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 DESIGNERTommy Hilfiger Norma Kamali Ralph Lauren Donna Karan Mark Jacobs Betsey John sonTHESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE FASH ION DE SIGN ERS BE HIND EACH SEA SONShot test looks. Their names are stamped on our clothes, in side and out. Their lo gos are splashed across scarves, sweatshirts, and hand bags.Their names carry so much weight, they de sign ev ery thing from socksto bed lin ens to car in te ri ors.

2

These fa mous fash ion de sign ers and many more not-so-fa mousde sign ers in flu ence ev ery thing we wear from un der wear to over coats.We see their cre ations in fash ion mag a zines, in the mov ies and ontele vi sion, in de part ment store win dows, in cat a logs, on man ne quinsin 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 highfash 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 forhigh fash ion sa lons (where most of us cant af ford to shop) to thosewho work in the gar ment in dus try cre at ing cloth ing for the massmar ket that will be worn by mil lions of Amer i cans. The fact is thatev ery piece of cloth ing we wear steel-toed work boots, flan nelbath robe, plain white boxer shorts, or sparkly eve ning gown has tobe de signed by some one. That some one, fa mous or not, is a fash ionde signer.

Fash ion de sign ers cre ate the fash ions for men, women, andchil dren to wear morn ing and night, at work and at play. Mostspe cial ize in one par tic u lar type of cloth ing, such as bridal gowns,swim wear, lin ge rie, in fants cloth ing, uni forms, or mens suits. Theywork for fash ion sa lons, tex tile man u fac tur ers, big chain de part mentstores, and pat tern man u fac tur ers. Some pre fer to free lance and buildtheir own cli en tele of in di vid ual cus tom ers, spe cialty shops, andman 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 read ing mag a zines, check ing out what the ac torsare wear ing on tele vi sion, and win dow-shop ping. Only the topde sign ers get to be fash ion lead ers and cre ate com pletely orig i nalde signs. Most de sign ers adapt ex ist ing de signs ac cord ing towell-es tab lished guide lines and trends.

Any one in ter ested in this ca reer should be able to draw, have agood eye for color and form, be able to sew, and have an ob ses sionfor fash ion. It is pos si ble to en ter the field with just a high schooldi ploma, but it is not rec om mended. Fash ion de sign is con sid ered bymany 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 atwo-year de gree in fash ion de sign and a good port fo lio packed withex am ples your great ideas.

3

A ca reer in fash ion de sign has a lot go ing for it. It is ex cit ing,cre ative, and chal leng ing. The ed u ca tional re quire ments are min i maland the earn ings are good, and for some very suc cess ful de sign ers,ex traor di nary. The job mar ket is small, but grow ing steadily. There areop por tu ni ties for in ter na tional travel. And if you have the tal ent, thereis al ways a chance for fame and for tune.

WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW

HIGH SCHOOL STU DENTS IN TER ESTED IN FASH ION DE SIGN SHOULD TAKE AS MANYart classes as pos si ble. Be ing able to sketch is es sen tial, but dont limityour self to draw ing class. A course in art his tory might seem ir rel e vantnow, 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 fulcourses in clude math, busi ness, speech, Eng lish, and for eign lan guage es pe cially French or Span ish.

Read. Fol low the trends by read ing all the fash ion mag a zines youcan get your hands on. Sub scribe to the bi ble of the fash ion in dus try,Womens Wear Daily. Pro fes sional fash ion de sign ers (and ev ery one else in the fash ion in dus try) read it re li giously to stay in the know aboutwhats go ing on in the in dus try and to keep up with ev ery-chang ingtrends.

Experiment Even if you arent sure what youre doing, try your handat designing and making some clothes. Pick up some cheap clothing at the nearest thrift shop or yard sales. Take them apart and redesignthem into new shapes with different trims. It is a great way to exerciseyour creativity. Plus, you will learn a lot about how clothes areconstructed.

Explore Visit art galleries, attend fashion shows, pay attention towhat trend setters are wearing on TV, and make regular trips to themall to check out whats new. If there is a garment factory in your city,ask your school guidance counselor to help you arrange for a tour soyou can see the pros at work.

Work A job in the summer or after school in a clothing store will giveyou an education in fashion merchandising. A job in a fabric storewould provide an excellent opportunity to learn about textiles,notions, trims, and patterns.

4

HISTORY OF THE PROFESSION

PEO PLE HAVE BEEN WEAR ING CLOTH ING SINCE THE BE GIN NING OF TIME, BUT ATfirst putt ing on cloth ing was solely a prac ti cal mat ter. To day, an i malprints are the rage and no ward robe would be com plete with out aleop ard print dress or faux fur jacket. But cave men and women hadno idea how styl ish they were when they wrapped them selves in realan i mal pelts they just wanted to stay warm. Cloth ing re mainedpri mar ily util i tar ian for thou sands of years, with most gar ments be inghand made at home.

Per haps the first fash ion maven in his tory was Cle o pa tra, but itwas her makeup and ac ces so ries that made a state ment, not theshape less fab ric draped like cur tains. None the less, the Queen of theNile set a his tor i cal pre ce dent po lit i cal fig ures, roy alty, and othercul tural icons have since in flu enced what we wear, set ting fash iontrends through out the cen tu ries.

Fash ion de sign as a pro fes sion started in the 1600s and it be ganright where to days fash ion cen ter of the world is in France. Aroundthe mid dle of the cen tury, it was the fa mous French King Louis XIVwho said that fash ion is a mir ror. Louis was re nowned for his style,which in cluded heavy use of ex trav a gant laces and vel vets. It was anin dul gence only the ex ceed ingly rich could af ford. For a while at least,fash ion seemed des tined to be re served for the ar is toc racy andpriv i leged classes. But by the 1700s, fash ion mag a zines werepub lish ing the lat est styles so even com mon folks could see what wasgo ing in in side the French Court though they could only dream ofwear ing such fin ery.

The first cel e brated fash ion de signer was also French. She wasRose Ber tin, a French mil li ner who dressed Ma rie An toi nette in the late 18th cen tury. Womens fash ions dur ing the French Rev o lu tion wereheavily in flu enced by Ber tins de signs. Wealthy women andpro fes sional dress mak ers paid big bucks to any one who could pro videsketches 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 bede fined by eras. The Geor gian Era, named af ter George III, lasted from1800 to 1820. Fash ions from this era were known as Re gency Fash ion.It was based on clas si cal prin ci ples; only the or na men ta tion changed.Greek in spired bor ders evolved to more ex otic Egyp tian, Span ish, andori en tal de cor in spired by Na po leons ex pe di tions. Near the end of theGeor gian Era, Gothic in flu ences dis solved the clas si cal lines, mak ingway for the Ro man tic Era. The ro man tic spirit lin gered un til 1850.

