanding of how to make these patterns by hand.

An intangible eye for and understanding of beauty, color coordination, proportion and trends

👌

 

✅

 

This intangible element of creativity specific to fashion design – understanding of beauty, color coordination, proportion, and how to apply relevant trends to different garments and customer bases – is mandatory in a corporate setting. This skill helps a designer to thrive and create “sale-able” garments. It is also a skill that is evaluated or tested (through a portfolio) before a candidate is hired for this role.
This skill is somewhat less relevant for a custom designer – because clients often come with clear ideas about what they want to wear. However, of course, it is still a helpful skill even as a custom designer – especially if the designer likes/wants to create unique pieces for clients to choose from.

I hope this helped to clarify “what/who is a fashion designer?” and the skills that help a person thrive in this role/industry.

How much do fashion designers make?

Blog / By

The world/life of a fashion designer can be closed-off and mysterious. Ever protective of their seemingly luxurious livelihood, fashion designers don’t readily share the details of their careers (how to get started, how to build a solid portfolio, etc.), much less about salaries in the field.

Salary transparency continues to be an ongoing issue. There’s a lot of secrecy around actual dollar amounts; but, to decide if it’s a worthwhile career, salary transparency should be mandatory.

When I first ventured into the industry as an intern at one of the largest retailers in the US, I was curious about the salary designers made. I decided to be direct about my inquiry, asking one of the designers there how much she earned. Apparently, this was a taboo topic; her discomfort was visible (picture blushed cheeks and an attempt to side-step the question). But she answered – and that answer was what I needed to 
(i) help decide if the industry was worth it for me (it was!);
(ii) put me in a better position to negotiate with the HR Department, and
(iii) helped to ensure that the offer I received was fair and in line with others doing similar tasks. No dream is big enough to permanently sacrifice a decent livelihood.

The entry-level salary she mentioned was $40,000 per year in 2009. I should note that I targeted this company because they were known to offer a higher starting salary than other more prestigious, higher-end companies in the fashion/apparel industry. With that in mind, a higher-end company in a bigger city might offer about $5,000-$8,000 less (and with a higher cost of living). Since I was completing a Master’s Degree, I was able to negotiate for $4,000 above that entry-level benchmark (a horrible ROI considering my Master’s Degree cost about $100K).

The mid-level of a fashion design career is wide; and so is the salary range. At this level, you’re looking at anything above the entry level salary to about $80,000 or there about. Senior level can easily command $100k+. And Managerial, Director and C-Suite Levels can easily be in the multi-six-figure range.

Of course, the caveat to this is the size of the company you work for. Larger companies typically pay higher salaries; with smaller companies potentially offering 25% or so less. And, of course, the location of the company will also play a role in determining salaries. Bigger cities with a higher cost of living typically command higher salaries. But your smaller salary could go further in a smaller city with a lower cost of living.

Ultimately, we’re here to shed some light on this mysterious fashion industry. The more you know, the more you can determine if this industry is truly the right fit for you. And, if it is, how you will go about getting your foot (better yet, feet) in the door.

Shopping Cart