Become a Fashion Designer: 6 Steps to Make the Cut

Are you ready to launch the fashion design career of your dreams? Fashion design colleges can give you the foundation you need to build your future in the fashion industry, but that's just the start of the things you can do to open those doors.

Launch Into a Fashion Design Career

Becoming a fashion designer requires a creative streak, determination, a competitive nature, and of course, the education to get you in the door. Most fashion design jobs require an associate's or bachelor's degree to start, and the more hands-on training you have had with design and fashion, the better.

Ready to get started down that road? Here's what you need to make the cut:

Learn to wield a pen! Sketching is a huge part of the design process. Learn to sketch well. Start with simple sketches of the human form, then move into sketching clothes and abstract designs. Invest in a few instructional drawing books and work your way through them.
Get comfortable with a sewing machine. Once the sketches are done, it's time to cut out the pattern and make those new designs. The more comfortable you are with how a sewing machine works, the easier many of your hands-on courses will be.
Research what they don't teach you. Fashion courses at the best fashion schools can teach you quite a bit about the industry, but they might not give you the information you need on the movers and shakers. That's where your own research comes in! Learn to recognize names, designer trends, trademark designs, and more.
Go to fashion design school. Fashion design colleges all over the country are ready to help launch you into a fashionable new career. Research potential schools, narrow down your options, and work on any admission requirements you might not have covered yet.
Build your experience. Do anything and everything you can in the fashion industry. Take advantage of working in teams, land that great internship, study patterns in your spare time, and stay up-to-date on the happenings in the fashion world. Start building a portfolio that will be your calling card for future clients.
Learn all you can about CAD. Computer-aided drafting is where all that work with sketches will take you. Learning to create your designs on the computer will save time, allow for even more innovation and creativity, and impress your clients.

You've Got the Fashion Design Degree: Now What?

The world of fashion is much more than just designing beautiful things to wear. The glamorous fashion world requires the help of those behind the scenes to make everything run as smooth as silk. Here are a few other ways to put that fashion degree to good use:

Fashion stylist
Fashion buyer
Fashion merchandising
Independent designer
Commercial designer
Costume designer

Many fashion designers choose to combine their fashion degree with business or marketing courses, thus opening up even wider avenues of potential work in the fashion industry. Start on your path to success by determining which parts of the fashion world appeal to you the most, and then work your way through fashion design school to get one step closer to your glamorous goal.