5

All gar ments were made by hand un til 1846 when Elias in ventedthe sew ing ma chine. Soon, fash ion houses were set ting up fac to rieswhere fash ion able cloth ing could be pro duced quickly and in largequan ti ties. For the first time, even or di nary peo ple could af ford to befash ion able.

Up un til this time, fash ion de sign ers were al most all women. Butin 1858, an Eng lish tai lor named Charles Fred er ick Worth opened afash ion house in Paris. He had im pec ca ble ref er ences, hav ing been thecou tu rier for Em press Eugenie (con sort of Na po leon III). In his Parissa lon, Worth cre ated de signs for ac tresses and other wealthy ce leb ritycli ents who could af ford to have cloth ing de signed spe cif i cally forthem. Worth is con sid ered the first mod ern cou tu rier for sev eralrea sons. He was the first de signer to se lect his own fab rics rather thanus ing fab rics pro vided by cli ents. He was also the first to dis play hisde signs on live mod els.

The Vic to rian Era of the 1800s lasted for 64 years. Through out this pe riod, fash ions evolved from bus tles to Gib son Girls to tai lor madesuits. The Vic to rian Era and the 19th cen tury ended with a bang in ape riod known as the Naughty Nineties.

Next came Art Nou veau with its grace ful lin ear curves in dress,dec o ra tive arts and de sign. This was the first style to dom i nate theworld of de sign in all forms in clud ing fash ion, fur ni ture, fine art,jew elry, ar chi tec ture, and home dcor ac ces so ries. Such ma jor de signstyles that set the tone for fash ion able liv ing are rare. Art Deco of the1930s and Space Age (also known as Atomic) of the 1950s were theonly two to come close to hav ing the all-en com pass ing in flu ence ofArt Nou veau. Ert, con sid ered the fa ther of Art Deco, was not afash ion de signer and yet he in flu enced nearly all fash ion de sign ersbe tween 1915 and 1936.

From 1939 to 1945, fash ion was af fected most by the World War.Cloth ing in Great Brit ain was ac tu ally ra tioned un der the Ci vil ianCloth ing Util ity Scheme. Gar ments were aus tere and prac ti 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 dressesand Hol ly wood glam our.

One of his torys most cel e brated fash ion de sign ers, Chris tian Diorlaunched his new line in 1947. Life mag a zine dubbed it The NewLook. It was one of the lon gest last ing looks any de signer has everpro duced, re main ing fash ion able for about 10 years.

6

The 1950s brought huge changes to all ar eas of life in Amer ica.For the first time in his tory, fash ion was spe cif i cally de signed for young men and women, coined teen ag ers. Rock and roll icons like El visPres ley and James Dean in spired teen age fash ion. Jeans made theirde but as a fash ion sta ple, and sep a rates were pop u lar for the firsttime be cause they were com fort able for danc ing to lively mu sic.

Haute cou ture took a back seat to ready-to-wear from 1950on ward. French de sign ers put up the most re sis tance to the idea offash ion for the masses, but even there, prt--por ter (ready to wear)even tu ally out sold haute cou ture sa lons.

It was nt long un til fash ion de sign ers fig ured out that they couldreach a much larger mar ket (and make a lot more money) by get tinginto the re tail mar ket them selves. Dur ing the Swinging Sixties inLon don, de signer Mary Quant opened a string of in di vid ual re tailout lets on both sides of the pond. She ap pealed to the teen agepop u la tion by pro duc ing youth ful clothes for the big gest mar ket of alltime baby boom ers.

Through out the sec ond half of the 20th cen tury, fash ion wasde fined by de cades. The 1960s were filled with Op Art and mini skirts.The 1970s started with the peas ant look pop u lar ized by hip pies andended with the flashy night club looks of Disco Fe ver.

The 1980s had two main styles, The New Ro man tics and PowerDress ing. Di ana the Prin cess of Wales was the fash ion leader for theNew Ro man tics, mov ing the fem i nine look into main stream fash ion.Mean while, yup pies ev ery where fol lowed the ad vice in John Mol loysDress For Suc cess. The book had women wear ing suits with shoul derpads and men wear ing red sus pend ers and ties. The two looks wererep re sented by then UK Prime Min is ter, Mar ga ret Thatcher andPrin cess Di ana. While Di ana was seen on mag a zine cov ers in flow ingchif fon, Thatcher was seen on daily TV in her struc tured power suitsthat de manded re spect for her au thor ity.

The cen tury ended with a glam our back lash. Grunge only lasted ayear deconstruc tionism had seams and zip pers on the out side ofgar ments and minimalism re duced cloth ing to neu tral tones insculp tural shapes. Gone were the glitz and glam our of the 1980s. Inwas the pur ism of neu tral tints and shades of black, white, gray, andbeige with lit tle or no jew elry. De signers like Donna Karan, GiorgioArmani, and Cal vin Klein pro duced mod ern clas sics within aframe work of pure func tion and nat u ral sim plic ity.

7

Fash ion trends have a way of re turn ing. There is a say ing that ifyou keep some thing in your closet long enough, it will come back intostyle. Some de sign ers use styles of by gone eras to cre ate en tirely newlines. For ex am ple, in the 1990s, fash ion de sign ers Ghost and TomFord found suc cess by brush ing up old looks from the 1960s. Theyadded dif fer ent trims and de vel oped vari a tions to pop u lar ize thenew BoHo style.

One thing is cer tain in fash ion. It is al ways chang ing. New fash ionideas come from mu sic, tele vi sion, and world events. A mu sic video orsin gle hit movie can spawn a fash ion rage. Ray-Ban sold mil lions ofsun glasses af ter the movie Men in Black. And par ents shud der whentheir young daugh ters dress for school look ing like Brittany Spears.

WHERE YOU WILL WORK

NEW YORK CITY, SAN FRAN CISCO, AND LOS AN GELES ARE THE MA JOR FASH IONcen ters in the US. These cit ies are home to large and small com pa niesthat em ploy the ma jor ity of Amer i can fash ion de sign ers. You can findsome de sign jobs in Chi cago, Dal las, and other big cit ies, but only invery small num bers.

A few fash ion de sign ers are lucky enough to work in large fash ionhouses such as Liz Claiborne or Cal vin Klein. It is usu ally dif fi cult to get hired by one of the top fash ion houses be cause there is so muchcom pe ti tion for a lim ited num ber of cov eted po si tions. There arehow ever, some ma jor de signer la bels that have de vel oped a need formore fash ion de sign ers be cause they now also make clothes for themass mar ket. Donna Karan, for ex am ple, has a sec ond ary line of lowerpriced cloth ing that sells un der the la bel DKNY. Giorgio Armani has anequally suc cess ful sec ond ary la bel 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 mentman u fac tur ers that pro duce cloth ing for the mass mar ket un dermul ti ple la bels. Many are inhouse de sign ers for ma jor re tail ers such asK-Mart, Tar get, and JC Penney. Small spe cialty shops and bou tiquesalso have their own fash ion de sign ers on staff. They cre ate de signs foroff-the-rack gar ments as well as fill ing cus tom or ders for cus tom erswho are will ing to pay for ex clu sive de signs that no one else will beable to buy.

