What Fashion Designers Do

Fashion designers create original clothing, accessories, and footwear. They sketch designs, select fabrics and patterns, and give instructions on how to make the products they designed.

Work Environment

Fashion designers work in wholesale or manufacturing establishments, apparel companies, retailers, theater or dance companies, and design firms. Most fashion designers work in New York and California.

How to Become a Fashion Designer

Most fashion designers have a bachelor’s degree in a related field, such as fashion design or fashion merchandising. Employers usually seek applicants with creativity, as well as a good technical understanding of the production process for clothing, accessories, or footwear.

Job Outlook

Employment of fashion designers is projected to grow 3 percent from 2014 to 2024, slower than the average for all occupations. Declining employment in the apparel manufacturing industry is slowing the overall employment growth of fashion designers.

Growth & Trends

This occupation supported 22,300 jobs in 2012 and 23,100 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 3.6%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to decrease by 2.7% in 2022 to 21,700 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 22,100, compared with an observed value of 23,100, 4.5% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are better than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 3.1% in 2024 to 23,800 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 21,500 jobs for 2024, 9.7% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much better than the 2012 trend within this occupation.

Fashion Designers Employment and Labor Information 2023

Fashion Designers Employment Brief:

Design clothing and accessories. Create original designs or adapt fashion trends.

Fashion Designers Job Description

Here is a Job Description an employer might post for potential Fashion Designers.

Fashion Designers Responsibilities and Duties:

• Collaborate with other designers to coordinate special products and designs.
• Purchase new or used clothing and accessory items as needed to complete designs.
• Provide sample garments to agents and sales representatives, and arrange for showings of sample garments at sales meetings or fashion shows.
• Attend fashion shows and review garment magazines and manuals to gather information about fashion trends and consumer preferences.
• Sew together sections of material to form mockups or samples of garments or articles, using sewing equipment.
• Design custom clothing and accessories for individuals, retailers, or theatrical, television, or film productions.
• Adapt other designers' ideas for the mass market.
• Draw patterns for articles designed, cut patterns, and cut material according to patterns, using measuring instruments and scissors.
• Research the styles and periods of clothing needed for film or theatrical productions.
• Identify target markets for designs, looking at factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status.

Typical Daily Tasks of Fashion Designers:

• Thinking Creatively: Develop artistic or design concepts for decoration, exhibition, or commercial purposes. Draw detailed or technical illustrations.
• Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships.
• Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work.
• Getting Information: Conduct market research. Study scripts to determine project requirements.
• Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People.
• Scheduling Work and Activities.
• Communicating with People Outside the Organization.
• Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Collaborate with others to develop or refine designs.
• Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Select materials or props.
• Selling or Influencing Others: Promote products, activities, or organizations.

Fashion Designers Skills and Requirements:

• Critical Thinking Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
• PresentationsUsing a computer application to create, manipulate, edit, and show virtual slide presentations.
• Service Orientation Actively looking for ways to help people.
• Learning Strategies Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Systems Analysis Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
• Equipment Maintenance Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
• Time Management Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Mathematics Using mathematics to solve problems.
• Complex Problem Solving Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
• Management of Personnel Resources Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Fashion Designers Education and Training:

Typical education for include: Bachelor's degree.

Fashion Designers Salary, Wages, and Salary and Job Outlook

Fashion Designers average pay is: $36.87 per hour according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employees who work in Motion Picture and Video Industries are the highest paid making $54.78, while Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers make the least at $29.56 per hour.Here are the top city/metro areas with the highest paying salaries for a Fashion Designers: