Becoming a Fashion Designer

Lisa Springsteel

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781118420980
• Edition: 11
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

The complete guide to the fashion industry, featuring interviews with top designers who explain the intricacies of the world of fashion design

Anyone who has ever tried to launch a fashion design career knows how grueling it can be. The fashion industry is a highly prominent field, yielding a competitive environment that is greatly guarded, secretive, and difficult to infiltrate. Becoming a Fashion Designer provides all the information, resources, and tools you need to help you navigate these obstacles and successfully launch a career in fashion design.

Of the various job opportunities available in the fashion industry, the career path of a fashion designer consistently ranks as the most popular position in the field, making the competition even greater. The book pays special attention to this and demonstrates several ways in which an aspiring fashion designer can stand out from the competition. A dynamic and comprehensive career guide, this book imparts insider tips from top fashion designers and executives based around the world. Expert advice includes an introduction to a career in fashion design, educational requirements, career opportunities, the design process, portfolio creation, preparation for getting hired, steps to start and run one's own fashion design business, as well as a forecast of the future of the fashion industry.

• Features original interviews from top designers and high-profile fashion executives, including Ralph Rucci, Reem Acra, Peter Som, Anna Sui, Nanette Lepore, Kay Unger, Stuart Weitzman, Dennis Basso, Randolph Duke, Zang Toi, Pamella Roland, Robert Verdi and Daymond John
• Includes cases in point and insider tips throughout
• Includes illustrations, drawings, sketches, and photographs demonstrating various aspects of working in fashion design, with special contributions from renowned illustrator, Izak Zenou and legendary fashion photographer, Nigel Barker
• Offers in-depth resources to assist you on your journey to becoming a fashion designer

Whether a student, recent college graduate, industry professional or career changer, you'll learn everything you need to know to successfully develop a fashion design career.

Illustrated by Izak Zenou for Lancôme. COURTESY OF IZAK ZENOU.

Chapter 1

An Introduction to a Career in Fashion Design

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is something in the air. It's the wind that blows in the new fashion; you feel it coming, you smell it, in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.”

–Coco Chanel

SOMEHOW, AT SOME POINT IN YOUR LIFE, SOMETHING INSPIRED A CREATIVE SPARK INSIDE OF YOU. Perhaps when you were a child, you discarded the original outfit that your Barbie™ doll came in and created a much more elaborate one. Or when you were growing up, you were completely enamored with how stunning your mother looked as you watched her get dressed up for a night on the town–her dress, her shoes, her jewelry, her hair! No matter how you arrived at your decision, welcome.

There is nothing quite as rewarding as being a fashion designer: a creative visionary who, from a mere brainstorming concept, creates a fully saleable collection seen on runways, in stores and catalogs, and on people around the world. From idea to finished product, fashion designers do a lot more than just design. During a typical workday, a designer can cast models for an upcoming fashion show, meet with the public relations director to discuss international press, troubleshoot a fit issue with the technical design team, seek counsel from the legal department to ensure the hangtag meets government regulations, and discuss last season's bestsellers with merchandising.

Look 34 of the Spring 2012 Peter Som Runway Collection. PHOTOGRAPHER: DAN LECCA. COURTESY OF PETER SOM.

As a fashion designer who dreams of launching your very own collection, you will have the opportunity to express not only your own unique design aesthetic to the world, but also your personal viewpoints on societal issues and life-changing moments in history, ranging from politics and world peace to charitable and philanthropic causes, gay rights, and environmental sustainability. Renowned fashion designer Kenneth Cole is famous for expressing his strong personal opinions in his advertising campaigns. This is only one of the many thrilling ways that you can use your innate sense of style, refined color sense, individual creativity, and artistic talent to influence people, lifestyles, and trends. So, in essence, fashion designers hold the key not only to creating innovations in fashion, but also to relaying a message that is important to them.

