The prevailing stereotype of a fashion designer: design what you love while also wearing cute clothes everyday, bow at the end of the runway show, take a long vacation when it’s over and finally, get your work so famous that it is featured on stars at fancy events. This job appears to be very high energy, glamorous, bitchy, and super competitive if we all believe the hype. Sigh.

Here’s the reality: Designers can work for labels who have a distinct look that may not reflect their own aesthetic or taste level. They often wear their own self created uniform every day, so they can put all of their energy into their work. (well documented on these designers). They can work long hours depending on the size of the company and their responsibilities. If their name is on the label, there is even more pressure to succeed and success is measured by the cash register. They have usually signed a contract up front agreeing to blackout dates when they must be at work. When they do go on vacation, rumor has it they get as far away from the office as possible.

You can find jobs in fashion at https://jooble.org/ 

And the famous part? There are probably 1 million designers working around the world today and you might be able to name twenty of them. Do you know who designed what you are wearing right now? I don’t mean the label, I mean the person...chances are, likely not.

The Cruise Ship

I like to think of a fashion designer as the cruise director on a ship in charge of keeping all the guests dressing up for events while the captain and crew keep it running smoothly behind the scenes and navigate around potential storms. Ships come in all sizes and so do fashion brands. The smaller the ship, the more nimble they can navigate the rough waters. The larger the ship, well.....Covid capsized quite a few brands recently that couldn’t quite turn around in its wake.

The Real Work

In large companies, the designer’s job is really to push forward and present fresh ideas to the merchandiser who pushes back with the data of current sales reports. Somewhere in between lies a compromise. Designers are often tasked to go back to the drawing board and rework their ideas to strike the right balance of new and familiar each season. This push and pull is meant to bring apparel into the market just when customers want it, so that it doesn’t end up on the clearance rack. Seasoned designers don’t take it personally, it’s just part of the job and keeps their minds challenged.

If you are making a product that no one buys, you have a hobby, not a business. Many small brands have come onto the fashion scene lately building their success around direct personal relationships with their customers. I applaud this boutique method of creating apparel as it fosters satisfaction, and customer loyalty while also reducing the waste of over producing. Yes to #slowfashion

Capitalizing On Your Past Success

All designers are prompted at some point to recreate that best seller from last season, last month, or their last collection. If it’s not from a merchandiser, then it comes directly from a store carrying their brand. They always say: “Can you create that ____ from last year, but make it new and different?” Herein lies the real challenge, creating new best sellers from past ones. Try it: think of your very favorite outfit right now and try to design one more that you will love to wear just as much.

The Great Juggling Act

Designers create apparel by season: spring/summer, fall/winter, holiday, and cruise. Within a season, they are creating by the expected ship date of the final product, called the delivery. How often you deliver depends on an agreement between your company and the buyer. To achieve a monthly delivery schedule, designers start developing ideas several months to a year ahead, depending on their production lead times.

This creates a great juggling act of research and development of new ideas while reviewing current prototypes, production and sales. Below is a list of responsibilities a designer may have depending on the size of their company and how they manage their sample development and final production:

Market Research / Inspiration

• Review weekly sales reports

• Analyze best and worst sellers

• Read trade magazines like CA Apparel News and WWD

• Use trend forecasting services like WGSN

• Watch/attend fashion shows

• Shop stores / websites

• Buy other garments as inspiration

• Pin favorite inspiration to Pinterest

• Read current fashion magazines

• Check your brand’s social media

• Create mood board(s) with color story

Sourcing and Product Development

• Attend fabric trade shows

• Shop fabric vendors, request swatches/headers

• Assign fabric swatches to each group /delivery

• Send approved colors to fabric vendors for lab dips

• Develop custom fabrics by fiber, weight and drawing

• Shop trim vendors, request samples

• Source treatments like: embroidery, washes, tie dye etc.

Direct Graphic Arts Department

• Create custom artwork for labels/hang tags

• Create artwork for trim development

• Buy prints/pattern art from studios to be printed on fabric

  • Direct changes to art layouts, repeats

  • Direct color way options for prints

  • Choose printing method by proposed fabrication

  • Direct artwork of placement prints

• Direct artwork for embroideries, screen prints, etc.

Design

• Drape fabrics on dress form for inspiration

• Sketch initial garment concepts by hand or CAD

• Make flat sketches in Adobe Illustrator / Vector based

• Give final sketches to tech designer or pattern maker

• Update sketches as they change from fittings

• Attend team meetings where changes may be requested

• Re-design to balance out assortment or reduce cost

Fittings

• Fit first prototypes on form or model and direct changes

• Fit pre production sample in real fabric (Final sew-by)

• Fit other sizes to check grading

• Check fit/look of dupes or salesman samples

• Check fit /look of photoshoot samples

• Review Top of Production with Quality Assurance team

Photoshoots - Look Books & Web Shots

• Collaborate with marketing on mood of collection

• Select print model that fits the brand identity

• Direct hair and makeup

• Direct photographer for lifestyle shots

• Choose location and or props

• Attend photo shoot to make sure product looks right

• Review final shots and make selections for book /web

Runway

• Organize run of show by number of looks / color

• Attend casting and select models for show

• Direct production team for music / pace

• Direct any pre show fittings for runway models

• Direct hair and makeup team

• Show day: check models outfits before they walk

If you want to hear more about this job in fashion as it relates to designing swimwear, listen to my interview of our Fashion Studies instructor Julie Ann Brown on my YouTube Channel and subscribe for future videos.

Until next time,

xo Jennifer