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Clothing Designer Job Overview

Clothing designers design and make clothes for children, women and men. They create clothes for different occasions, including formal wear, casual wear, sports wear, maternity wear and clothing for intimate occasions.

Clothing Designer Schools and Degrees

Many universities, colleges and private design schools offer courses in fashion and clothing design. Employers usually seek two year or four year degree holders who are well informed about current trends in fashion.

Job Requirements

The National Association of Schools of Art and Design permit about 250 schools to give degrees in fashion and clothing designing. Students are granted admission into these programs after successful completion of basic art and design courses. For this their sketches and samples of other artistic abilities need to be approved. Internships with different manufacturing and design houses help them acquire some of these necessary skills. Experience working with individual stylists and retail stores also proves useful as aspiring clothing designers develop a discerning eye in marketing, fabrics and designing.

Clothing designers need to have a sound sense of aesthetics and an eye for detail and color. It is important for a clothing designer to be good sketching their proposed articles of clothing. Clothing designers will benefit from having good interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work in teams. Also, good knowledge of presentation and sales is valuable.

Nature of Work

The entire procedure of clothing design, from conception to the final production, takes about twenty four months. Research on fashion is one of the first steps of the process. The research gives them an idea on the current trends, styling, colors and fabrics dominant in a particular season. Samples of the designs are then executed on cheap fabric. Once these little details are finalized, clothing designers then make the final designs that they wish to present for the season. Presentation is usually made at trade and fashion shows.

Clothing designers work for design firms, wholesalers or manufacturing establishments. They generally work in comfortable settings. Many who freelance work in small, congested places. They work to meet deadlines and meet up with clients even during the evenings and on weekends. In order to complete orders, clothing designers work under pressure and often work for long hours. Traveling is also important.

Clothing Designer Jobs and Outlook

Employment in this sector is projected to grow by about five percent in the next ten years.

The average annual earnings of salaried clothing designers is about $62,610.

Job Numbers and Growth

About 20,000 clothing designer are employed nationally. Workers can expect a low level of unemployment, if history can be used as a guide. In 2008, 4% of employees could not find jobs.

Area Job Conditions

Popular locations for clothing designer include New York (New York), Columbus (Ohio), and San Francisco (California). Fewer are found in Minneapolis (Minnesota), Denver (Colorado), and Dallas (Texas).

Workers looking for high salaries should look at Portland (Maine), Nassau (New York), and San Francisco (California), and should avoid Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Riverside (California), and Las Vegas (Nevada).

Training and Education

Employees often obtain an associate degree before starting. The percentage of clothing designer with college degrees is 55%. Workers with some college (less than a bachelor's degree) represent about 31% of the total. Some employees, about 14%, had a high-school education. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which if any could help you with this career.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Part-time clothing designer are 17% of all surveyed. Some workers, about 24%, work for themselves.

Clothing Designer by Metropolitan Area (city and its surroundings)

In the table below, a Job Density near 0% means the area has an average number of people in this occupation, for its population. A higher or lower Job Density (e.g., +22% or -45%) tells you there are that many more or fewer workers of that type there than in the average US metro area. So, the higher the number, the more common the occupation.

California

Colorado

Florida

Maine

Massachusetts

Minnesota

Missouri

Nevada

New York

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Texas

Washington