We all know about the world of fashion designing, thanks to social media! We see designer wear being flaunted by celebrities, sport stars, socialites and business tycoons alike. There isn’t any popular event without luxurious fashion designer labels making an appearance. Well even though all of that might look expensive and out of reach, designer clothing isn’t all about that. Many designer brands new and old have different ranges of clothing, catering to different sectors of people all across the country.
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But Why Are Fashion Designers And Designer Clothing Hyped So Much?
Designer brands or labels are all about making you feel exclusive. There are collections & a variety in clothing to get clients to buy them. End goal for any designer brand is to establish their image by making good sales. Designer clothing is created exclusively for your needs and tastes. You might pick a design from the catalogue, but a brand new garment is made according to silhouettes, cuts, patterns and design changes that work for you! Who wouldn’t want to feel special? If not all the time, at least for that a few memorable events in your life!
We get to enjoy the luxury of designer clothing because of some very talented and passionate fashion designers out there. Fashion designing might seem like a very colourful and chill profession on the outside, but a fashion designer alone knows what it takes to be one. So we are going to be discussing fashion designers and everything that will help you in being one!
Also Read: WHAT IS FASHION DESIGNING?
Skills required to be a Fashion Designer
Some people naturally have a sense of style and an eye for good aesthetics, while some need to train themselves to be able to do that. Either way, there are certain skills that will come in super handy on your journey to becoming a fashion designer.
Creativity
Well, this one is a no brainer! Fashion designing is synonymous with creativity and with the kind of competitive industry we have, it’s all the more important to keep coming up with innovative yet practical ideas. As trend setters in the fashion industry, it’s on the fashion designers to create designs that can go on the trendy list. Creativity is something that gets better with constant work and the need to be able to offer something that’s new. With research and knowledge, you’ll have a lot of ideas to work on and produce new designs. You might start with a basic idea, but the more you work on it the more interesting it gets. So think before you disregard something as silly before even trying it out!
Ability to Multitask
No matter where and how you are employed, as a fashion designer, you will be responsible for a lot of things simultaneously. We have already discussed these responsibilities in our earlier post, please check it out. From brainstorming to getting designs approved, sampling and final production, it’s the fashion designer’s job to take care of everything and make sure that they achieve the desired end products. To be able to multitask, you need to be clear about the designs that you are working on. You should be in a position to explain and resolve any design related issues that may come up during the process. So this requires you to be aesthetically aware and present all the time. Most of the time you will be working on two or more designs simultaneously. Multitasking becomes easier when you are involved in every step of the designing process.
Also Read: 4 Basic Principles of Fashion Design!
Signature Sketching Style
When it comes to sketching, many aren’t good at it. But worry not, all fashion designing courses have sketching as a part of their program. During your course of study, you will be practicing a lot of sketching, which will be of great help to you while designing. Sketching helps in bringing your ideas to life. If you are really interested in fashion sketching, you could create a signature style of sketching with practice and experience! Either way, all design processes involve sketching. It could be technical sketches, illustrations, reference sketches or all of them together. These sketches will help others understand your vision for a certain design.
There are many people involved in the design process like Pattern masters, tailors, embroidery workers, dyers and so on. They also need to be on the same page as you to be able to execute your designs as per your requirements. So find your sketching pad and get sketching already!
Managerial Skills
When you are working as a fashion designer for a brand or individually, you will have to coordinate with different people who will be a part of your designing process on a daily basis. To make sure that your work is being carried out in an orderly fashion, you need to establish that kind of a relationship with your coworkers and subordinates. This is where your managerial skills come in! There will be situations arising on a daily basis which will require you to intervene and solve. You will be managing a lot of things and it’s also about being tactful and getting your work done. Your managerial skills will get better with experience, so keep going!
Eye for Aesthetics
Every fashion designer has got a design style of their own. While it’s important to be unique, you should also keep in mind the kind of aesthetics that people are looking for and would like to invest in. There is an audience for all kinds of designs, you need to find yours and work with those aesthetics. Identifying these aesthetics and making them work for you is what this is all about. Also some might already have a great style and eye for beautiful aesthetics while others might develop this over time. However you see it, it’s quite important to have an aesthetic that works for your brand, your audience and also aligns with your taste.
