Fashion designer
Fashion designers produce new clothing and fashion ranges using their creative and technical skills.
- Potential salary
- £24,000 starter to £40,000 experienced per year
- Typical hours
- 40 to 42 variable. Working pattern: evenings / weekends / bank holidays attending events or appointments.
- Career area
- Creative and design
- Where they might work
- You could work in a workshop or in a creative studio.
- A typical task
- identify trends in fabrics, colours, prints and shapes
- Subjects that may help
- 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
- Typical route
- You'll usually need a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree.
- Interest area used here
- Art, design and performance
What you might do
- identify trends in fabrics, colours, prints and shapes
- develop new concepts and mood boards (a collection of items to capture a mood, like photos, fabric pieces or colour samples)
- create sketches and designs by hand or with computer-aided design (CAD) software
- work with product development teams to manage quality and costs
- supervise design assistants and patternmakers when making up product samples
- present ranges to production managers, merchandisers and customers
Could this suit me?
Consider which of these skills and ways of working appeal to you.
- design skills and knowledge
- the ability to come up with new ways of doing things
- the ability to use your initiative
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- thinking and reasoning skills
- the ability to work well with your hands
More skills
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be flexible and open to change
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
Routes into this career
University route
- You'll usually need a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree.
- Courses are widely available and include: fashion design; art and design; garment technology; textiles.
- You should look for a course that covers both design and technical skills to get the practical knowledge needed by the industry.
- Several universities and colleges that run courses are members of the British Fashion Council, which promotes strong links with employers in the fashion trade.
University courses that could lead to this career
These are course families, not published offers. A link does not mean the degree is sufficient on its own.
- Fashion design
Common route. A common route. The industry also uses other training and portfolios.
Apprenticeship or vocational route
- You could do a college course, which would teach you some of the skills and knowledge you need to work in the fashion industry as an assistant.
- Subjects include: fashion; fashion and textiles; craft and design.
- Once you've gained some experience with an employer, you may be able to do further training to become a fashion designer.
Other routes
- 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.
- This can help you get a better understanding of the role, and to meet people who may help you to find paid work later on.
- The British fashion industry supports initiatives like the National Saturday Club for young people aged 13 to 16, looking to learn about fashion careers.
Career progression
- With experience you could become a: senior designer; head of a fashion department; creative director.
- You might specialise in particular collections, for example childrenswear or sportswear, or move into other parts of the fashion business like marketing or buying.
- You could develop business skills and go freelance, or start your own fashion company.
- You may wish to pass on your skills and knowledge to students by teaching fashion design at college or university.
Subjects that may help
Subject guidance
- 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