How to Become a Apparel Designer

About Apparel Designer

Apparel designers who also go by the name clothing designers conceptualise and create clothing items. The main duty of an apparel designer is to keep an eye on the evolving or trending fashion statements and to predict the upcoming ones. An apparel designer is also responsible for designing new sketches, opting right patterns and fabric for the garment and managing production. Once the concept is ready they require a confirmation from the client, retailers or creative directors to proceed with the idea.

A career as an apparel designer is not a difficult one if an individual is aware of the history of costumes, fashion designing, science and liberal arts, production of cloth, fashion designing design management, apparel pattern making fashion art and sketching, different kinds of knitting, retailing and marketing, computerized aided knitting, design process, trends and forecasting for apparel, production and planning. With the ardent need to look good, the demand for appealing clothes also keeps increasing in the market. To satisfy the requirement of the masses, manufacturing recruiters are hiring skilful designers who can creatively work with dedication. Apparel designers are also self-employed. Such designers have to always bring their A-game on the table as there are multiple fishes in the water.

Roles and Responsibilities of Apparel Designer 

Following are some examples of the roles and duties performed by an apparel designer:

• Apparel designers are responsible for designing unique clothing, accessories, and footwear
• They anticipate consumer-appealing designs and collaborate with other designers or team members to create prototype designs
• They also supervise the final production of their design and present some design ideas to creative directors in the hopes of showcasing them at fashion or trade shows
• Apparel designers are primarily responsible for creating designs and ideas for clothing and accessories
• They are creative professionals who keep up with current trends and events by reading fashion magazines and attending fashion shows
• They hand sketch the designs, create technical production drawings, and speak to buyers as seasoned marketers
• They also work with team members to choose seasonal themes and ensure that the product is consistent with the business strategy

Eligibility to become Apparel Designer

A skilful designer is the one who has the sound knowledge of fabrics, styles and patterns. Employers often seek out for the apparel designers who have a strong grip and understanding of textiles and trends. Check out the eligibility requirements to become an apparel designer.

• It is essential for the candidate to clear the class 12th final examination to pursue a relevant course to be an apparel designer.
• Any higher education degree that inculcates designing and technical skills to an individual. A graduate degree in fashion design is considered one such qualification.
• Candidates can also opt for relevant certification courses to enhance their abilities or knowledge and have an upper hand in the competitive world of apparel designing.

How to Become a Apparel Designer?

The following steps can be taken by applicants to become apparel designers:

Step 1: Complete 10+2

You will be given a number of instructions on how to become a fashion designer in this section. One must receive at least 50% of the required marks in their 10+2 to qualify as a fashion designer. Any stream must be used for the 10+2 requirement. In this section, we'll talk about a fashion designer course.

Step 2: Appearing for Entrance Exams

Before accepting students for admission, several colleges hold entrance exams. Students must pass their 10+2 with at least a 50% grade in order to be qualified to take the entrance exam. To enroll in an NIFT college, one must take the NIFT entrance exam.

Undergraduate Apparel Designer Entrance Examinations

 Step 3: Pursuing Bachelor

After passing the 10+2 exam, applicants must enrol in undergraduate Fashion Design programmes.

Popular Courses for Becoming an Apparel Designer

Step 4: Pursuing Post Bachelors

After earning a bachelor's degree, a student has two choices:

Option 1: Aspirants may enroll in a postgraduate Apparel Designer course after successfully completing an undergraduate Apparel Designer course. Following the completion of their academic requirements, they may begin working in the sector in an entry-level capacity.

Option 2: Candidates may start working as entry-level apparel designers after successfully completing an undergraduate apparel designer course. A few years of work experience as an apparel designer may be followed by further study in a postgraduate apparel designer programme.

Popular Courses for Becoming an Apparel Designer

Types of Job Roles Apparel Designer

Candidates willing to be an apparel designer can land up under various job profiles. Mentioned below are a few of the job roles an apparel designer can consider to fulfil their dream.

Apparel Designer: The duty of an apparel designer is to conceptualise, design and create items of clothing.

Apparel Quality Controllers: Apparel quality controllers come into the picture from the very start. From sourcing the raw materials to finishing the garment, the duty of an apparel quality controller is to maintain the fine quality standards.

Fashion Trends Forecasters: The responsibility of a fashion trend forecaster is to predict the upcoming trends including fabric, colour, style, graphic etc. They help in foreseeing how trends will impact the apparel industry.

Personal Shopper: Duty of a personal shopper is to provide advice, suggestions and recommendation to another individual. They either accompany the client or shop on their behalf.

Author: The job of an author specialised in apparel designing is to write journalism, write-ups, blogs, articles or books related to aspects of style and fashion.

Fashion Stylist: They select accessories and clothing for television, editorial, print, advertising campaigns. They lookout for the style of an individual and dress them up for public appearances.