Also Read: Latest Trends in the Fashion Design Industry
Good Communication
It doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert in your personal life, you gotta leave it at home before you head to your workplace. Communication everybody does, but good and effective communication is what makes a difference. As a fashion designer, you will be explaining and coordinating with other creative heads on a day to day basis. It’s important to get your communication through for others to work efficiently. Especially when it’s your design, you need to get everybody else also on the same level of thought process as yourself. So explain and communicate well. Keep checking in and encourage people to reach out to you when there are any doubts regarding the work assigned. Mainly, figure out how to get your point through to different people by understanding their work process.
Design Visualisation Skills
As a fashion designer, you can derive inspiration from a lot of things. When you look at certain things, a design idea will pop into your head and you start working on it from there! As this can happen anywhere, your design visualization skills need to be strong. You should be able to see your garment in your head, even if others aren’t able to! Having a clear picture in your mind, will help in directing you in the right path. Design visualization skills will get better with experience, as you will have more knowledge about different kinds of fabrics, fits, techniques and also an idea about what might work. To explain your design to other people, you need to have a clear visualisation of it!
Business Sense
Apart from designing and everything related to it, fashion designers also have to market and sell their garments. The whole point of creating practical clothing is to make some good sales at the end of the day. This is where your business instincts should kick in! Based on your target audience and the category of clothing you are making, your prices should be competitive when compared to other similar brands in the industry. All professional fashion designing courses have business communication and business studies as a part of their program to enable young fashion designers with knowledge that will help them with their businesses in future. The production cost of a garment is something that a fashion designer must plan well ahead of creating a collection!
Other than these, interpersonal skills also matter! These will give you an idea about the kind of work lifestyle a fashion designer can expect. If you are really passionate about fashion designing, you are going to be looking for viable ideas everywhere you go and in everything that you see! We are going to be talking about the scope of being a fashion designer in our country next.
Scope for Fashion Designing in India
There are different specialisations that you can opt for when you are studying fashion designing. Some of the most popular choices are, being a Fashion stylist, Fashion consultant and an Assistant Fashion Designer. As this is a creative field, it is important to know that you are passionate about designing before you get into it! Having said that, there are many fashion brands, design houses, production houses and designer labels that are on a constant lookout for fresh and talented fashion designers. The fashion industry in India is booming with designers catering to different categories. The opportunities for a fashion designer are plenty, but the industry is competitive. So seize every opportunity you come across and try to make the best of it!
The fashion industry has a lot of designers working on womenswear collections but what about the menswear brands? Shouldn’t we be talking about them too? Many people don’t even know that there are exclusive menswear brands out there that are doing some amazing work and creating beautiful collections. So for all your young fashion designers who are interested in designing menswear and for anybody who would like to know, we are going to present to you some popular Menswear designer brands in India!
Top Menswear Fashion Designer Labels in India
Raghavendra Rathore
The brand Raghavendra Rathore Jodhpur (1) is an exclusive menswear brand that creates timeless pieces of clothing that exude traditional elegance with contemporary chic! Designer Raghavendra Rathore is inspired by his rich heritage and cultural inheritance that reflect in his work. The brand offers a wide array of menswear clothing ranging from bandhgala, jodhpuri Achkans to Suits, Denims and Shirts.
Shantanu & Nikhil
Fashion Designers Shantanu & Nikhil are known for their menswear silhouettes that have been flaunted by many notable names in the film and entertainment industry. Their draped menswear kurtas and fitted churidars are the perfect mix of sophistication and elegance. The chic menswear kurtas have modern detailing and flattering cuts that this designer label is known for! They offer different options in menswear, ranging from kurtas, pants, sherwanis, coats, waistcoats and bandhgala.
Rohit Bal
Fashion Designer Rohit Bal is very well known for this ethnic wear collections for men! Many celebrities have been spotted sporting his menswear designs for their weddings and other personal events. Rohit Bal offers quite a lot of variety when it comes to his menswear collection. Right from menswear accessories like pocket squares, designer cufflinks to jackets, suit sets and designer footwear!
The fashion industry is ever growing and is a place full of possibilities and varied design styles. Become a part of this fashion industry by taking up a professional fashion course from colleges that have well rounded fashion designing programs. Hamstech offers different fashion designing courses to make them more accessible to all kinds of fashion enthusiasts!