Fashion design

Designing clothes and accessories is a popular field that requires not only technical hands-on design skills, but also the commercial understanding to be able to factor in production time and cost. Most people think haute couture when they think fashion design, but in reality, the majority of fashion designers go to work for mass market design ‘houses’, producing recognisable high-street brands, such as Topshop, Miss Selfridge, BHS, Marks & Spencer, or ‘George’ at Asda. The work involves drawing sketches (by hand or on a computer), selecting fabrics, creating patterns and samples all to an internal (for example, head of fashion) or external (for example, fashion buyer) client’s brief. Some fashion designers are given very loose briefs (for example, just the colour and fabric) and develop the product from this.

The conditions

Fashion designers may be employed or freelance. Employed designers will typically work regular office hours, although long hours to meet client deadlines should be expected. Freelance designers may charge per design or per collection. And what of the luxury lifestyle, and living it up at the fashion parties? Trips abroad to fashion shows (for research, of course!), or fabric houses are one of the perks, and you’ll be first to hear of the sales at the high-end fashion houses – but you may have to wait a while to rub shoulders with Betty Jackson or Alexander McQueen.

The upside: seeing one of your creations walking down the street towards you!

The downside: for the majority of fashion designers, having to design within tight commercial (read ‘cost’) constraints.