10 Education Requirements for a Fashion Designer
The profession of clothing designer emerged at the end of the XIX century when mass production of large-scale clothing was actively developing, and there was a need to create practical, comfortable, and, at the same time, beautiful clothes. Today, a fashion designer is one of the most prestigious and popular creative professions.
Working in the world of fashion allows a person to realize their creative potential, communicate and work with celebrities, go on business trips abroad and earn good money. You can make a name for yourself in different areas: men’s clothing design, women’s clothing, children’s clothing, wedding dresses, lingerie, costumes for theater, sports, and cinema.
In the innovative 60s of the 20th century, astronaut or engineer professions were considered “fashionable,” in the 80’s it was cool to have a degree in engineering, and now to achieve the status of a famous designer – all that modern youth seeks. Websites, technology, interiors, clothes, no matter where you look – a field for imagination and creativity. Did you know that practice shows that you don’t have to have a university degree to become a successful fashion designer? The main thing is to have unique ideas and a key audience!
Knowledge of costume history
Costume history is a background that helps designers to move forward. We bet there are no exceptions — all prominent designers know the Costume History subject and use this knowledge in their work. Knowing the history, you can apply it to your future creations without repeating other masters. If you follow fashion shows and magazines, you see that many designers talk about “rethinking” some period in costume history, using some inspiring elements, combining them with new trends, etc. It is a part of the fashion design world that cannot be ignored. If the courses you plan to attend don’t pay enough attention to the costume history part, it is better to choose other courses. To make it easier for you to handle all your writing assignments (including those covering the topic of costume history), a cheap essay writing service can be of great help.
Ability to draw by hand and in computer programs
You need both. You need to draw and redraw, and edit, and come up with how new materials look, etc. You need to know how to draw both by hand and in computer programs, but if you, for now, you only can do one of these things — it is still a good start. All you need is to continue your education, learn new programs, and move forward. Pay attention to new web apps as they are the future.
Cutting and sewing skills
It is rather surprising, but many of those who want to start their career in design still think that they don’t need to deal with cutting and sewing themselves. It is very strange because, without these skills, you cannot actually know how this or that fabric works or how the model you draw may look in reality. Sketching sweet fancy pictures is not enough. You need to add some real-life work in this mix.
Knowledge of fabrics, leather, fur
Every fabric has its own specific properties — the level of stretchiness, holding color, holding forms, making a model look visually thicker or thinner, combined with other fabrics. For example, You should not combine fabrics that have completely opposite properties when it comes to dry cleaning or normal cleaning — the thing will be ruined. Also, new fabrics are produced, and you should keep abreast, so you stay in the market.
Knowledge of all stages of creating clothes
You need to know both the design and production stages of clothes design. Of course, if it is just a hobby that is not too important for you — you don’t need to be worried about such things. You can make some simple designs, show them online, or even sell at some freelance design markets. However, if you are serious about this profession, you should definitely learn the whole cycle. Knowing the economy of the process is critical to designing the models both good in production and future sales.
Understanding the consumer needs
Working with a target audience, understanding it is necessary when it comes to any business, not only fashion design. Here, in fashion design, you need to understand both what people want now and what they will want in the future. If you don’t — you lose. It doesn’t mean that all of a sudden, you should become a marketing specialist, but you have to understand the basics of this work.
Creativity, non-standard thinking
Most probably, you’ve rolled your eyes now because it sounds self-evident that a fashion designer needs these qualities. Of course, you need to be creative. However, here we are talking not about fashion design but about receiving your diploma as a fashion designer. You will have to deal with creative writing assignments as well, so if you don’t feel up to a challenge, you can always contact a reliable writing service, such as SmartWritingService.com, for timely assistance. Don’t miss deadlines, don’t risk your diploma and your career.
Purposefulness, perseverance, diligence
The success of a couturier largely depends not only on his talent but also on his determination, ability to anticipate fashion trends, and understanding the modern market. Quality education in the industry also plays an important role. Deep immersion in the profession can provide foreign, mostly Italian universities, where fashion has been dictated and created for many centuries.
Foreign languages
The fashion market is not limited to the UK and US. Let’s be honest — the best fashion markets speak other languages. If you seriously plan to work in the fashion industry, you need to start learning Italian or French as a second language, and also pay attention to Chinese.
Following trends
It is not an education requirement, it is just a common-sense requirement. If you plan on entering some fashion design school and more, getting a scholarship for it, you definitely need to follow trends around the world.
Of course, you should also have some writing skills, social media understanding, and know some basics about finances and time management. Still, such requirements are valid for almost any entrepreneur, and we wanted to focus on the requirements for a fashion designer specifically. It is important to understand that being a fashion designer doesn’t mean attending fancy parties all the time and telling others what to do, just sharing genius design ideas. Becoming a fashion designer that can pay the bills at least means learning all the time and working much more hours than you probably expect.
