Fashion Designer

OFO No: 216301

Other names for Fashion Designer:

• Do you live and breathe fashion?
• Do you always look at what other people are wearing?
• Do you find yourself flipping through fashion magazines and tabloids drooling over or criticising what celebrities are wearing? Do you spend your free time dreaming up new ‘looks’ and sketching out fashion ideas?
• Do you parade in front of the mirror trying to put together ‘new’ outfits for yourself?

If this is your life, a career in Fashion Design may just be the career for you!

Fashion Designers (Clothing Designers) can design a single outfit or a whole clothing range. This will include both the look and what type of fabrics will be used.

Some Fashion Designers may specialise in a particular area, such as formal wear, men’s wear, sportswear, weddings or just accessories (eg hats, handbags and shoes).

Most Fashion Designers will work for clothing manufacturers that produce the clothes we find in chain stores and boutiques. Their designs have to be more mainstream so that the conservative public will be willing to buy them.

Haute couture, however, shows off the Fashion Designer’s creative talent and how they see the future of fashion for the next season.  Here the designer can free their mind and be as creative and out-the-box as they want.  These pieces are usually modelled and displayed at fashion shows around the world.  From this platform, the Fashion Designer can become very famous – and then other famous people will want to wear their designs, for example: In South Africa – David Tlale, Marianne Fassler and Errol Arendz and internationally, Stella McCartney, Versace and Prada etc.

What does a Fashion Designer do?

• keeps up-to-date with latest trends around the world
• researches, reads mags, visits stores, travelsand observes international lifestyles
• makes sketches and drapes dummies
• draws up patterns, measures, cuts and sews
• sources fabrics, textures and embellishments like lace, beads, buttons etc
• prepares samples
• constantly checks quality
• prepares ranges for fashion shows
• works within budgets

Are you . . . ?

• passionate about fashion?
• extremely creative, with a vivid imagination?
• a good sketcher?
• original?
• able to meet deadlines?
• able to read, write and do mathematics?
• a person with a good sense of colour?
• a person with style?
• able to work well under pressure?
• ambitious?
• a person with good business sense?
• detail orientated?
• able to work with difficult clients?

How do I become a Fashion Designer?

Firstly – you MUST have a passion for fashion and be creative. You will have to to come up with your own completely original ideas. If you think you can do that, then Fashion Design / Clothing Design might be the career choice for you!

There are many places you can study fashion or clothing design:

• Some TVET (FET) Colleges
• Some Universities of Technology offer 3 year courses
  
• Some public institutions
  
• Private Specialised (fashion design) Institutions/Schools
  

PATH 1

Diploma in Fashion Design or Clothing Management

• Cape Peninsula University of Technology
• Durban University of Technology
• Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
• Tshwane University of Technology
• University of Johannesburg
• Vaal University of Technology
• Walter Sisulu University

PATH 2

Bachelor of Technology in Fashion Design or Clothing Management

• Cape Peninsula University of Technology
• Durban University of Technology
• Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
• Tshwane University of Technology
• University of Johannesburg
• Vaal University of Technology

PATH 3

Bachelor of Fashion Design

TRAINING:

• CLICK HERE to check for a training institution near you to see what they offer.
• Make sure you understand their entry requirements for each course.
• To avoid scams, make sure your institution is registered with the Department of Higher Education. 
• CLICK HERE to check accredited Private Higher Education Institutions. 

OTHER CAREERS TO CONSIDER:  Display Artist … or … Graphic Designer

Is becoming an Fashion Designer the right career choice for me?