How to Become a Fashion Designer

Is Fashion Your Passion? If you've always dreamed of becoming a successful designer, read on to learn more about how you can realize your dream and become a fashion designer.

The three most fundamental skills required to become a fashion designer are: sewing, drawing, and creativity. You can always learn both drawing and sewing in fashion school (actually, those are typically mandatory classes), but creativity is something you must have in your blood.

Besides the skills listed above, you need the following skills to become successful no matter what your career path is: motivation, determination, and commitment.

If you are serious about becoming a fashion designer, the first and most important step you'll need to take is to enroll in a good fashion design program at an accredited institute. The advantage of going to school is that you'll be taught everything you need to know in a well structured, organized environment. You'll learn the industry standards, how to accomplish required tasks efficiently, get hands on experience with the latest industry technology, and learn exactly what needs to be done to break into the fashion world and how to go about doing it well. Additional benefits include potential internships with well known companies and excellent networking opportunities.

If you're sure you want a career in fashion but are not certain as to which path is right for you, here are a few options to get you thinking: fashion design, accessory design, apparel design, fashion merchandising, fashion marketing and fashion journalism.

As with any career, a solid plan and a good education are essential. This might be even truer in fashion design, as it is definitely not an easy industry to break into. That shouldn't discourage you however, and if you are discouraged that easily then this probably isn't the right career for you. But with hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck, there's no stopping you from becoming the next Coco Channel or Calvin Klein.

A good first step is to pick a few good fashion schools and get some information from them regarding their programs. This can all be done quite easily now as most schools now have short "information package request" forms right on their websites. They're usually pretty short forms, you fill them out and they mail you an information package which outlines their programs in details. It's definitely worth looking into if you really are serious about getting into the fashion industry.