8

Not all fash ion de sign ers work for ap parel man u fac tur ers. Fash ionde 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. Asmall num ber work for en ter tain ment pro duc tion com pa nies ascos tume de sign ers for tele vi sion, mov ies, the ater, and bal let. Fash ionde sign ers have even more into the home fur nish ings field, which isnow com monly known as home fash ions. They de sign items like bed and bath lin ens, drap er ies, and rugs.

The work en vi ron ment for de sign ers var ies de pend ing on thein dus try and size and type of em ployer. Some spend pleas ant dayswith one or two co-work ers in quiet and spa cious rooms with am plenat u ral light. Many more work in crowded work rooms filled with bigta bles, noisy cut ting and sew ing ma chines, and min i mal ven ti la tion.

For tu nately, fash ion de sign ers do not spend all their time in theirwork rooms. They are of ten seen out and about, get ting ideas andcheck 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 othercit ies or even other coun tries to show their new lines to buy ers.

Many fash ion de sign ers work as freelancers. They work in theirown stu dios 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 GAR MENTS AND AC CES SO RIES. MOSTwork in mens, womens, or chil drens wear for their en tire ca reers.Many spe cial ize in one type of cloth ing or ac ces sory such as ma ter nitywear, suits, lin ge rie, hand bags, or shoes.

There are a small num ber of high-fash ion de sign ers who ca terdi rectly to in di vid ual cli ents. These are the de sign ers you know byname, the ce leb rity trendsetters for the in dus try. Ev ery one fol lowstheir lead in terms of sil hou ette, col ors, fab rics, and trims that will bein style each sea son. Some of these self-em ployed de sign ers head their own fash ion houses; oth ers de velop sig na ture lines for spe cialty stores, high-end bou tiques, or up scale de part ment stores. At this level, thereis glam our and ex cite ment, but it is also ex tremely com pet i tive. Topde 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.

9

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 filede sign ers rather than cre ate orig i nal styles of their own. They workun der the di rec tion of their em ploy ers, adapt ing de signs for the massmar ket to meet the tastes and price re quire ments of cus tom ers.

A large gar ment fac tory will typ i cally em ploy a staff of de sign ersin clud ing a head de signer, sev eral as sis tant de sign ers, and one or more sam ple mak ers. In some cases, de sign ers are in volved in ev ery step ofthe pro duc tion. They come up with the ideas, choose the fab rics andtrims, do cost es ti mates and pric ing of fin ished prod ucts, and workco op 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 ersalso spend a great deal of time ex plor ing and con duct ing re search.They visit tex tile com pa nies to learn about new fab rics and trims. Theybrowse through re tail stores, read fash ion mag a zines, visitshow rooms, and at tend fash ion shows. The pur pose is to not only seewhat is avail able, but to get a feel for what cus tom ers are buy ing, orre ject ing. For in spi ra tion, mu se ums and art gal ler ies are great sourcesof ideas about color and com po si tion. Fash ion de sign ers keep theireyes 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 fororig i nal de signs can come from just about any thing cul tural trends,pop stars, ex otic va ca tions, old mov ies, mag a zines, cur rent events, and new tex tiles. Sketches are some times done on a com puter, but mostde sign ers still pre fer to cre ate rough sketches with pen cil and pa per.

Working ei ther alone or with a de sign team, the idea is fleshedout. The de signer com bines ba sic dress mak ing and tai lor ing prin ci pleswith flat pat tern work and drap ing tech niques to de velop the de sign.

The fi nal de sign is given to a pat tern maker to cre ate sam ples.Pat tern pieces are drawn on pa per, then cut out of mus lin. The mus linpieces are sewn to gether by a seam stress into a rough mock-up that is fit ted on a real-life model. The de signer ex am ines the sam ple gar mentboth on and off the model. If the sam ple does nt look right, it ischanged un til the de sign achieves the de sired ef fect. Once the de signit self is ac cept able, the pat tern pieces are mod i fied, fea tures areadded, and a rough mock-up of the com pleted de sign is made. Thede sign team then chooses ma te ri als and writes spec i fi ca tions for thepro duc tion work ers that might in clude the color schemes or spe cificin struc tions for con struc tion.

10

Next, a fit tech ni cian makes the fi nal pro to type and the pat ternmaker cre ates the pat terns that will be used for mass pro duc tion. Thede signs are now of fi cially part of the com panys line. The sam plemaker cre ates pieces for sales reps to pres ent to whole sale buy ers.High-end de signs are dis played at show ings for buy ers and the press,su per vised by the de signer. Ma jor de sign ers pres ent their lines atfash ion shows twice a year. The ma jor ity of cloth ing is sold in theshow rooms with no live mod els, only racks and maybe a fewman ne quins.

The en tire pro cess, from idea to pro duc tion of com pletedprod ucts, hap pens quickly. As a rule, there are very tight dead lines tomeet for de liv ery to stores.

This all hap pens four times each year. The fash ion sea sons arespring/sum mer, fall/win ter, cruise (for those lucky peo ple who head for trop i cal beaches in Jan u ary), and hol i day (fash ions for spe cialoc ca sions dur ing No vem ber and De cem ber). For each sea son, ade signer cre ates a line with 50 to 150 styles. The lines are startedabout six months prior to the clothes ap pear ing in stores and storesstart stock ing new fash ions up to three months be fore a cal en darsea son ac tu ally be gins. That means the de signer could be work ing onnew styles that wont be worn for nearly a year. This can be a lit tletricky since the pub lics taste can change at any time. De signers haveto stay abreast of trends, but not too far ahead. If styles are out ofstep with pub lic taste, they will be re jected and that could spelldi sas ter for the fash ion house sell ing them. Its a bal anc ing act thatcan be stress ful.

The Design Team Fash ion houses have a hi er ar chy. Be gin nerswith out de sign de grees can start as go phers or as train ees in de signde part ments, but it can take years work ing for min i mum wages tomove up into a real de sign po si tion. Those with de sign de grees canmove much more quickly up the ca reer lad der. Most start in one ofthese po si tions:

Pattern makers makes the patterns that will be used toproduce the designers clothing line

Pattern graders modifies the pattern pieces to allow for sizechanges

Trend researcher spots new trends and ideas by conductingmarket research

11

Sketch artist draws up designs either freehand or oncomputer-aided design programs (CAD/CAM)

Spec and fit technicians creates the final production samplesin the correct size and fit

Af ter about two years in one of these po si tions, a be gin ner canmove up to as sis tant de signer. As the ti tle im plies, the main func tionof an as sis tant de signer is to help the de signer. Job tasks might in clude mak ing the first pat terns and sam ples, as sem bling pre sen ta tionboards, gath er ing swatches, and su per vis ing sam ple mak ers. It isusu ally the as sis tant de signers re spon si bil ity to main tain the de signli brary and help solve any tech ni cal or cre ative prob lems that come updur ing the de sign pro cess. An as sis tant de signer with proven abil itycan ex pect to be pro moted to full de signer sta tus within four to sixyears. An as sis tant de signer helps de velop other peo ples ideas, but ade signer has the cre ative free dom to work on orig i nal ideas.