Employment Opportunities for Apparel Designer

At present, fashion is evolving at a fast rate. The consciousness of people towards their clothing style is increasing rapidly. The requirement for a skilful apparel designer is escalating in multiple firms across the nation. Enlisted below are few of them that lend opportunities to budding talented apparel designer.

• Fashion Industry
• Entertainment Industry
• Media Houses
• Sports
• Designer Stores
• Freelancer
• Production Houses
• Jewellery Houses

Top Recruiting Companies for Apparel Designer

Check out the names of the top-notch companies mentioned below that recruit apparel designers.

• ITC Wills Lifestyle
• Pantaloons
• Levis
• Allen Solly
• Van Heusen
• Provogue
• Park Avenue
• Louis Phillipe
• Mufti
• BIBA
• Raymond
• Peter England

Skills Required to be an Apparel Designer 

When it comes to how to become an Apparel Designer after 12th in India, the first thing they should know is the Apparel Designer skills that are required for a career as an Apparel Designer. Some of the necessary skills are listed below.

• Creativity: An aptitude for all forms of creative fine arts is the fundamental skill that students should possess in order to become apparel designers. To become an apparel designer, you must have a natural sense of creativity. Artistry and imagination fuel the desire to transform the material into a magnificent work of art
• Communication Skills: It is necessary to communicate with clients in order to give instructions. On a specific project, one designer cannot work alone. Designers must enlist the assistance of others in the field. They also necessitate collaboration with other designers. Designers must share their ideas while working on a project in order to produce a good piece of work
• Time Management: The fashion designing profession necessitates the ability to multitask in order to meet the demands of clients within a specific time frame. Designers must work long hours to complete tasks in a timely manner
• Drawing Skills: Designers must be able to draw in order to bring their ideas to life. A career as an apparel designer involves transforming a piece of fabric into various styles of clothing. Apparel designers cannot communicate their creativity to their clients unless they can draw
• Visualization: It is one of the most important skills for an apparel designer. Apparel designers must have strong visualisation skills because they must work for a variety of clients alongside their coworkers. Apparel designers with strong visualisation skills can make the most of their ideas
• Business Sense: Apparel designers must have a strong understanding of markets and businesses. Apparel designers should be familiar with key business functions such as finance and sales. These elements are necessary for becoming a successful designer. Although creativity is required to become a fashion designer, designers will be unable to sustain a profitable fashion brand if they do not understand business

Pay Scale/Salary of Apparel Designer

Check out the possible salary tabulated below that an individual might get upon entering the world of apparel designing.

Note: The figure mentioned is just to provide a rough idea. The salary varies from person to person and company to company.

Scope of an Apparel Designer

It is one of the most sought-after professions worldwide. Being a very creative field, it can allow you to mash up cultures, transition from traditional to modern attire, and even experiment with colour schemes! You can be the storyteller for each dress' individual tale.

• Your greatest level of satisfaction would come from a career in apparel design
• You can build your own brand from scratch if you are your own boss
• Your perspective on the world will change because the field is so creative and enjoyable
• Almost every product will come with a sizable margin from the market
• Your career gives you the chance to become well-known for what you do
• Because clients can come from anywhere in the world, you will have plenty of opportunities to travel abroad
• Prepare yourself to deal with a variety of jobs coming to one workplace

If you choose to work in this industry, you might also have the chance to meet famous people and others who share your passion for apparel design.

Books & Study Material to Become Apparel Designer

For entering the apparel designing industry a candidate must have a thorough knowledge of textiles and style. It is also important to own the right skills and creativity as a parameter. Check out the books and study material mentioned below that can help an individual in either gaining knowledge or cracking the top-notch entrance exams of design.

• NIFT Exam Guide by Dr. R.P. Datson
• The Costume Technician’s Handbook: A Complete Guide for Amateur and Professional
• NIFT Exam Guide by Verma
• Costume Design: Techniques of Modern Masters
• Fashion Design Course by Steven Faerm
• The Fundamentals of Fashion Design (Paperback) by Richard Sorger
• The third edition of 9 heads: A guide to drawing fashion, by Nancy Riegelman
• Fashion sketchbook, 6th edition by Bina Abling
• Patternmaking for Fashion Design by Helen Joseph

Pros of becoming a Apparel Designer

• An apparel designer gets multiple opportunities across various industries due to the surge in the popularity of the designing industry.
• It provides satisfaction to see other people wearing your work of art and imagination.
• An apparel designer gets opportunities to travel across the globe with the top-notch fashionistas, designers, celebrities and artists.

Cons of becoming a Apparel Designer

• It is an extremely stressful job as you have to work round the clock to meet the deadlines and maintain the supply before the D-day.
• Staying updated with the ever-evolving trends is a task. It constantly keeps changing and an apparel designer has to keep altering his/her creative functionality as per the trends.
• The designing industry is very competitive and is fastly growing. With so many options on the plate, it becomes difficult to carve your own identity and present your unique self through the apparels.