Fashion Designers - Not an Easy Job!

Its 21st century and we are talking about FASHION! We wear all sort of different brands of clothes and patterned outfits, accessories and much more without really knowing the real ideas and the efforts put together in designing the same. So instead of just talking about fashion brands and clothes, lets talk about the people behind the scene whom we call the Fashion Designers.

Fashion Designers are those creative individuals who put together the elements and develop an interesting design with help of drawing and illustration. Its not an easy task to become a Fashion Designer. Knowledge about textiles, fabric awareness, silhouette, proportion, colours, construction, pattern cutting, draping and much more is required. Generally, to become a fashion designer, creative mind, enthusiastic nature, patience and a lot of practice is required but professional training from any design institute or university may add up to more exposure, guidance and experience studying and working with different people of top levels.

Fashion is a subject of vital interest and the designers have to put up their best to create something new while making amendments in the basic designing patterns. Fashion professionals are one treated nothing less than any celebrities, movie stars, athletes or politicians. They live and breath the air of glamour, life, style and creativity. Fashion can be a popular career option. With no or little formal training many designers have gained a lot of success with obviously lots of extra efforts and talent put in.

So, before we think, wearing designer clothes and spending that extra dollars, lets know what it takes to be a Fashion Designer...'

"Designers have to play many parts like an artist, salesman, politician, businessman, economist, illustrator, scientist, mathematician, psychologist combined with a enthusiastic learner and developer of fashion era."

Thus, its not Fashion Design, rather we call it Fashion getting Designed!

Fashion Designers - What Have They Really Given Us

The history of fashion is the history of its fashion designers, each remembered best for the innovations or new styling that he or she has brought to the industry.

Who can think of Chanel without her No. 5 perfume, or Fortuny without his 'Delphos' gown or Givenchy without his 'Sack' dress? Mary Quant will always be associated with the miniskirt, just as Pierre Cardin will be with the 'maxi' and Hermes with scarves and handbags.

Just as glamour is synonymous with Valentine, Balenciaga and James, casual lifestyle dressing is inherent in the designs of Armani and Lauren. How can we ever think of jeans without remembering Levi's, or men's underwear without thinking about Calvin Klein?

Fantasy is synonymous with exotic Poiret, theatrical Galliano and Treacy's lavish hat creations, while tradition and longevity are the mainstays of Carrier jewelers, Kari Lagerfeld, and the House of Pucci.

Fashion has always been a product of its times and must be viewed within a broader cultural context. This context considers the fashion designers' different ethnic and social backgrounds, changing social mores and attitudes, technological advances and the impact of economic and political events upon fashion trends.

There are four areas of fashion design to consider when talking of designers: haute couture; pret-a-porter; contemporary avant-garde; and accessories. Haute-couture (high-fashion) designers are considered the very best, governed in Paris by the Chambre Syndicate de la Couture, fashions trade union, which determines who may be called an 'haute couturier'.

There are currently only 18 official haute couture fashion houses in Paris. Pret-a-porter or ready-to-wear designers mass-produce their fashion ranges instead of creating unique and exclusive 'one-off' models. Some designers produce both an haute couture line and a ready-to-wear line and, today, numerous designers offer a diffusion line - an associated brand of less expensive clothing.

Over the years, there have been many fashion designers whose work defies classification. These are the designers who have pioneered new styling, techniques and ideas about fashion - in other words, they have broken traditions, smashed conventions and offered clothing that previously would not have been considered serious fashion apparel. These are the contemporary avant-garde designers.

Fashion Clothing - What Fashion Designers Offer You

Types of Fashion Designs

Fashion designers usually depend upon textile designs to set their fashion collections as unique. These designs are the work of trained textile designers who design fabric weaves and prints for clothes and furnishings. There are essentially three categories of fashion design.

Haute couture: The high-fashion clothings, haute couture, is originally a French term meaning 'high sewing' but today it has come to represent high end fashion clothing which can cost anywhere between few thousands to few lacs of dollars. Created for specific clients with "made-to-measure" technique, they are usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with great attention to detail and finish, often made with time-consuming, hand-executed methods. What is important in them is look and fit. Cost of materials and the time to make them doesn't matter- they can go to any extreme. In fact, Haute couture is a protected term which can only be officially used by companies that are the members of and meet certain well-defined standards set by the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture. Many ready-to-wear, and even mass market labels, claim to manufacture haute couture but according to established standards, they do not.

Ready-to-wear: These garments are not made for individual customers, but then also, much attention is paid to select the proper fabrics and their cuts. To maintain exclusivity, only a small quantity of such garments are manufactured and as such they are comparatively expensive but not like haute couture. They are produced as ready-to-wear collections and presented during fashion weeks, usually twice in a year. These collections can be under fashion designers own labels or under label of any fashion company for whom designers have made it. They can include anything from day wear or evening wear for men, women, teenage, lingerie, sportswear, bridal wear to even accessories.

