Career in Fashion Designing [Step-by-Step Guide]

Fashion Designing is one of the highly creative and in-demand careers in the world. It is especially for those who love to study fashion trends, sketch designs and develop something new and creative in the world of vogue. Wondering how to start a career in fashion designing? Well, you will need to pursue a basic design diploma or degree program to begin a career in this field which can help you learn the intricacies of designing clothes and apparel as well as studying the latest trends.

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What is Fashion Designing?

Fashion designing is the art of crafting customised apparel and lifestyle accessories and has turned into a career option now. It is a promising profession that is creative, and at the same time, serves a high package in the glamorous industry. However, it is a demanding sector, as one needs to be creative, and possess good managerial skills too. If you can create magic with shades, shapes, designs, cuts, and textiles, you have landed on the perfect article to stitch the decision that you have made a bit stronger. 

What Does a Fashion Designer Do?

• Crafting a designing process, from conception through the final look
• Involving in market research, trends in fabrics, techniques, and striving for design inspiration
• Editing the designs in-stream and creating new concepts
• Selecting apt fabrics and snips
• Developing sketches for customised packages
• Collaborating with the technical team to make sure the packages are accurate
• Re-examining products before presentations
• Presenting story, theme, and seasonal boards to clients

Career Opportunities in Fashion Designing

• Fashion Designer
• Retail Buyer
• Rental Manager
• Fashion Stylist
• Jewellery and Footwear Designer
• Personal Shopper
• Makeup Artist
• Fashion Model
• Fashion Photographer
• Fashion Journalist
• Textile Designer

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Fashion Designer

A profession that needs no introduction, fashion designers are precisely linked with the industry.

If you are a fashionista yourself, you might have heard about the top Indian fashion designers such as Varun Bahl, Manish Malhotra, Sabyasachi, Rohit Bal, etc. They have managed to transform the fashion scene in Bollywood.  

A good designer takes care of everything from sketches to textures and patterns; from styling outfits to looks. Here’s a detailed guide on How to Become a Fashion Designer!

Retail Buyer

Once you pursue this career, you will have a great understanding of what clothes will look great on which people. As a retail buyer, you can build up your own store and sell your own products or you can get the products from other designers as well. This field is pretty lucrative if done right.

Retail Manager

Getting a job at a boutique, departmental store, or huge brand such as Lifestyle, Zara, Emporio Armani, etc can be highly satisfactory. A retail manager is accountable for setting up daily targets for the staff and ensuring that marketing and promotions are functioning in a proper way or not. 

Fashion Stylist

This is one of the toughest and most exciting job profiles when we talk about a career in this field. Being a Fashion stylist, your job is to select the right pieces from the designer’s collection or wardrobe to pick the best outfits with respect to clients’ body types, preferences, and tastes. A stylist takes care of makeup, accessories, and hairstyles to the overall look of a person.

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Textile Designer

A textile designer designs 2D unique or repetitive patterns for printed fabrics, weaves, and knit patterns. These fabrics may be used in the interiors to make clothes or as soft furnishing. Textile designers either work as a part of the team in industrial and non-industrial settings or even work independently. Most textile designers use CAD to design textures and patterns.

Read more about Textile Design Courses!

Jewellery and Footwear Designing

Jewellry and footwear is a whole distinct market in the industry that compliments the textile sector. After all, without the right footwear and the right fashion accessories, even the perfect dress remains incomplete.

Personal Shopper

Are you in love with shopping? It’s time to be happy because a personal shopper is an expert who helps brides, celebrities, and even everyday snappy dressers to pluck out the best dresses from the hangers. But remember! You must be a professional so that you can hammer out the best deals, and best shops, and pick the most suitable designs and brands as per the client’s requirements.

Makeup Artist

A makeup artist takes care of the skincare, hairstyling, grooming, and anything related to an additional appearance of the body. However, it’s important to note that makeup artists are different from beauticians as they are not limited to normal beauty treatments. Makeup artists are hired for weddings, pre-wedding photoshoots, bridal makeup, fashion events, celebrities, and models.

Fashion Model

A model is the one who acts and walk on a ramp to show the new trends in order to promote commercial products in the market. Some fashion designers wear their own clothes to represent themselves or sometimes they hire models to promote their work.

If we talk about the general trend, a lot of fashion models have signed themselves with modeling agencies. Such agencies bridge the gap between the models and the prospects. And do you know that there are many fashion designers who wouldn’t hire models unless they are provided by any modeling agencies?

Top Fashion Designers in The World

• Sabyasachi
• Guccio Gucci
• Halston Designer
• John Galliano
• Gabrielle Chanel
• Bob Mackie
• Roy Halston
• Cristobal Balenciaga
• Sobia Nazir
• Elsa Schiaparelli
• Riccardo Tisci
• Faiza Saqlain
• Roy Halston Frowick
• Hubert De Givenchy
• Farah Talib Aziz
• Alber Elbaz

Career in India

It is one of the most charismatic career options. It opens up a lot of opportunities for those who are actually passionate about designing art. Talented designers have a huge potential to earn high income, fame, and glamour.

