What is a Fashion Designer?

Skill

High importance
Medium importance
less important

C
U
S
T
O
M

C
O
R
P
O
R
A
T
E

Explanation

Sketching and Illustration

As a custom designer, it’s helpful to be a good sketch artist/illustrator. With this skill, you can work with your client to finalize a design – the sketch helps to provide a visual of the final outcome before a decision is reached. With this skill, there’s less chance for disagreement between designer and client because the sketch helps to solidify the final plans.
However, as a corporate designer, being a good illustrator is not only helpful – it’s virtually mandatory. As you make your way into the industry, your sketching/illustration skills are often reviewed (in the form of a portfolio) and that can help make the decision about whether or not you are offered a job.

An understanding of fabric and how different fabric types translate in specific designs

This is a mandatory skill for both the custom designer and the corporate designer. The custom designer will use this skill to make garments for his/her clients. While the corporate designer will not be sewing the garment, he/she needs to know how a certain fabric will translate into a specific design just based on a sketch or idea. This skill can be developed with a combination of the right training and experience.

Sewing

A custom designer must know how to sew. This is a major part of what this person does daily as he/she is responsible for making final garments for clients. As a corporate designer, this skill is not nearly as important. The corporate designer does not make clothes (although, in some companies, a corporate designer will mockup garments for presentation purposes). While the corporate designer does not make clothing, knowledge of sewing will only aid the design process as it helps to know what is or isn’t

Patternmaking and Garment Construction

Like sewing, a custom designer must know how to make patterns and garments. This is the very basis of what this person does daily. Some boldly branch out into this line of work without a solid understanding of patternmaking – thus being limited to purchasing patterns and attempting to adjust them to match their design intentions. Ultimately, without a very strong understanding of patternmaking and garment construction, a custom designer is extremely limited. Without these skills, he/she will not truly be able to satisfy clients with correctly fitting garments – especially if these clients have a more unique body type.
These are not mandatory skills for a corporate designer. However, a strong understanding of patternmaking and garment construction is very helpful in understanding design and fit.
(It is important to mention that there is such a thing as a Corporate Patternmaker. A corporate patternmaker must have patternmaking and garment construction skills to function on the job.)

Computer Aided Design

Computer Aided Design, in some form or the other, is mandatory for corporate designers. A corporate aesthetic designer spends a lot of time using Adobe Illustrator to sketch out designs. This is a mandatory skill for the entry-level designer all the way up to a Senior or Principal Designer. Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop is also important. A corporate patternmaker must know how to use Computer Aided Design Software (such as Gerber, Lectra, etc.) to create patterns digitally. Use of these patternmaking software first requires a thorough understanding of how to make these patterns by hand.

An intangible eye for and understanding of beauty, color coordination, proportion and trends

This intangible element of creativity specific to fashion design – understanding of beauty, color coordination, proportion, and how to apply relevant trends to different garments and customer bases – is mandatory in a corporate setting. This skill helps a designer to thrive and create “sale-able” garments. It is also a skill that is evaluated or tested (through a portfolio) before a candidate is hired for this role.
This skill is somewhat less relevant for a custom designer – because clients often come with clear ideas about what they want to wear. However, of course, it is still a helpful skill even as a custom designer – especially if the designer likes/wants to create unique pieces for clients to choose from.