Fash ion de sign ers are ex pected to know what will sell in a givenmar ket with an ac cept able profit mar gin. They con fer di rectly withcom pany man age ment and work closely with the sales de part ment tode velop mar ket ing plans. In large firms, tal ented de sign ers withman age ment skills can be come head de sign ers. A head de signerusu ally has sev eral as sis tants and over sees the en tire de signde part ment. Not all de sign ers are ca pa ble of suc cess fully jug glingcre ative and ad min is tra tive du ties.

Specialties There are many dif fer ent kinds of wear ing ap parel andac ces so ries and most de sign ers spe cial ize in just one. A spe cialty might be a gen eral type of cloth ing such as bridal wear, sports wear, orhand bags. There are also spe cialty de sign ers who fo cus on par tic u lartypes of cloth ing such as sweat ers, swim wear, or ath letic shoes.

One very spe cial field is the at ri cal or cos tume de sign. It issome what lim ited, but it is per fect for a tal ented de signer with astrong in ter est in the ater, film, or other per form ing arts such as bal let.It re quires more prep a ra tion - at least a bach e lors de gree in fash ion,cos tume de sign, or the ater.

Cre ating cos tumes for per form ers of fers a unique chal lenge. It isnot about mak ing a ward robe that is func tional or pretty. Cos tumesneed to vi su ally ex press a par tic u lar point in time, a place, and theemo tional con text. In the case of danc ers, the fab rics and de signs have to move in a cer tain way, too. Most the at ri cal cos tume de sign ers workon a con tract ba sis, usu ally for one par tic u lar movie or bal let

12

pro duc tion at a time. A cos tume de signer is a part of a pro duc tionteam that may in clude the di rec tor, makeup art ists, and set de sign ers.To gether, they cre ate a co he sive vi sual ef fect. Along with the rest ofthe team, the cos tume de signer stud ies the script to learn about thechar ac ters they will be dress ing.

Per haps more than any other type of de sign, cos tume de signre quires re search. Ward robe for a con tem po rary tele vi sion show set inNew York City might not take much re search, but what about a movieset in me di eval Spain? Would you know how to cre ate an au then ticset of ar mor? A good cos tume de signer strives to be his tor i callyac cu rate. He/she pre pares by study ing up on the peo ple who lived inthe time pe riod and lo ca tion where the story takes place, pay ingpar tic u lar at ten tion to the cloth ing, ac ces so ries, and ac tiv i ties.

The re spon si bil i ties of the cos tume de signer vary de pend ing onthe size of the pro duc tion. Most of the time, they work closely withthe per form ers, do ing fit tings and al ter ations them selves. Some timesthey su per vise dress ers, as sis tants who set out the cos tumes and helpthe per form ers change. On movie lo ca tions, cos tume de sign ers arealso re spon si ble for pro tect ing the ward robes from bad weather.

13

FASHION DESIGNERS TELL THEIR OWNSTORIES

I Am a Lead De signerfor a Cloth ingCom pany Ive been in the busi ness for over

20 years now and it still ex cites me like noth ing else could. I jumpout of bed each morn ing look ing for ward to the days workahead.

When I first grad u ated from col lege, I was very full of my self,con vinced Id take the fash ion world by storm. Rather than lookfor a job in the in dus try, I im me di ately put my name on my ownla bel and be gan as an in de pend ent de signer. My lofty dreamssoon came crash ing down to earth. De sign school is great forlearn ing the skills of the trade and fos ter ing cre ativ ity. But whatthey dont tell you is this is a tough busi ness. You have to plot your course, pay your dues, and work your way up into the spot light.

Af ter fall ing on my face, I had two choices: give up or comeup with a prac ti cal plan of ac tion. I chose the lat ter. I spent sixmonths just study ing the in dus try to get a sense of how it works in the real world some thing I should have done be fore I even wentto de sign school. I talked to peo ple at ev ery level, from ship pingde part ment clerks to cre ative di rec tors. I got quite an ed u ca tion!But rather than feel de mor al ized by the re al ity of this busi ness, Ibe came more con vinced than ever that there was a place for meand I could be suc cess ful. The thing you have to un der stand is this: you dont go from Point A (school) to Point B (fa mous de signer).How ever, the good news is that there are nu mer ous ways toap proach this ca reer. You just have to be will ing to do what ever ittakes to get where you want to go.

I started look ing for job op por tu ni ties that would put me onestep closer to my goal. My first job was work ing as an il lus tra torfor an ad agency that spe cial ized in the fash ion in dus try. Otherjobs along the way in cluded buyer for an up scale de part mentstore, art di rec tor for a group of busi ness news let ters (only one ofwhich was fash ion re lated), cos tume de signer for a small bal letcom pany, and in te rior de signer for a chain of trendy clubs. Each of these jobs was a step ping stone. And in each po si tion, I learnedsome thing new and valu able about the busi ness of fash ion.

14

To day I am the lead de signer for a womens sports wearcom pany. My name is not on my de signs, but I am work ing for atop la bel. I am proud just to be work ing here with some of themost tal ented and re spected peo ple in the in dus try. Ive been inthe busi ness for over 20 years now and I still have a pas sion for my work that bor ders on ob ses sion. Thats what I call suc cess.

I Am an In de pend entTex tile De signer Walk through any store

that sells T-shirts and you will prob a bly see my work. I ames sen tially a graphic de signer who hap pens to work ex clu sively ontex tiles. Un less youve been liv ing un der a rock, you know thatcloth ing has be come an ad ver tis ing me dium over the past 15years or so. What started out as a niche spe cialty for me hasbe come a huge in dus try unto it self. Graphic prints are ev ery where. Com panies of all kinds sal i vate over the idea of get ting peo ple towear their com pany lo gos and slo gans. And the real kicker iscon sum ers are ac tu ally will ing to pay for the priv i lege of be ingwalk ing bill boards.

Ive al ways known I wanted a ca reer in the arts. Even as achild, I had a pas sion for art. I blindly went to a fine arts school,but was dis ap pointed by the lack of sub stance. I al most had mypar ents con vinced to sup port me while I lived in Paris for a cou pleof years in stead. I still think I would have learned more from street art ists in Paris than fine art classes. I guess Ill never know.For tu nately, one of my pro fes sors in ter vened. He rec og nized myfrus tra tion and was hon est enough to guide me out of fine artsand into graphic de sign. He also strongly ad vised me tocon cen trate on ad ver tis ing de sign. I thought that was just plainsac ri le gious, but I did as he sug gested.