Mass market clothing: As the above two categories come in very high and high price ranges which can be afforded only by a small section of consumers, the fashion industry mostly depends on mass market sales. This market presents a very wide range of ready-to-wear clothes in large quantities and standard sizes. Most often, cheap material and simple machine production techniques are used but the designs represent creativity. This helps in producing affordable fashion for all. The designs are, however, adapted form the trends set by the famous names in fashion. As such, they hit the market after a season or two.

Hopefully, now you know what you can get in the fashion stores and how to differentiate among them. Happy shopping then!

Becoming Fashion Designers

Fashion designers are responsible for creating the clothing, footwear, and accessories purchased by the billions on a yearly basis by consumers. Some fashion designers specialize in clothing design (men's, women's, and children's apparel). Others concentrate on footwear (shoes and boots). A third variety of fashion designer specializes in accessory design (handbags, belts, scarves, hats, hosiery, etc). Some fashion designers dabble in all three of these fashion categories. A fashion designer will always remain up-to-date by continuously studying fashion trends. He/she will begin the design process by sketching designs and will later begin to select colors and fabrics. The designer will then oversee the evolution of the original designs into the form of new clothes and accessories. The entire process cycle will typically take between 18 and 24 months.

Education, Certification, Licensing

A degree is extremely useful in this profession. Bachelors and associate degree programs in fashion design are offered at many colleges, universities, and private art and design schools. At a minimum a student should plan on spending two years in any fashion design program. As an added measure to succeed in the field, an aspiring designer should supplement a fashion design degree with a business, marketing, or fashion merchandising degree. An understanding of the business end of the fashion industry is extremely important, and strong sales and presentation skills are valuable assets in forging a successful career.

Most of the over 200 schools accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design require applicants to submit sketches and other examples of their artistic ability as a criteria for admission. Therefore, industry experience is very important in this profession, regardless of whether it is acquired before, during, or after pursuing a formal education program. Early volunteer work, like costuming, can help a person get started. An internship with a design or manufacturing firm or a first job as a pattern maker or sketching assistant for more experienced designers will be well worth it in the long run. Also worthwhile would be a job working in a retail store or as a custom tailor.

A Fashion Designer's Job

A fashion designer thinks up combinations of line, proportion, color, and texture for intended garments. They may have no sewing or pattern making skills whatsoever, and may only sketch or conceptualize garments. A seamstress is someone who sews seams, or in other words, a machine operator in a factory who may not have the skills to make garments from scratch or to fit them on a real body. A custom clothier makes custom garments one at a time, to order, to meet an individual customer's needs and preferences. An alterations specialist (alterationist) adjusts the fit of completed garments, usually ready-to-wear, or restyles them.

Designers

Designers have the flair for creating with fabric and know how to use textiles effectively. However, Milan is seen as the fashion capital of Italy because many well-known designers are based there and it is the venue for the Italian designer collections. Most textile designers start out by applying for courses either in fashion design or textiles. A stylist is either a person who co-ordinates the clothes, jewelry, and accessories used in fashion photographs and catwalk shows or a kind of designer whose designs are based on existing things, trends, and designers collections.

Job competition is expected to be keen as many designers are attracted to the creativity and glamour associated with the occupation, while relatively few job openings arise. Footwear designers help create and produce different styles of shoes and boots. Accessory designers help create and produce items that add the finishing touches to an outfit, such as handbags, belts, scarves, hats, hosiery, and eyewear. Some designers conduct their own research, while others rely on trend reports published by fashion industry trade groups.

Textile manufacturers use these trend reports to begin designing fabrics and patterns while fashion designers begin to sketch preliminary designs. During this time, designers usually will narrow down their choices of which designs to offer for sale. While most designers initially sketch designs by hand, a growing number also translate these hand sketches to the computer. CAD allows designers to view designs of clothing on virtual models and in various colors and shapes, thus saving time by requiring fewer adjustments of prototypes and samples later.

Department

Experienced designers may advance to chief designer, design department head, or other supervisory position. The best job opportunities will be in design firms that design mass market clothing sold in department stores and retail chain stores, such as apparel wholesale firms. Elizabeth Arden, wanting to be the first to bring Paris fashion to New York, persuaded Castillo to work in the haute couture department of her New York salon in 1945. US department stores produce their own less expensive private labels, which are heavily based on top designers.

Designers need to have visual imagination and the ability to think in three-dimension to translate into garments what they visualize. Designers must be good communicator and very clear with their ideas which is reflected in the presentation of fashion shows. Designers use the web in many functional mixtures. Designers who sell lower-priced versions of their own lines aren't smart.

Fashion Designers: 5 Affordable and Alternative Ideas for Showcasing Your Fashion Collections!

