Fashion Designer

Typical Salary

£20,000 To £80,000

Typical Hours

40 to 42 variable

evenings / weekends / bank holidays attending events or appointments

How To Become a Fashion Designer

You can get into this job through:

a university course
a college course
an apprenticeship

College / University

You'll usually need a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree.

fashion design
art and design
textiles

1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma

2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

You could do a college course, which will teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need to work in the fashion industry. Relevant subjects include:

Level 2 Award in Fashion - Sampling Fashion Techniques
Level 2 Diploma in Skills for the Fashion Industries
Level 3 Extended Diploma in Fashion Design and Production

2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course

4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, for a level 3 course

Apprenticeship

You may be able to do an advanced apprenticeship to become a fashion studio assistant and work as an assistant in a design studio. You could then develop your design skills on the job.

5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Routes into this Career

Routes into this Career are not listed for this job.

Other Routes

Other Routes are not listed for this job.

Skills And Knowledge

You'll need:

the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
the ability to use your initiative
excellent verbal communication skills
to be thorough and pay attention to detail
to be flexible and open to change
ambition and a desire to succeed
the ability to organise your time and workload
thinking and reasoning skills
to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Day To Day Tasks

As part of your day-to-day tasks, you could:

work to design instructions
analyse or predict trends in fabrics, colours and shapes
produce concept and mood boards (a collection of items to capture a mood, like photos, fabric pieces or colour samples)
produce designs by hand or by using computer-aided design (CAD)
develop basic shapes ('blocks') through patterns
estimate costs for materials and manufacture
find suppliers
supervise the making up of sample clothing items
make in-house presentations, for example to finance departments and merchandisers

Working Environment

You could work in a workshop or in a creative studio.

Career Path & Progression

Career Path & Progression are not listed for this job.

Volunteering Opportunities

You'll need to get as much work experience as you can, for example through an internship, as there's strong competition for jobs in the fashion industry.

It will help you get a better understanding of the role, and to meet people who may help you to find paid work later.

Tips & Information

Career tips

You can create a portfolio of your design work to showcase your skills, which will help you at course and job interviews. Your portfolio should include mood boards, designs and technical drawings.

Further information

You can find more details about working in fashion from:

Restrictions & Requirements

Restrictions & Requirements are not listed for this job.