Fol low ing this mans guid ance was the best thing I could have done. For two years, I stud ied top ics I never even con sid eredbe fore. Who knew courses in mar ket ing, pub lic re la tions,ty pog ra phy, and busi ness man age ment were just what I needed?What I learned in those classes did more to pre pare me for aca reer in de sign than a hun dred art classes ever could.

15

My best ad vice to any one in ter ested in a ca reer as a de signeris to learn as much as you can about the busi ness and mar ket ingas pects of the in dus try. That goes dou ble for any one who wants to be an in de pend ent de signer. Pay at ten tion to the ba sics. Learn towrite. How can you get any where if you cant write a con vinc ingpro posal or a pro fes sional email mes sage? Busi ness math willseem like a breeze com pared to al ge bra and trig. But it is a classthat will pro vide the skills you will use ev ery day through out yourca reer. A de signers ed u ca tion never ends ei ther. If you ex pect tosuc ceed, you must be pre pared to stay on top of trends in thein dus try. That in cludes both the de sign end and the tech nol ogy.

Be ing an in de pend ent de signer is nt the eas i est route to take,but for some of us, its the only way. Peo ple like me are not cutout for the cor po rate life. I en joy my free dom far too much. Itsex cit ing, too. I never know who is go ing to be walk ing through the door next or what kind of pro ject Ill be work ing on next week.There is so much va ri ety and there is al ways some thing new. I have all kinds of cli ents from big beer com pa nies to lo cal non profitgroups. And be ing in de pend ent means I can go any where, liveany where, work any where. With to days tech nol ogy, I could takeor ders, cre ate my de signs, and de liver the fi nal prod uct all froma trop i cal beach in Fiji.

I Am an In-HouseFash ion De signer I think I was des tined

for a ca reer in fash ion de sign. I was raised by my Irishgrand mother in a very fru gal house hold. She never shopped incloth ing stores, only in fab ric stores. She taught me to sew when I was five years old on a trea dle ma chine that she had con verted toelec tric some where along the way. By the time I was 10, I hadtaken over the re spon si bil ity of mak ing all my own clothes. I never even owned a store-bought dress un til I was 16.

When I was in high school, I was em bar rassed to tell any bodythat all my clothes were home made, But at the same time, I waskeenly aware of what was fash ion able and learned to put my owncre ative stamp on ev ery thing I made. My friends took no tice of my ward robe and when they asked where I shopped, I re luc tantly told the truth. Much to my sur prise, they thought it was re ally cool that

16

I made my own clothes. Soon all my friends wanted me to maketheir clothes, too. At first, I did so as a fa vor. Even tually, I got upthe nerve to ask for money. I could nt be lieve my good for tune.While oth ers kids were spend ing mind-numb ing af ter noonswork ing in the lo cal fast food joints, I was earn ing a lot more bydo ing some thing I loved, some thing I had been do ing sincechild hood.

By the time I grad u ated from high school, I had saved upenough to go to the Art In sti tute of Dal las. It was a two-yearpro gram. I man aged to get one in tern ship for the sum mer, putt ing up gar ment ex hi bi tions for a lo cal man u fac turer of womens wear. It was en joy able work and I gained some good ex pe ri ence. Moreim por tantly, I made some con tacts that later led me to most of my jobs.

My first job af ter grad u a tion, I have to ad mit, was a to talyawn. It was in a gar ment fac tory, where all I did all day was sewcare la bels onto shirts. For tu nately, I was only there for a fewmonths. My next job was better, work ing as a sam ple cut ter at ama jor bud get-wear man u fac turer. Be cause the com pany was sobig, there were more op por tu ni ties to move up. My next step waspat tern maker and then as sis tant de signer.

Be cause I was work ing with a bud get line of cloth ing, I camein con tact with buy ers from all the ma jor dis count de part mentstores. It was through a buyer that I learned of an open ing for anin-house de signer at one of the big gest fash ion chain stores in thecoun try. Ive been work ing here ever since.

I love my job. I spend my days shop ping for fab rics andfind ings, sketch ing and brain storm ing. I keep it flex i ble, neverpush ing my self to be cre ative within a set sched ule, but al wayskeep ing busy.

My ad vice to any one con sid er ing this ca reer is to learn asmuch as you can about the in dus try. Look at all the dif fer entas pects like mer chan dis ing, jour nal ism, win dow dress ing, andad ver tis ing. Ex plore other de sign fields, too, like food styl ing,iden tity de sign, and in te rior de sign. They are all re lated, uti liz ingvery sim i lar skills and knowl edge of vi sual aes thet ics. The broaderyour ex po sure to all things de sign-re lated, the better.

17

Choose your school care fully. De sign schools tend toen cour age cre ativ ity and ne glect the busi ness and tech ni calas pects. Some are the op po site, fo cus ing on tech ni cal skills at theex pense of cre ativ ity. Ideally, you should get a good bal ance ofboth. In any case, de sign school is only the be gin ning. You willlearn the ba sics of the job and your di ploma will get your foot inthe door. What is more im por tant though, is the prac ti calex pe ri ence you will get from ac tu ally work ing in the field. That iswhere the real train ing is and if youre do ing your job well, youwill never stop learn ing.

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS

FASH ION DE SIGN IS PRAC TI CAL OR AP PLIED ART THAT IN VOLVES WORK ING WITHforms, de signs, and pat terns. It re quires a strong sense of the es the tic, a sense of bal ance and pro por tion, and an ap pre ci a tion for beauty.Fash ion de sign ers nat u rally have a strong sense of color and shape.Cre ativ ity and imag i na tion are es sen tial. Com ing up with theoc ca sional de sign idea is not enough even if its a ter rific idea. Youwill need to gen er ate doz ens of ideas and within a lim ited pe riod oftime.

Orig i nal ity is al ways a good thing, but there are lim its to howorig i nal you can be in fash ion de sign. You will al ways be work ingwithin the bound aries of cur rent fash ion trends and the buyers tastes. And most of the time you will be adapt ing other peo ples de signs.Your chal lenge will be to come up with un usual or clever ideas tomake those de signs your own.

You will be sketch ing con stantly so you will need to have somear tis tic abil i ties. You should be able to draw free hand and have a good grasp of the hu man form. Be ing able to draw on the com puter isbe com ing in creas ingly im por tant, but hand-sketch ing abil ity is still abig ad van tage in the fash ion in dus try.

This is pri mar ily a vi sual art. A fash ion de signer must have a keeneye for beauty and ex cel lent color per cep tion. You will need to be ableto dis crim i nate be tween the sub tlest of col ors, in clud ing shades andbright ness. But vi su al iza tion is men tal. You should be able to see inyour minds eye how some thing will look when it is fin ished. You need to be able to look at a sketch and imag ine how the gar ment will lookand feel when a real per son wears it. You also need to vi su al ize how itwill look when some thing is changed, if you want to move orre ar range parts.

