By Cindy Martin
When you take a look at what is up and coming when it comes to careers among the younger generation fashion designer seems to be a frequent choice. This comes from the freedom that younger generations have gained in being able to set what they want to wear. Because of this, setting trends instead of following them has become a norm.
The life of a fashion designer is also one that is full of excitement. You get the ability to meet famous people and if you are lucky, enough get the opportunity to have those people wear your designs. For those that do not want to be in the spot light there are other options available that will still give the opportunity to be a part of the fashion industry. These options are areas such as marketing, website design, the more practical areas of cutting, and sewing. A Fashion designer can create designs for any type of clothing where but many choose a particular market to focus on. For example, a designer may choose to focus on children or just men's clothing.
There are also fashion designers that work exclusively on things like purses, jewelry and other accessories. They start by drawing out their concept on paper. It may change several times before they are happy with it. Then if it is a clothing designer, they create the design on a larger piece of paper and use it to create a pattern. They don't use the final cloth for this but use what is called a rough cloth in order to work out any difficulties before taking the time and expense of doing it in a final cloth. A Fashion designer must have knowledge of things like weave, fabric, material, color, design, and knowing what customers want.
A designer must also be artistic and creative, because portfolios are based on sketches they need to be able to at least draw out the basics for their designs. Because the fashion industry is ever changing, doing research is a daily requirement for someone in the fashion industry they must be aware of changing trends and some of that they can obtain from marketing research. By taking a look at what people in their target market are buying a fashion designer can see where people are leaning when it comes to trends and respond accordingly.
Being a fashion designer is a worthwhile career but it is not just about the lay of a fabric or the type of fabric chosen. It is about knowing how colors, shapes, textures, and fabric types go together. It is about knowing what the industry is doing and what people are going to want to see. Being a fashion designer is also about being artistic, creative and innovative. It can be quite a challenge and the industry is highly competitive. There can also be more stress than in normal jobs because people are constantly four times a year demand to see something new.