The runways of NY Fashion Week are the pinnacle of all things glamorous and can turn fashion designers into industry darlings. However, it is also a very costly production and may not be the best place for a new designer to launch their line. As much as I love, love, love seeing shows during Fashion Week, I don't recommend that new designers spend that kind of money to get their designs seen so early in their careers. This post will give you ideas for alternative ways to showcase your fashion line during Fashion Week (or any time of year!).

Putting together a Fashion Week runway show can be very expensive. It costs at least $30k to show at NY Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. You need to have proper funding to pay for the: space, models, hair, makeup, set design, lighting, photographers, videographers, plus the cost of your actual designs, among other things. In my opinion, new designers shouldn't be doing runways shows until they are making enough money to sustain normal business activities plus the cost of putting together a Fashion Week Runway Shows.

Fashion Week Runway Shows are the best platform for established leaders in fashion innovation. There are over 100 shows in NY during Fashion Week and it's hard for Fashion Editors and Buyers to make it to all of the well-known designer runway shows. If you are able to hold your fashion event close to where the actual runway shows are taking place, it makes it easier for editors and buyers to stop in and attend.

Wherever you decide to have your fashion show, be sure to have someone videotape it so you can post it on your website and blog (and so the fashion bloggers can do the same thing for you!). Live video-streaming is also an excellent option for your fans and clients who live out of town but still want to support you and "be a part" of your fashion show!

Here are a few ideas that can be used for a more cost-effective fashion presentation:

1. Do a fashion installation in a hotel suite. You can have models standing in the room that's put together like a chic fashion shoot set wearing your most exciting and show-stopping designs for editors and buyers to walk around and see.

2. Throw a cocktail party at a popular local lounge that features a few models in your designs to launch your line. You can invite lots of friends, family, buyers, bloggers, local boutique owners and press to attend and you will also have some of the location's regular foot traffic to rely on.

3. Are you an early-bird? Consider hosting a small invite-only breakfast buffet at a cute local restaurant where you can do a fashion show. Both women and men love free food and the fact that it comes with entertainment (your fashion show) is an added bonus for them!

4. Is there a great neighborhood garden, park or local museum that you could negotiate using as a space to showcase your designs?

5. Many colleges have fashion shows, especially around homecoming time. Could this be another way for you to get your designs seen?

Krista Carter
Author
http://www.DreamFashionJobs.com

Famous Fashion Designers

Fashion designers use flair and know-how to create everything from hospital uniforms to the eye-popping outfits worn by rock stars and models. Jobs for fashion designers are expected to grow more slowly than the average for all careers through 2014, according to government economists. A study of the work of several other fashion designers records how fashion changed throughout the decade.

Fashion

Fashion design is also a labor of love, requiring long hours and little chance of superstardom -- but for many, the work itself is the reward. Fashion designers, in fact, are some of the most creative and eclectic people that you will ever meet. Men's fashions during the 19th and 20th centuries have been conservative and dull in comparison to women's. The fashion industry is a big part of our economy. Here is a short list: Chanel Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel (1883-1971) created feminine fashion that provided the feeling of luxury and combined traditional women's clothing with styles, fabrics, and articles of clothing used by men. Her fashion revolution liberated women to express their femininity with elegance and grace.

The Hollywood film "The Devil Wears Prada", starring Meryl Streep, has brought a lot of attention to the world of fashion. More information about Prada Versace Gianni Versace (1946-1997) became interested in fashion working in his mother's small dress shop. By 1978 he had become a design leader of women's and men's fashions. More information about Giorgio Armani Jean-Paul Gaultier (1952- ) is a French fashion designer who never received formal design training. In 1967 he purchased the Polo label and launched a world-wide fashion empire that includes clothing lines for men and women.

Fashion

The high prices commanded by the fashionable Fendi purses have created a large market for fake goods from Asia bearing logos that are eerily similar to the inverted FF. In 1985, they took part in a fashion show featuring "New Talent", and the following year, they presented their first independent women's ready-to-wear show. You'd have to be walking around with a shopping bag over your head to not realize that fashion is everywhere. In order to succeed in the often cutthroat--and frequently debt-ridden--world of fashion, designers can no longer hide behind their model's skirts.

Most fashion designers, however, work for apparel manufacturers, creating designs of men's, women's, and children's fashions for the mass market. Employment growth for fashion designers will be slowed, however, by declines in the apparel manufacturing industries Designers in most fields are expected to face strong competition for available positions.

Most women of means had a dressmaker who would create garments according to the latest fashions. Instead of catering strictly to a few wealthy clients, coveted fashion designers now create product lines ranging from perfumes to pantyhose that can reach consumers at every price point. "Consumers at the middle and lower level have realized they can get just as good a fashion direction with clothing at disposable prices that they can wear once and throw away--or if it falls apart, who cares.

Trishia Lopez is a successful Webmaster and publisher of www.TheFashionGurus.com. She provides more information about Fashion and fashion issues that you can research in your pajamas on her website.