18

You should have a pas sion for fash ion. Do you day dream abouthav ing a run way col lec tion or be ing the cos tume de signer on the nextblock buster movie? Do you doo dle while youre on the phone or tellyour sis ter how to accessorize her out fits? Are you the first one to letyour friends know when their clothes are out of fash ion? Fash ionde sign ers love ev ery thing about the world of fash ion and are al ways in tune with the lat est trends. They con stantly read fash ion mag a zines,win dow shop, and at tend fash ion shows. Suc cess ful de sign ers do thisnot be cause they have to, but be cause they want to. The very bestfash ion de sign ers do more than keep up with cur rent fash ion trends;they stay one step ahead of the mar ket by an tic i pat ing changes.

Fash ion de sign ers also need ex cel lent com mu ni ca tion skills andthe abil ity to work ei ther alone or in a team en vi ron ment.

Make no mis take this is a tough busi ness where only the mostde ter mined suc ceed. You need to be able and will ing to work un derpres sure and meet never-end ing dead lines. You should be pre pared toac cept crit i cism, too, from the pub lic, your su pe ri ors, and otherde sign ers. A good work ing knowl edge of busi ness, mar ket ing, andself-pro mo tion will help you move ahead in this highly com pet i tiveen vi ron ment.

19

ATTRACTIVE FEATURES

FASH ION DE SIGN IS A CA REER MARKED BY GLAM OUR AND EX CITE MENT. THOSE ATthe top of the pro fes sion are of ten treated like rock stars rid ingaround in lim ou sines, mak ing the rounds of TV talk shows, putt ing onex trav a gant shows, and bask ing in the glory of ap plause and flash ingcam eras. They are fa mous thanks to mil lions of con sum ers who lookfor their la bels when they shop for new clothes. It is a fash ion in it selfto wear clothes with de signer names boldly dis played for ev ery one tosee.

The money is good. With only two years of school ing, a be gin nerin New York (the heart of the Amer i can fash ion world) can ex pect astart ing sal ary of over $40,000. De signers move up ward fairly quickly,too. In just a few years, that same be gin ner could be earn ing over$90,000. The best de sign ers do ex tremely well. In comes for tal entedand ex pe ri enced de sign ers can range from $100,000 to $150,000. The sky is the limit for well-known fash ion de sign ers with sig na ture lines or their own fash ion houses. Some make mil lions from their cre ations.But those are the ex cep tion.

There is op por tu nity for travel. Many de sign ers travel widely forshow ings and con fer ences. High fash ion de sign ers get to travel to thefash ion cap i tals of the world such as Paris and Mi lan. Even or di naryde sign ers are rou tinely sent abroad. You might find your self in In dia,buy ing a boatload of cot ton fab ric. Or maybe your com pany hascon tracted with a fac tory in China to man u fac ture your de signs, andyou need to make sure with your own eyes that gar ment pieces arebe ing dyed the right shade of pink.

As a fash ion de signer, you will get paid to do what you love most.You will spend time in stores look ing at clothes and ac ces so ries madeby com pet i tors. You will read Elle, Vogue, and Womens Wear Daily and get paid for it. You will at tend many fash ion shows. It does not re quire a ma jor in vest ment in ed u ca tion to get into this field.Tech nically, you can get started with only a high school di ploma, butthat is not ad vis able. But it only takes one to three years to get theproper train ing you need to launch a suc cess ful ca reer.

This is a very cre ative field. You will get to use your ar tis tic tal entsand work along side other cre ative peo ple who share your in ter est infash ion. Best of all, you will see peo ple wear ing cloth ing that youde signed and lov ing it!

20

UNATTRACTIVE FEATURES

FASH ION DE SIGN IS AN EX CIT ING CA REER CHOICE THAT HAS A LOT GO ING FOR IT.With ex cite ment, how ever, come pres sure and stress. Styles for fu turesea sons are pre viewed at fash ion shows. Months of work go into theprep a ra tion of the shows. The pres sure builds as show time nears. Ifthe line flops, the com pany loses money and jobs are jeop ar dized. If all goes well, the work pace gets even more hec tic. There is al ways theworry that prob lems will arise in pro duc tion and the clothes wont get into the stores on time.

Some de sign ers en joy work ing in bright and clean stu dios with allthe am bi ence of an art gal lery. Most, how ever, work in clut tered andnoisy sur round ings. In stead of hav ing a per sonal workspace, ade signer usu ally works in a huge de sign room filled with long ta blesfor cut ting out pat terns and not a chair in sight. Many fash ion housesand gar ment man u fac tur ers are housed in old build ings with drearyin te ri ors, no air con di tion ing, and more stairs than el e va tors.

Fash ion de sign ers who choose to free lance can cre ate morepleas ing workspaces for them selves. But self-em ploy ment has its ownset of head aches. A com mon com plaint from freelancers is that cli entsdont know enough about the pro cess of de sign. There is a con stantneed to ed u cate po ten tial cli ents, if only to jus tify the value (and cost)of de sign. Making a liv ing as a freelancer is nt al ways easy ei ther. There is no on go ing sal ary to count on and there will al ways be thein ev i ta ble down time be tween con tracts. No con tract, no work, nopay. Still, free lanc ing does have its al lure. For some one withex cep tional tal ent and skills and a knack for busi ness, there is the veryreal po ten tial to earn more than a sal a ried de signer while en joy ingcre ative free dom and au ton omy.

21

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

IT IS POS SI BLE TO EN TER THE FIELD OF FASH ION DE SIGN WITH ONLY A HIGH SCHOOLdi ploma. Af ter all, this is a cre ative en deavor and no school can teachyou how to be cre ative. Do you have a good sense of line, color, form,bal ance, pro por tion, and an eye for de tail? Can you sew? Can youcome up with some orig i nal ideas as well as new twists on oldde signs? If you can dem on strate you have ar tis tic tal ent and a sense of style, then you need to put to gether a port fo lio to prove it. Hope fully,you can draw well enough to get your ideas across clearly. If not, dont de spair. You can al ways put your de signs on man ne quins or livemod els (its okay to use your friends) and take pho tos. Youll still needto learn to draw though and the sooner the better.

A port fo lio that shows you love fash ion and are ca pa ble of com ing up with good ideas can get you an en try-level job in the fash ionin dus try. How ever, with out for mal train ing it is un likely that you willstart as a de signer or even an as sis tant de signer. In fact, it could takeyears to get your first shot at one of those po si tions. It is more likelythat you will be cut ting, sew ing, iron ing, or fetch ing mo cha lattes forthe de sign ers.

If you are se ri ous about mak ing fash ion de sign your ca reer, youhave a much better chance of suc cess with some ed u ca tion. You willstill need a port fo lio, but in stead of us ing it to ap ply for a job you willuse it to get into a vo ca tional school or col lege that pro videsspe cial ized train ing in fash ion de sign.

