You know that you are bound to be a fashion designer if you : a ) spent the great majority of your adolescence making clothing for your Barbie dolls instead of playing with your buddies, b ) read fashion mags rather than your university books, c ) ran a boutique out of your basement at age 10. Put simply : if you would like to become the next Yves Saint Laurent, it helps to be entirely and definitely obsessive about fashion. However there are tons of sides of the profession. Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sports wear company as making a label under your own name. Though the previous career may not appear as glamorous as the second, it definitely will make your life less stressed. To build your very own label takes a substantial quantity of time, zeal and difficult work. Choosing a strategy There are as many paths to embark on a fashion career as there are styles of design. Ralph Lauren’s Polo empire was set up on a tiny tie collection that he sold to Bloomingdales. Helmut Lang made a decision to open his own garments shop when he could not find a t-shirt that he wanted. Michael Kors built up a net of clients by selling clothes in a hot NYC boutique.

Nevertheless the majority find the best base for a design career is to get a fine humanities degree in fashion at an illustrious college. Besides teaching you the craft, a good college will also add credibility to your resum. ‘We live in a brandname society, and having the name of a good school behind you really does help, ‘ asserts Carol Mongo, Director of the Fashion Office at Parsons College of Design in Paris. Applying to a school There are lots of universities that have fashion programs, but only a few has the sort of reputation that can really push your career. It’s hard to enter these universities as competition is high, and they have an wish to be extremely selective.

You apply by sending a portfolio of drawings of your designs.

Drawing is also a critical capability for a designer it’s how you communicate your ideas.

To build a powerful portfolio it’s a great concept to have some experience in sketching, taking art classes will help you to grasp form and proportion. But you don’t have to be an expert drawer to get accepted to a college. ‘The most critical quality that we watch out for in our scholars is they are essentially ardent and animated about fashion, ‘ announces Mongo. ‘If you have amazing concepts but can’t draw, there are always techniques to find a way around it. You may as an example put your designs on a mannequin and take some pictures of it. ‘ What college will do for you Most fashion programs are 3 to 4 years long. In that time you’ll take fine humanities classes and study drawing, colour composition and form. You’ll also learn pattern making, draping and cutting methodologies. Parsons, as an example, have ‘designer critic projects ‘ where successful designers like Donna Karan and Michael Kors work at once with the graduating scholars. Bold scholars also have the opportunity to win respected awards and grants, which bring them a lot of attention as well as monetary support. One vital event is the fashion show at the end of the last semester, when graduating students show their collections. It’s also an opportunity to be essentially ludicrous and get spotted by the media.

Design A T-Shirt is just one way to start designing your own clothes!