Fashion is not just a product; it is an extension of who people are, how they embody, perceive, portray, and conduct themselves, and how they live. Fashion is a mood lifter; it can enhance our life and lift our spirits–and, most of all, it can bring us joy. Many people take pride in expressing their personal aesthetic through what they wear and how they wear it, from head to toe. There is a psychological aspect to fashion that can have a profound effect on the consumer (for example, a sense of confidence or an overwhelming feeling of power) when he or she puts on a specific garment, shoe, accessory, or even fragrance, and a good designer will always keep this in mind when designing for their target customer.

On her: Night dress. On him: Kinsley jacket and Panos pant from Panos Emporio. COURTESY OF PANOS EMPORIO

Fashion designers have the opportunity to dress their customers for both their careers and their social lives–from their most exciting moments to their very worst days. From the newborn baby on his first day home from the hospital, to a child's first day of preschool, to the teenager attending her senior prom, to the college student walking down the graduation aisle, to the unemployed man who needs to ensure that he lands his only opportunity for a job offer, to the bride-to-be walking nervously but excitedly down the aisle, you will play a fundamental role in supporting and touching people's lives with the fashions you create for them in these vital moments in their lives.

The distinguished Tunisian fashion designer Elie Saab lived this dream, dressing actress Halle Berry for the 74th Annual Academy Awards presentation, when, in 2001, Berry became the first black woman to receive an Academy Award for Best Actress. In her emotional acceptance speech, with tears rolling down her face, she cried, “This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Dianne Carroll. It's for the women that stand beside me, Jada Pinckett, Angela Bassett, Vivica Fox, and it's for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.” Even though Mr. Saab was not on stage with his client, he played a vital behind-the-scenes role in two very important ways. First, he helped his client to feel confident for her important occasion. Second, he built a certain trust level with Halle Berry that prompted her to select him as her designer of choice for her big moment. The bond that forms between the fashion designer and client often results in a lifelong friendship.

Claudia Schiffer in the Halston Premiere Collection by Randolph Duke. COURTESY OF RANDOLPH DUKE.

It is here, in this fascinating world, that ingenuity comes to life and creative interpretations have limitless bounds. And for the thousands upon thousands of fashion designers around the globe, this feeling, this integral part of who you are and how you express yourself, will become your livelihood. And day in and day out, through the grueling hours and intensely stressful moments, this passion will help drive you to design collection after collection, season after season, year after year.

What Is Fashion Design?

Merriam Webster's dictionary defines a fashion as a prevailing custom or style. Fashion design is the process of applying a creatively envisioned style into wearable clothing and accessories. Clothing (also known as garments, attire, or dress) in its most simplified definition, is a covering for the body, usually made of fabric, and accessories are used to supplement a wardrobe and are either purely decorative (such as jewelry), useful (such as a watch), or necessary for everyday living (such as shoes). The most common fashion accessories include handbags, shoes, gloves, scarves, millinery (hats), belts, gloves, hosiery (including socks, stockings, leg warmers, and tights), jewelry (including earrings; necklaces; wrist, arm, and ankle bracelets; rings; piercings; and watches), sunglasses, pins, neckties, bow ties, and suspenders.

The fashion industry is divided into five main markets according to price point: haute couture, designer, bridge, moderate, and mass. However, there are additional markets that are just as important to be aware of, including one-of-a-kind, bespoke, contemporary, secondary, private label, and discount. The following sections provide a listing and explanation of all of the fashion industry markets, from highest to lowest price point.

One-of-a-Kind

A one-of-a-kind piece or ensemble is the crème de la crème of fashion, and is fully customized, and made-to-order for a specific client according to his or her exact measurements and specifications. One-of-a-kind garments are considered the pinnacle of luxury in the fashion world because only one of its kind is in existence. Custom-made garments are crafted at the haute couture (French for “high fashion” or “high sewing”) level, using only the finest fabrics, trims, embroideries, and appliqués. The price point reflects that level, due to the high quality of materials used and the superior extent of detail and workmanship that goes into making each piece.

Custom clothing is often referred to as the pièce de résistance because it is cons...