There are many schools with fash ion pro grams and most of themteach the nec es sary ba sics: tech ni cal ex per tise in gar mentcon struc tion, prin ci ples of de sign, and com puter-aided de sign skills.But there are only a few schools, in clud ing Par sons School of De signand Rhode Is land School of De sign (RISD) that can boast top-notchrep u ta tions in the in dus try. A di ploma from one of these schools is like a magic key that un locks the door to a great fu ture. You will re ceivethe best train ing, but the real ad van tage is that these schools workclosely with the in dus try. For ex am ple, suc cess ful de sign ers like DonnaKaran work di rectly with the grad u at ing stu dents at Par sons bycritiquing their work and of fer ing guid ance. Am bi tious stu dents atRISD have the op por tu nity to com pete for pres ti gious awards andgrants that bring at ten tion as well as money. At the end of the lastse mes ter, grad u at ing stu dents at these schools show their col lec tionsat fash ion shows at tended by im por tant peo ple scout ing for newtal ent.

22

A di ploma from one of the top de sign schools co mes withcon tacts that you prob a bly cant get on your own. Chances are goodthat you will have your first job lined up be fore grad u a tion day. It isnot easy to get ac cepted; these schools are very se lec tive andcom pe ti tion among ap pli cants is touch. You should try as hard as youcan though. It is well worth the ef fort.

If you cant get into a top tier de sign school, there are many other choices. Some big city high schools of fer classes in com mer cial sew ing, prin ci ples of de sign, and fash ion mar ket ing. Stu dents who pass all there quired classes are qual i fied to earn a cer tif i cate from the Na tionalOc cu pa tional Com pe tency Testing In sti tute.

There are many com mu nity col leges and vo ca tional schools thatof fer two-year pro grams in the fun da men tals of fash ion de sign.Stu dents in these schools can earn an As so ci ate of Arts de gree orcer tif i cate. Classes typ i cally in clude sketch ing, drap ing,pat tern-mak ing, cut ting, gar ment con struc tion, tex tiles and trim mings, fash ion mar ket ing, and prin ci ples of de sign and color.

There are also many four-year fash ion de sign pro grams of feredthrough col leges and uni ver si ties. In ad di tion to de sign, courses mayin clude mar ket ing strat egy, sales con trol sys tems, prin ci ples ofcus tomer and per sonal ser vice, psy chol ogy, so ci ol ogy, an thro pol ogy,and var i ous courses in fine arts. How ever, many in the pro fes sionalcon sider vo ca tional schools a better choice be cause they are moreclosely al lied with the gar ment in dus try than most four-yearin sti tu tions.

Most vo ca tional schools of fer two choices. If you want to en terthe field as quickly as pos si ble, you can choose to earn a first-levelcer tif i cate of pro fi ciency that will qual ify you for a job as a De signRoom As sis tant. This short course will pre pare you to work in a de signroom, do ing gen eral tasks such as spec writ ing, cat a log ing fab rics andtrims, and up dat ing sam ple boards.

If you would pre fer to en ter the field as a de signer, you can earn a sec ond-level cer tif i cate. It will take more time, but you will be qual i fied to work as an As sis tant De signer. It is a job that re quires a thor oughknowl edge of ap parel con struc tion, pat terns, color, and de sign.Courses for this ex tended pro gram in clude:

Design techniques and tools

Pattern making and grading

Draping and flat work

23

Garment construction

Ornamentation, trimmings, and features

Fabric behavior and application

Costume history

Principles of design and color

Cost analysis and pricing

Planning and promoting seasonal lines

Trends in the fashion world

Even be gin ner As sis tant De signers of ten get to do real de signwork. For ex am ple, you might be asked to pro duce flat draw ings ofgar ments with de tailed spec i fi ca tions for pro duc tion or cre ate themeboards with fab rics and trims.

First-level cer tif i cate hold ers al ways have the op tion of re turn ingto school to earn a sec ond-level cer tif i cate or an as so ci ates de gree.

De signers who want to spe cial ize in cos tume de sign will need aBach e lor of Arts de gree.

EARNINGS

FASH ION DE SIGN ERS CAN MAKE A GREAT DEAL MONEY. IT IS NOT UN USUAL FORhighly skilled and well-known de sign ers in top firms to earn more than $150,000 an nu ally. But 90% of de sign ers earn less than $100,000.How much you earn will de pend on your tal ent, your rep u ta tion, thesize of your em ployers com pany, and the kind of fash ion de sign youdo.

Na tion wide, the me dian an nual in come for fash ion de sign ers isaround $50,000, with most earn ing be tween $35,000 and $75,000.In comes are higher in the two fash ion cap i tals, New York andCal i for nia. Fash ion de sign ers in Cal i for nia av er age $60,000 an nu ally. In New York, en try-level de sign ers start out at around $45,000 whilemore ex pe ri enced de sign ers such as head de sign ers earn an av er age$95,000 a year.

How well be gin ners are paid de pends on ed u ca tion and train ing.You can get into this ca reer with no train ing at all, but you will have to take an en try level po si tion that pays mea ger wages, prob a bly lessthan $25,000 a year. The pic ture is much brighter if you have an

24

as so ci ates de gree in fash ion de sign. With this kind of prep a ra tion, you can start as a de sign room as sis tant or as sis tant de signer. The av er agestart ing sal a ries for de gree hold ers is about $35,000 a great pay offfor only two years of school ing. There is an added bo nus, too. De signschool grad u ates can ex pect to move up the ca reer lad der fairlyquickly, in creas ing earn ings with each step.

Tal ented de sign ers with proven abil i ties can ne go ti ate for bettersal a ries and ben e fits. Much is de pend ent on rep u ta tions, for both thede signer and the fash ion house. Typically, as a de signer be comes wellknown, he/she is of fered a share of the com pany. The own er ship share per cent age grows as the de signers name be comes better known. Topde sign ers with suc cess ful cloth ing lines at im por tant fash ion housesalso earn bo nuses that have the po ten tial for mil lions of dol lars inad di tional in come.

Some fash ion de sign ers are self-em ployed. A free lance de signersin come can ex ceed that of a sal a ried de signer. But earn ings can varygreatly de pend ing on rep u ta tion, tal ent, busi ness acu men, and type of cli en tele. Some work on re tainer with a guar an teed per cent age of thegross. Oth ers are paid per unit or con tract.

The most com mon freelancers in this in dus try are cos tumede sign ers. Most cos tume de sign ers do not earn as much as fash ionde sign ers, but they do usu ally make more than $1,000 per week. Thatdoes not mean, how ever, that they nec es sar ily earn $50,000 a year.Cos tume de sign ers al most al ways work on a con tract ba sis and longpe ri ods of un em ploy ment be tween con tracts are not un usual.

OPPORTUNITIES

THE FIELD OF FASH ION DE SIGN IS A SMALL ONE, BUT IN TER EST INGLY, DE SIGN ERSare key peo ple in the in dus try - for each fash ion de signer there are 100 gar ment work ers pro duc ing the de signs.

