Do you feel dazzled when you see pictures of models wearing exquisite clothes or glamorous photo shoots in fashion magazines? Do you keep an eye out for every fashion trend that hits the retail industry? Do your friends and family get their wardrobes approved by you? If yes, a career in fashion design might be the right fit for you.
Fashion design is an exciting and well-paying career for those who do not want to go down a conventional career path. To become a fashion designer, you need an innate sense of design, a keen eye for colour, an intuition of customer psychology and lots of patience.
If you cannot wait to be a fashion designer and want to know where to begin, this blog will be a great read as it provides practical tips that can help you establish a successful career.
How to start your career
We’ve put together some tips to help you make your mark in this industry.
Get a professional qualification
If you think that obtaining a formal degree in fashion design isn’t required for starting your career, you may want to reconsider. A fashion design course can help you get a foot in the industry and help hone your design skills. A course can also provide you with an overview of different avenues within fashion design such as textiles or jewellery designing; you’ll also get contemporary insight into the business aspect of the industry.
Get hands-on experience
The fashion design industry is a creative sector where theoretical knowledge is no good without practical experience. To establish a successful career, you should hone your craft by taking up internships or work projects with small design firms, local boutiques or freelance designers. This exposure can help you gain relevant experience for your CV.
Learn how to do business
If people aren’t aware that you’re a fashion designer, they will not enlist your services. No matter how great your skills are, if you don’t advertise and promote yourself, you’re losing out on work. You need to engage with your clients and market your designs.
Seeing as many fashion designers are self-employed, you’ll need to keep track of your finances. Therefore, you may also consider taking up a business course to help you develop important financial and management skills to really give your business a boost.
Create a portfolio
A portfolio is a curated collection of your best work. Creating one of these will help you increase your visibility in the industry and help you demonstrate your creativity and skills. Since your portfolio acts as your identity for prospective clients and employers, put in a lot of thought into what should be included and keep it well- organised.
Fashion design can be a financially and emotionally-rewarding career. Irrespective of which branch of fashion design you choose, it can take time to establish your reputation as a successful fashion designer, so be patient and enhance your skills and knowledge by taking up a course for a successful career in the fashion design industry.