Clothing designer: description, advantages and disadvantages of the profession

Fashion designer is a creative profession that is popular among college students. Despite the fact that in order to become a world famous professional it is necessary to have an innate talent and hard work, every year thousands of yesterday's schoolchildren enter universities to study in this area.

What are the features of the profession? What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a fashion designer? You will find answers to these and some other questions in our article.

The profession of a fashion designer emerged quite a long time ago - at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. At that time, the production of clothing acquired a massive and large-scale character, respectively, specialists in this industry were needed. The designers of that time sought to create such wardrobe elements that would combine a number of useful qualities and characteristics, for example, practicality, aesthetic appeal, etc. Thus, we can conclude that a brief description of the work of a fashion designer is that a specialist of this profile is working on creating wardrobe items that would meet all the requirements of our time.

It should be noted that today fashion designers have divided into several large groups: some of them are working on creating clothes that can only be worn on the catwalk or other exceptional occasions (haute couture), while others make things wearable in everyday life.

The work of a designer itself is complex and consists of many different stages.However, they do not necessarily go in a strictly defined order. The design profession is creative and creative, so its representatives are in constant search of inspiration.

The profession of a designer, being quite popular, is of interest to young people. However, before deciding whether you are ready to associate your whole life with such an activity, you need to familiarize yourself not only with the positive features of a designer's work, but also with all the shortcomings and difficulties that a specialist may encounter on a daily basis.

First of all, we will discuss the advantages of the profession.

• It is impossible not to mention the fact that designers are people who are not afraid to express themselves, to demonstrate their creativity and their vision to the whole world. Thus, by engaging in such activities, you will develop and improve as a person.
• The most successful professionals become known all over the world and gain popularity, respectively, their incomes increase significantly. You can earn from 100 thousand rubles a month and this is far from the limit.
• Designers can choose from a variety of employment options and methods. For example, a specialist can get a job in an atelier or workshop, work in a garment factory, or open his own business.
• Ability to work from home helps the designer to combine their career growth with raising children and caring for the family.

However, the disadvantages of the profession should also be mentioned.

• In order to gain widespread fame and recognition, it is necessary to work a lot and for a long time.... It is not easy for newcomers to the profession to earn credibility with older and seasoned colleagues.
• High incomes are characteristic only of world stars. If you work as a full-time designer in a regular garment factory or in a provincial atelier, then your salary will be quite low.
• Those designers who work independently know how difficult it is to find clients. And the possibility or impossibility of supporting yourself and your family directly depends on the number of orders.

To get a job as a designer or start your own business, it is important to have a range of professional knowledge, skills and abilities. At the same time, specific key skills may differ depending on what specific area you plan to work in (be a designer-constructor, create wedding dresses, design men's, women's, children's, outerwear, etc.).

At the same time, there is a standard set of universal skills that will be useful to everyone. Among them should be highlighted:

• the ability to sew and cut;
• know the history of the costume;
• navigate in different styles and directions of design;
• be able to draw;
• be able to use specialized computer programs;
• understand fabrics and accessories;
• know different technologies and sewing techniques;
• have a creative vision and creativity;
• be able to negotiate;
• have a strategic type of thinking (the ability to predict the final result and understand how the product will turn out in the end);
• stress tolerance;
• marketing knowledge;
• sociability;
• ability to make a decision and be responsible for it.

Depending on where you want to work in the future, the required level of education may differ. So, you can go to universities or colleges, take courses, or even be self-taught.

If you decide to get a higher or secondary vocational education, then the first thing you should do is decide on a specific university... At the same time, it is recommended to give preference to institutions that are located in large cities or in the capital and enjoy authority among the professional design community. Select several organizations and feel free to submit documents to them. Wherein It is also recommended to visit one or another higher educational institution in advance, talk to representatives of the admissions committee, clarify which subjects need to be taken, and also find out any other information you are interested in.

Another option is courses. They can be either continuing education courses or online training. In terms of duration, courses compare favorably with higher education, but on the other hand, they may not be taken seriously by some employers.

A designer's portfolio is a document that every specialist will need along with a resume. The portfolio should contain examples and samples of your work, drawings, photographs, customer reviews, etc.

In order to build a professional portfolio correctly, work experience is required. In this regard, novice designers very often participate in projects free of charge or for a purely symbolic payment, so that later they can demonstrate the results of their activities to future customers.

The portfolio can be either in electronic form or in the form of hard copies. One way or another, but it should include examples of your work in a wide variety of styles and trends.

A resume of a fashion designer is a business document that contains concentrated information about a designer as a highly qualified specialist in his field. This document should be structured and concise, which will allow the employer to quickly and easily learn about all your achievements and professional successes.

So, traditionally, a designer's resume contains the following sections:

• personal information (full name, marital status);
• contact details (place of residence, phone number, e-mail address, instant messengers);
• education (chronological listing of all graduated institutions with an indication of the specialty and time of study);
• work experience (names of companies and positions, working hours);
• professional skills (specialized design skills);
• achievements (what will become your advantage over other applicants);
• personal qualities (for the employer, it is important not only how qualified you are, but also how you fit into the team and whether you can work in a team);
• hobbies and interests (you must be a versatile person);
• additional information (any relevant data).