Fash ion de sign ers at the top of their pro fes sion en joy high payand pres tige. They rarely re tire early, which does cre ate strongcom pe ti tion for those on the way up. But there will al ways be roomfor tal ented de sign ers. De mand for fash ion de sign ers is ex pected togrow faster than for most pro fes sions in the com ing years. A grow ingpop u la tion with grow ing per sonal in comes is spur ring the de mand.Amer i can con sum ers have come to ex pect fresh styles with the change of ev ery sea son. And they have the money to sat isfy an ap pe tite fornew clothes and ac ces so ries on a reg u lar ba sis.

25

De spite the job growth, this is a very com pet i tive field. Like allar tis tic fields, fash ion de sign is very ap peal ing to cre ative and tal entedpeo ple. Those who in vest in proper train ing have the best chance ofbreak ing in. There are plenty of open ings for as sis tant de sign ers, butonly those who de velop the nec es sary tech ni cal ex per tise at a de signschool qual ify for these po si tions.

Most as pir ing fash ion de sign ers dream of work ing in high fash ion. Un for tu nately, that is the tough est area to break into. Theem ploy ment out look is much better in other spe cial ized ar eas such aschil drens cloth ing, ath letic wear, and sleepwear.

There are some op por tu ni ties for fash ion de sign ers in most UScit ies. How ever, New York is the num ber one fash ion cen ter in Amer ica and there fore has the most jobs. Cal i for nia is a close sec ond, withnu mer ous op por tu ni ties in Los An geles and San Fran cisco.

Most de sign ers ad vance by mov ing from firm to firm. A be gin nermight start as a cut ting as sis tant in one com pany, then take a job asas sis tant de signer in an other com pany. Or a tech ni cal de signer mightbe stuck with no way to prog ress at a pat tern com pany, but theex pe ri ence qual i fies him/her for the po si tion of head de signer at amass mar ket man u fac turer. The world of fash ion is small and word ofop por tu ni ties gets around fast. Net working is usu ally the key tofind ing the next job open ing.

There are also op por tu ni ties for fash ion de sign ers to move intore lated fields that are more ad min is tra tive than cre ative. A few of thepos si bil i ties are mer chan dis ing, pro duc tion su per vi sion, and buy ing.

26

GETTING STARTED

ALL GOOD FASH ION DE S IGN SCHOOLS HAVE JOB PLACE MENT OF FICES. THEbest em ploy ers scout the top schools to fill job open ings for as sis tantde sign ers. If you cant find a job as as sis tant de signer, you may have to ac cept some other en try-level job, such as cut ter or as sis tant pat ternmaker. Keep look ing for an as sis tant de signer job though so you dontget stuck in the work room.

The most ef fec tive method of find ing a job in fash ion de sign is toap proach po ten tial em ploy ers di rectly. Look in the yel low pages fordress mak ers, gar ment man u fac tur ers, large de part ment stores,cus tom dress shops, pa per pat tern mak ers, cos tum ers, the atercom pa nies, and de sign stu dios. If you dont see any list ings, youprob a bly live in the wrong city and you will need to move. Most jobsopen ings are go ing to be in New York or Cal i for nia.

Learn to net work. This is an in dus try where ev ery body knowsev ery body. Start by talk ing to peo ple you have met through sum meror part-time jobs. Join a pro fes sional or ga ni za tion such as the lo calchap ter of the Fash ion Group In ter na tional or the Cos tume Coun cil.

Look for help wanted ads. Oc ca sionally, an ad will ap pear in anews pa per, but youll find most job no tices in the trade jour nals.

You can also search for a job on line. Look for spe cialty websitesgeared spe cif i cally to wards the fash ion in dus try. For ex am ple, at theFash ion Ca reer Cen ter you can search for fash ion jobs, post yourresum , and even show your port fo lio to pro spec tive em ploy ers andre cruit ers.

27

ASSOCIATIONS

Cal i for nia Fash ion As so ci a tion (CFA)californiafashionassociation.org

Cos tume De signers Guild (CDG)www.costumedesignersguild.com

Coun cil of Fash ion De signers of Amer ica (CFDA) www.cfda.com

Amer i can Ap parel and Foot wear As so ci a tionwww.apparelandfootwear.org/

Fash ion Group In ter na tionalhttp://www.fgi.org/home.html

Gen Art www.genart.org

In ter na tional Ap parel Fed er a tionhttp://www.iafnet.org/

New York Fash ion In ter na tionalwww.fashionexportsny.org

San Fran cisco Fash ion In dus trieshttp://www.sffi.org/

In ter na tional As so ci a tion of Cloth ing De signershttp://www.iacde.com/

28

PERIODICALS

Womens Wear Daily http://www.wwd.com/

The Fash ion Di rec toryhttp://www.convergentus.se/fash ion/

Vogue http://www.style.com/vogue/

Guide to New York Fash ion Weekwww.newyorkmetro.com/fash ion/fashionshows/de sign ers/

Daily News Re cordhttp://www.dailynewsrecord.com

The Look On-linehttp://www.lookonline.com/content2.html

WEBSITES

Area of De sign http://www.areaofdesign.com/

Na tional As so ci a tion of Schools of Art and De sign http://nasad.arts-ac credit.org/in dex.jsp

Fash ion Net http://www.fash ion.net/

Fash ion In sti tute of Tech nol ogyhttp://www.fitnyc.suny.edu/html/dy namic.html

The Fash ion In sti tute of De sign & Mer chan dising http://www.fidm.com/

Rhode Is land School of De sign www.RISD.edu

The Art In sti tute of Dal las http://www.aid.edu/

29

The In ter na tional Acad emy of De sign and Tech nol ogy inChi cagohttp://www.iadtchicago.edu/

Fash ion Busi ness In cor po ratedhttp://www.fashionbizinc.org/

Fash ion East www.fashioneast.co.uk

Ma te rial World http://www.ma te rial-world.com

The LA Fash ion Dis tricthttp://www.fashiondistrict.org/

Par sons School of De signhttp://www.par sons.edu/

Fash ion Ca reer Cen terhttp://fashioncareercenter.com/

COPYRIGHT In sti tute For Ca reer Re search 2009CAREERS INTERNET DATABASE www.ca reers-internet.org

30

CAREER AS A FASHION DESIGNERWHAT YOU CAN DO NOWHISTORY OF THE PROFESSIONWHERE YOU WILL WORKTHE WORK YOU WILL DOFASHION DESIGNERS TELL THEIR OWN STORIESI Am a Lead Designer for a Clothing CompanyI Am an Independent Textile DesignerI Am an In-House Fashion Designer

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONSATTRACTIVE FEATURESUNATTRACTIVE FEATURESEDUCATION AND TRAININGEARNINGSOPPORTUNITIESGETTING STARTEDASSOCIATIONSPERIODICALSWEBSITES