Fashion Designers: What Characterises The Creative World Changers!

Fashion speaks: If you know how to read fashion, you will learn everything about social change and the zeitgeist! Fashion designers are at the centre of it all, walking the line between art and commerce. Each in their own way: Ingenious eccentrics create unmistakable haute couture, creative pragmatists among them create ready-to-wear prêt-à-porter designs and casual wear. Diversity rules - but what is a typical fashion designer?

Does the world need fashion designers?

Fashion is an important economic sector. Collections are starting to drive up sales in the shops. Fashion shows from New York to Paris to Milan give the starting signal, featuring hand-picked models , organised by agencies. Fashion designers send the season's creations down the catwalk , which then hit store shelves and clothes rails six months later at the latest. At the same time, an army of fashion and lifestyle photographers drum up support for the latest trends in magazines and marketing.

How do you become a fashion designer?

Do you dream of being a fashion designer, designing your own outfits and being creative with fabrics, colours and shapes? Maybe you're the next Lagerfeld. You can do your training at a private fashion school, study fashion design at a university of applied sciences or complete a vocational college including an internship. You’ll need an aesthetic sense and a portfolio of your own work as proof of your drawing talent . It’s important to be meticulous, for example in order to calculate cutting measurements in which real people from XS to XXL will later feel comfortable. What can you earn? Your remuneration is calculated based off your working hours, multiplied by the minimum hourly rate; furthermore, fees for the use of your work are added because the designs, originals and source and work data belong to you.

How is your collection created?

Inspiration is the spark that lights the fire!     With your inspiration you make sketches which turn into designs. Fabrics and designs are selected to make into pattern cuts according to the manufacturer's specifications. As a fashion designer, you can work independently, open your own store - or work full-time for a company. The job processes are similar: you monitor the sample production in advance to ensure that every seam is perfect during production. Has your new collection been approved? Now it's time to get serious - and turn designs into production-ready patterns. Trousers, skirts and shirts go into production. Many hands are involved in a collection - pattern directors, campaign photographers, casting experts, fashion show DJs and much more. And you work with them all!

What does it take to be a fashion designer?

If your wedding dress is worn by supermodel Heidi Klum, you've made it - like Pierpaolo Piccioli from Valentino, for example. But it's not extravagance, but quality, material and workmanship that take priority! Trends are short-lived. Successful fashion designers know this - and react to changes at the speed of light. This also applies to the production processes: As a fashion designer, you are always up to date with current creative programmes and know the typical processes at certain manufacturers. Designing fashion is a joint project whose goal is defined by the client and the contractor. What do you do as a fashion designer? Answer questions - from initial brainstorming to detailed prototyping: Which trends does your design integrate, which target group does it reach, which unique selling points will allow your client to outperform the competition? In addition to the creation of look, you will also be responsible for production control, collection presentation and the supervision of fashion shows. Fashion designers also accompany the market launch - and finally analyse sales figures and customer satisfaction.

Where and how do fashion designers work?

Your sphere of activity includes fashion studios , home offices, design departments and supplying manufacturing companies, as well as film, theatre and TV studios - including specialisations as jewellery, bag and shoe designers. In the course of globalisation and technologisation, fashion is becoming increasingly differentiated. As a result, it is not so much haute couture but brands and labels that are setting fashion trends. One hot trend candidate is sustainability and upcycling - and smart textiles are increasingly taking centre stage in the workwear sector.

What makes star designers so successful?

Well-known designers such as Karl Lagerfeld, Wolfgang Joop, Jil Sander and Hugo Boss write fashion history. Nevertheless, lone wolves are in a bad position: As legendary collaborations show, mutual appreciation is an indispensable driving force in this business. Birkenstock cooperates with Dior, fashion designers such as Yves Saint Laurent team up with sparkling talents such as Piet Mondrian or Andy Warhol. Input that pushes the artistic value of collections, resulting in original works that push the boundaries of the fashion world.

What is the role of the muse?

Famous designers have muses who embody the beauty ideals of the latest trends. Fashion pope Karl Lagerfeld had a whole series of them. Like model Kate Moss, Jean Baptiste Giabiconi and, of course, Chanel house model Claudia Schiffer. The muses work as ambassadors of collections and projection screens for the grand designs of fashion. You become a muse if you have similar aesthetic sensibilities, are bursting with ideas - and inspire fashion designers, working with them as partners on equal terms.

Become a fashion model for fashion designers now

As a modelling agency , we are close to the interface; well-known designers are our clients. Do you also want to be on the catwalk or in front of the camera for famous designers? Register online now for free - we look forward to hearing from you!