Some of the most renowned fashion designers are the ones who didn’t have a formal education in fashion designing. One of the most famous creative directors, fashion designer, artist, photographer and caricaturist, started by taking a brave decision to start a career in fashion designing when he was 14. He submitted sketches and fabric samples to design competitions. The passionate youngster back then, secured the first place in the coat category. With his sheer determination, Lagerfeld started working fulltime with French designer Pierre Balmain.
So, for students, who always wanted to start a career in fashion designing, however, either due to monetary problems or some other, could not afford to go to a fashion designing school, there are surely other ways to initiate a career in this field.
With raw talent, hard work, and a few basic skills, there are some entry-level positions in the fashion industry. As fashion designing is a highly creative field, one with strong will power and creativity, natural skills can become a fashion designer and learn the industrial design techniques to proceed further.
But what are the steps you should follow to do so? Here are some useful tips you should try out to enhance your designing skills in fashion. Read further.
1. Do you know to use Adobe Photoshop? Or Adobe Illustrator or CAD? To take the first steps in fashion designing, you need to have basic knowledge over these programs. Most of the fashion designers use these for effortless designing. It has become part and parcel of the fashion design industry to do so. If you don’t know how to work with these programs, learn it immediately. There are many online tutorials from where you can learn. Also, you can start learning from books like Adobe Photoshop for Fashion Design by Susan Lazear.
2. It is fair if you don’t want to pursue conventional education in fashion designing, but you have to have storming skills in this field to compensate for not having a degree. If you have magnetic talents in fashion designing, do any short term certification course or any qualifying course. It will help you to present yourself in front of the recruiters. With an integration of your uncultured talents and certifications in relevant areas of fashion designing, you will have an opportunity to learn at the workplace. Especially, you will be able to become an expert in computer skills. Oxford Home Study Center provides a 20hrs free online training on fashion designing. Try it out.
3. If you have a really good drawing and sketching skills, then start honing them immediately. Fill the empty pages with proper and excellent layout ideas and innovative designs. Do not worry if the sketches are not up to your expectations, and if you are trying it out after a long time, you already know how to do it. Dedicate yourself and practice wholeheartedly.
4. Simultaneously, start building a portfolio of your design works. It will help you maintain a certain level of professionalism to exhibit yourself in front of the fashion designing fraternity, and in turn to help you showcase your knowledge and skills in front of potential employers.
5. Gather your knowledge on fabric and textiles by making a swatch book. Collect fabric and textiles from local tailors/fabric shops and use them for productive purposes.
6. Learn all techniques of sewing. You have to have skills and knowledge on this as it is the fundamental way to produce the ultimate product from your designs. There are endless books, YouTube videos on every possible sewing technique. Learn and practice from the most complex sewing techniques to the simplest ones.
7. If you can, then do an internship on fashion designing in a reputed brand or a manufacturing unit. Even unpaid part-time works are essential to start a career in fashion designing. You will gain enormous experience in the fashion industry and the business involved in it. You will get insights on sales and marketing also.
8. Help yourself by connecting with as many fashion brands you can. Investigate about the latest happenings in the fashion industry from the corporates. Show them your enthusiastic level and passion to join the fashion industry at any cost.
9. There are companies looking for fashion designers who want to start their career from scratch. Search on relevant job sites and apply to those. Remember, many fashion designers start their career from patternmaking or assisting in sketching. Or even just sitting around and learning from the experienced ones! You will be able to make contacts and who knows in what good career field this all can land you into.
10. Search and participate in every fashion design, stitching and sewing competitions. The competitions are the first place where you can not only show your talents, but you can also make business contacts, and later add their testimonials about you to your resume.
11. Always keep in mind that you are entering the fashion industry without a conventional education. So, the best way to make yourself known in this field is by creating networks. Nowadays, intervention of social media is helping aspiring professionals from any field to get recognized. So it is doing for the fashion designers. Use social media sites well for this purpose.
12. During leisure time, visit museums and galleries to learn about the enriched history and evolution of the world fashion. Attend fashion exhibitions and get your fashion thoughts aligned with the successful ones from this industry.
Nothing is difficult if you have skills and you are willing to put time, endless efforts and hard work. Go out and accomplish your dreams to become a fashion trendsetter.