• Textile Export Houses
• Fashion Boutiques
• Work as an Independent and Self-employed
• Textile or Fabric Manufacturing Units
• Retail Chains
• Fashion Brand Showrooms
• TV and Film Industry
• Teach The Course In Institutes

Qualifications to Become a Fashion Designer

The basic qualification you need is a diploma or degree in Fashion Design/Fashion Technology/Textile Design or related fields. To start a career in the field after 12th, you will have to clear NID exam/UCEED/CEED/NIFT entrance exam for pursuing bachelor’s courses in India while you can also find many diploma and short-term courses.

Is Fashion Designing a Good Career?

It is one of the most in-demand careers in the world. Being a highly creative field, it can give you the opportunity to blend cultures, traverse traditional attires to contemporary ones and even play with colour themes! Every dress has its own story to tell and you can be the storyteller!

• A career in Fashion Design would give you the maximum possible satisfaction.
• Be your own boss and you can start your own brand from zero.
• It will change the way you see the world as the field is full of creativity and fun.
• The industry will give you a huge margin on almost every product.
• The career gives you an opportunity to achieve fame for what you are doing.
• You will have a lot of opportunities to travel around the globe because clients can be from any part of the world.
• Get ready to face all kinds of work arriving in a single workplace.
• You may also get a chance to meet celebrities and other people who have a passion for fashion design just like you if you pursue a career in this field.

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Salary

For those who are looking forward to stepping up a career in fashion designing, mentioned below is the estimated salary they may receive-

Profiles	Initial Salary	Mediocre Salary	Senior Level Salary
Fashion Stylist	1,50,000	3,70,000	6,50,000
Textile Designer	1,80,000	3,50,000	12,00,000
Retail Manager	1,80,000	5,00,000	9,50,000

Top Recruiting Companies Globally

A variety of leading organizations across the globe offer various roles to the graduates of this field. Tabulated below are the popular companies you can target in India as well as abroad-

Companies in India	Companies Abroad
-Allen Solly -AND -Swarovski -Lifestyle -Raymonds -Pantaloons -Spykar	-Donatella Versace -Ralph Lauren -Coco Chanel -Kate Spade -Valentino Garavani -Calvin Klein -Tom Ford -Betsey Johnson -Marc Jacobs

Books

Since the colleges in India as well as abroad offer admission in the courses through entrance exams, thus, the aspirants need a bunch of exclusive books. Listed below are the popular books for cracking the entrance exams related to this field-

• NIFT/IIFT/NID Entrance Exam Guide by R Gupta 
• NIFT Entrance Exam Self Study Guide 
• NIFT Exam Guide by Dr RP Datason 
• Concepts of Pattern Grading 
• Popular Master Guide NIFT by R Gupta 
• NIFT Exam Guide by Verma 

Fashion Designer Courses

There are numerous universities and colleges across the globe that offer a wide range of programmes for those interested in establishing a career in the field

Diploma Courses after 10th

• Diploma Course
• Diploma in Fashion Technician
• Diploma in Fashion Stylist
• Diploma in Vogue Fashion Certificate
• Diploma in Fashion Stylist and Image Consultant
• Diploma in Design for Fashion and Textiles

Courses after 12th

• Bachelor Degree
• Bachelor in Textile Design
• BSc Fashion Designing
• Bachelor of Fashion Technology
• Bachelor of Fashion Design & Technology
• BA Hons in Fashion Design and Manufacture
• Bachelor in Design and Fashion Management
• Bachelor in Fashion Design & Management
• BA Hons (Fashion Journalism)
• BA Hons in Fashion Design & Creative Direction

Courses at Master’s Level

• Master Degree
• Master in Sustainable Fashion Design
• Master of Fashion Management
• Master’s Program in Fashion, Clothing and Textile Design
• Master in Fashion Collection Management
• Master in Styling, Image and Fashion Communication
• Master in Fashion Brand Management
• Master in Fashion Technology
• MA Fashion Design Technology
• MA Fashion Photography
• MA Fashion Curation

Top Institutes and Colleges 

To help you further in your research, below we have described some of the best schools and institutes in the world that you must consider:

• Parson School of Design
• Central Saint Martins
• Istituto Marangoni
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago
• Paris College of Art
• Kingston University

Check out the complete list at Top Fashion Design Schools in the World!

Top Indian Institutes for Fashion Designing

• National Institute of Fashion and Technology, Delhi; Mumbai
• National Institute of Design
• VIDM Institute of Design and Management, New Delhi
• YMCA Institute for Office Management, New Delhi
• Arena Animation
• Pearl Academy
• Symbiosis Institute of Design
• Amity School of Fashion Technology
• Army Institute of Fashion and Design

Pros of a Career in Fashion Designing

There are a lot of benefits to working in the fashion design industry. 

• You are surrounded by creativity
• If you are passionate about new clothes and designs, the career is made just for you
• Working in the fashion industry can be very glamorous
• The industry is filled with hard-working and tenacious people
• You get a lot of gifts and freebies in the fashion industry

Cons of a Career in Fashion Designing

While the industry is all glitz and glamour, you cannot deny that there are certain shortcomings to the field.

• You must work long hours to maintain deadlines
• The jobs are very demanding and criticism can be harsh
• The job can be very demanding and lack work-life balance
• The industry is highly competitive and exhaustive

FAQs

Are you ready to change the cultural trend of your society? Yes, we said ‘cultural trend’ because when you’ll pursue a career in fashion design, you will have the power to change what people wear, what people think about each other, and what people feel about each other. If you feel this is the field for you, contact Leverage Edu at 1800-57-2000 today and kickstart your career.