DESIGNA MAGAZINE DESIGNA ISSUE III 2019 2 | Page 84

FASHION
DESIGN CAREERS
How to become a
FASHION DESIGNER
FROM THE "HOW TO GET A JOB IN FASHION" SERIES
You know you're destined to
be a fashion designer if you:
spent most of your childhood
making clothes for your
Barbie dolls instead of
playing with your friends;
read fashion magazines
instead of your school books;
ran a boutique out of your
basement at age 10.
In other words: if you want to be the next Yves
Saint Laurent, it helps to be completely and
utterly obsessed with fashion.
However, there are many aspects of the
profession. Working as a fashion designer can
just as well mean supervising a design team at a
sportswear company as producing a label under
your own name. Although the former career
may not seem as glamorous as the latter, it
certainly will make your life less stressful. To
create your own label takes a lot of time,
dedication and hard work. Not to mention
living just above the poverty line for several
network of customers by selling clothes in a
years.
trendy NYC boutique. However, most people
�nd that the best foundation for a design career
CHOOSING A STRATEGY
is to get a �ne arts degree in fashion at a
prestigious school. Besides teaching you the
�ere are as many different ways to embark
craft, a good school will also add credibility to
upon a fashion career as there are styles of
your resumé. "We live in a brandname society,
design. Ralph Lauren's Polo empire was
founded on a small tie collection that he sold to
Bloomingdales. Helmut Lang decided to open
his own clothing store when he couldn't �nd a
t-shirt that he liked. Michael Kors built up a
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and having the name of a good school behind
you really does help," says Carol Mongo,
Director of the Fashion Department at Parsons
School of Design in Paris.
June 2019
APPLYING TO A SCHOOL
�ere are a lot of colleges that have fashion
programs, but only a handful has the kind of
reputation that can really push your career.
(See separate listings for addresses and web
sites.) It's hard to enter these schools as
competition is high, and they tend to be very
selective. You apply by sending a portfolio of
drawings of your designs. "We can't teach you
how to be creative -- you have to bring your
creativity to us and let us lead you on your