Fashion design has defined history through the eyes of the public; style icons like Jackie Onassis, Princess Diana and Grace Kelly relied on these designers for their signature looks. Without fashion design, clothing would be purely practical, without the flair and creative edge that most designers bring to the table. Fashion design has shaped the world as we know it, and will continue to in the future.Every shoe, piece of clothing, and accessory on every hanger and shelf at every store has been designed by a fashion designer. Fashion designers examine trends in the kinds of clothing people are wearing, draw designs based on their ideas, choose colors and fabrics, and supervise the production of their designs. Fashion designers may have a specialty, such as clothing design, footwear design, or accessory design. Accessories are items like handbags, scarves, belts, and hats.
A successful fashion designer must be good at predicting the future. Since it takes between eighteen and twenty-four months for an article of clothing to go from rough sketch to final production, the designer must understand buying trends as they are developing. Therefore, research on fashion trends is an important first step in the design process. Some designers do this research themselves, while others base their designs on research conducted by others, such as industry trade groups. Fashion designers go to trade shows or visit textile manufacturers to select fabrics for their designs.
Once they have picked their fabrics and sketched their designs, fashion designers make prototypes of the clothing using inexpensive materials. These prototypes are tested on fashion models to see if any adjustments are needed. Some designs may be thrown out entirely and the line of clothing narrowed to fewer pieces. Once the designs are finalized, samples of the item are made using the actual materials. These samples are taken to fashion shows or marketed directly to retailers.
In recent years, computers have changed the way many fashion designers do their work. Most designers still make their initial sketches by hand, but more and more are using computer-aided design (CAD) software to create designs that can be easily viewed from different angles in different colors on different virtual models. CAD also makes it easier to make adjustments to the original designs.
The scope of a fashion designer's work varies according to where he or she is employed. Fashion designers who work for large design companies usually take the lead in creating designs and choosing colors and fabrics, but they may then supervise others who transform the designs into finished products. Fashion designers in these firms may also be responsible for working with manufacturers and textile suppliers. Fashion designers who are new to the trade, or who work for smaller companies, must often do their own sewing and patternmaking.
Fashion designers who work for clothing manufacturers or wholesalers design clothing and accessories in many sizes and colors in order to meet the demands of the general market. A smaller number of fashion designers create custom designs for individual customers, specialty boutiques, or their own stores. These high fashion designers are usually self-employed and charge high prices for their designs.
Read more: Fashion Designer Job Description, Career as a Fashion Designer, Salary, Employment - Definition and Nature of the Work, Education and Training Requirements, Getting the Job - StateUniversity.com http://careers.stateuniversity.com/pages/123/Fashion-Designer.html#ixzz1gjMARGo0
