HOW TO BECOME A FASHION DESIGNER - STEP 3 Karen Avila2:43 PM 0 comments

Have you already started to practice your fashion skills? Ok, now you will have to decide the way you want to develop your fashion design skills in order to become a fashion designer. 

Now you know the only way to be a fashion designer is to practice the fashion design skills, but certainly are a wide range of possibilities to learn them, so the path you choose will be up to you, it will depend upon your learning type and how comfortable you feel with one method or another.

So, how can you learn them?

- College. As always it is the go-to option of almost everyone desiring to be a fashion designer. And the truth is, it helps, you can learn a lot of different skills and you will also be able to develop your social network, but it will definitely depend upon you how the college serves you, because you do not need to attend to a prestigious university or institute in order to become a successful fashion designer, you have to make the hard work either if you are on an expensive or not that expensive college, you have to put all the effort to learn and practice fashion design.  Despite of that, if you are not a 'college person' you can always opt to take another option, you should follow whatever your heart feels right.

- Regular Classes. This is another way to interact with others, while you practice your own skills, you can also learn from other people's experiences, it is full of rewards, you can also socialize and it is quite fun. Here, as with college, you should make a research about the institutions that offer fashion classes and courses, and according to the skills you want to develop you can decide what fits best to you.

- Online Classes. Recently, it has become one of my favorite approaches to learning, I actually have experienced every single way to learn; college, regular classes, self-teaching, and now online classes, and I love them, because they allow you to learn at your own pace, when you have time, and to practice what you really need, so no more filler-subjects. Besides, depending on the platform, you can also interact with others as if you were in a classroom.

- Self-teaching. I really like to be involved in my own learning, because I am aware of what I need and want to learn and I look for the sources that will give me this knowledge, the main sources I use are books, and as described above online resources. I keep learning and developing new skills this way due to the lack of time, having a home and 2 businesses do not allow you to go too far. So, my recommendation for this, is the same, look for what feels better to you, look for the resources that will give you the knowledge you want to acquire and go for it.

With any path you choose, make sure you practice your skills, whatever they are, practice, practice and practice, no college, no course, no class will give you talent, as some people say the talent can learned but it definitely should be earned, and you will earn it by practicing your fashion design skills.

So, how do you want to learn fashion design?

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HOW TO BECOME A FASHION DESIGNER - STEP 2 Karen Avila10:30 AM 0 comments

Now that you have already taken the first step to become a fashion designer, it's time to keep moving and follow the second step to achieve your dream, and it is quite simple yet complicated, it is all about developing your skills, it is simple because if you want to improve on something you must to practice it until you master it, and it might be a little bit complicated because there are so many skills a fashion designer could acquire in order to be successful.

So, what skills?

A wide range of skills can be acquired in fashion design, depending on the tasks you want to be involved in you will need to learn, practice and dominate those certain abilities, I've separated them here according to the fashion design process steps:

- Creativity. Everyone within the design-art-innovative sector should practice and improve their creative skills, everyone is creative, and it is the responsibility of each of us to develop that creativity, you can do plenty of techniques and activities in order to improve the flow of your creativity, such as Brainstorming, 6 Hats, Thought Experiment among others.

- Research and Analysis. This skill is used from the beginning when looking for the target market, as well as looking for trends, developing inspiration themes, elements, colors and motifs that you do want in your collection and also those that you do not want.

- Moodboard, Color and Fabric Palettes Making. As a fashion designer you should be capable to summarize all the research and inspiration into a moodboard, which should speak and make feel what you want to express in your collection, the color and fabric palettes should also reflect your inspiratio.

- Synthesis. This is where from your research, moodboard and palettes, you start to create your ideas, you put all those elements and you create your own designs.

- Sketching and Drawing. This is a very important skill to develop because you should be able to express your ideas and put them into paper, so other people involved in the process can also work with you seeing what you clearly want.

- Technical Specifications. By practicing this ability you will be capable to tell your suppliers exactly how every product should be made. 

- Pattern Making. For me, this skill has been the most complicated, nevertheless with practice everything can be mastered, and in fact, this is a really fun ability because is when you start seeing your ideas coming into reality.

- Sourcing Materials. Although a previous research exists, you can always have fun looking for fabrics and trims that will be in your collection, here you should have a solid knowledge about materials in order to select the perfect items, according to your design needs, and also you must consider the "quality vs price" duality.

- Garment Construction. This is a vital skill, because is the one that will help you to have the finished garment, in many occasions, especially when mass producing you won't be able to make every single garment, but you definitely should know how every piece is constructed, this way you will be able to indicate to your manufacturer what will be needed. Many fashion designers cut-and-sew only the samples that must be taken into consideration in the production phase.

Other abilities that can be used within fashion design, and depending upon the path you choose are:

- Public Relationships. Very useful if you are looking for a job, and also if you want your own brand, to develop this skill will open your employment and business possibilities.

- Business. This includes other such as Personal and Resources Admin, Accounting and Negotiation. At the beginning, it might be necessary to perform them all by yourself, but later you can delegate them.

  

It is not necessary to dominate everyone of them, what I recommend you is to know them all, know everything about them, specially how can they help you, practice them, use them and once you know where you want to go, keep practicing those skills that will help you until you master them.

It might seem a long road, but it is worth it, just make sure you are having fun and enjoying your own and special journey to become a fashion designer.

What are the skills you are eager to try to Become a Fashion Designer?

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HOW TO BECOME A FASHION DESIGNER - STEP 1 Karen Avila10:00 AM 0 comments

If you are like me, then when you were a child you probably spent most of you time making your doll's clothes and accessories, drawing and making collages, enjoying the magic of color, and learning to sew and knit at an early age, to then leave your friends behind at your teen days in order to watch fashion magazines, fashion shows and day dreaming about the new garmet and accessory you wanted to create. Yes! you love fashion, and you are a magnificent candidate, but do you know how to become a fashion designer?

Where should you start?

That's probably the most common question we have as fashion lovers, you are so eager to get into the fashion sector, but you are not really sure how to do it, right?

In my case I didn't  know anybody with this career, I didn't know any schools, I didn't even know that Fashion Design was actually a career I could pursue, I just knew I loved to design and create fashion garments and accessories, and I knew it since I was a little child. So, when I first met design was at high-school, I made my first ready to production handbag (I made a lot earlier, but design should be mass produced, and I was able to go further in the production stages at that moment, so it was a clarity moment for me), and I really wanted to be part of fashion design, so I looked for schools, and there weren't any of them near to where I lived, and I couldn't move, so I decided to get into industrial design career.

Industrial design wasn't really what I was looking for, I liked some things of course, the design process is quite similar, and some aspects are really helpful, but other things just seemed to be irrelevant for me. My desire to be a fashion designer was still there, I just didn't want it, I needed it, during that period I continued to develop my fashion skills, I read tons of books, I participated in tons of courses, I designed and sew a lot of garments, and also tons of my favorite accessories, lots of handbags! I was making them for me and people loved them, so I also started my own small fashion business.

I felt amazing! I was doing what I loved and people loved what I was doing. Then, I realized the very first step to become a fashion designer is to really want it, I continued studying, specializing and I keep learning everyday. 

So, if you want to be a fashion designer, your first step is to ask yourself if you want to be part of the fashion world, be thoughtful because fashion might seem glamorous and a piece of cake, but the truth is fashion involves a lot of hard work, you have to be willing to work days and nights in order to accomplish your dream, you will need to be determined and persevere no matter what.

Are you ready to take the First Step to Become a Fashion Designer?

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