What Do Designers Do ?

When I was a kid, I had that idea in my mind that, fashion designers create crazy outfits showcased on the runway, that I wouldn't be able to move comfortably while doing daily activities if I wear them or I would most probably not wear them out on a daily basis. It made me think, 'Where and who are the people that design clothes that we wear daily?'.

However, my perception of what do designers do change as I grow up. Fashion designers are the ones that create beautiful outfits not just for special occasions but also for daily wear, and being a fashion designer requires passion, a lot of hard work and sleepless nights.

They need to build a concept first, do research about it, brainstorm ideas, sketch, create pattern, source fabrics, try if everything works, then finally making their collection, showcase them on the runway, working on marketing their collection and it just goes on and on and on and it never ends till the next concept arises.

Besides, I also had the perception that fashion designers are always on trend and have to be stylish. After watching 'The Devil Wears Prada'. The idea that fashion designers or people working in the fashion industry has to dress up and look trendy became stronger and that the ability of building a network and socializing with other people in the same industry seems to be very important thus I had the idea that we have to be really out going and extrovert to be a fashion designer. The fashion industry seem so far and unreachable and that made me think that, maybe I might not fit into the industry at first.

So what does a fashion designer really do?

First of all, a fashion designer is known as a person that is actively involved in the every process and aspects of the construction of their designs; they supervise the entire production from sketch to final manufacturing. Which includes, doing researches about the ongoing fashion trend, illustrate clothing or accessory designs, involved in the selection of materials and many more. They also handle fittings and adjust the prototype of their designs as required. Upon completion of the garments, the final pieces then enter the marketing phase to be sold to consumers. In addition, designers might be required to travel frequently to learn about the latest trends, communicate with international clients, and meet suppliers and manufacturers overseas.

There is a diverse of job natures of fashion designers depending on which category they specialize in.

‘Fashion designers create women's, men's and children's apparel. This might include sportswear, maternity wear, outerwear, underwear, formalwear, eyewear and footwear. There are also accessory designers who design belts, scarves, hats, handbags and hosiery.’(Source)

However, some designers may design across a wide scope of apparel and accessories instead of focusing on a particular category of apparel.

THE WORKFLOW

Basically, a fashion designer’s design process from developing a concept to final production typically takes about 18 to 24 months, which involves the typical/common workflow of a fashion designer as following:

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Step 1: Study and research fashion trends. Fashion designers have to consider the ongoing and predict future trends to help them define a design that will appeal to customers. Some designers review trend reports and forecast fashion trends that are expected to be favoured by consumers for a particular season in the future.

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Step 2: Creating a mood board/theme/concept board. This step is essential as it is the fundamental of creating a collection/garment. It is an inspiration board that tells the design story. Fashion designers would collect various images or anything to seek inspirations and to develop an idea, concept or theme. The collection of colours, materials and silhouette for the designs will be inspired by the theme of the mood board.

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Step 3: Sketching initial designs. Designers either use computer-aided design (CAD) software or hand sketch designs. CAD allows designers to view at designs of clothing on computer-generated models, in many colours and shapes, thus saving time as the need for adjustments later are minimized.

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Step 4: Visiting manufacturers or trade shows. Designers obtain various fabric samples before making the decision of which fabrics are the best and most suitable to use with each designs. Fabrics have a wide range of diversity to choose from with different textures, prints, woven or knitted depending on design.

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Step 5: Selection of fabrics, embellishments, colours, or style for each garment or accessory. Selection of fabric, colours, style and every detail of the design is based on the seasons, and the look of the garment that the designer visualizes in mind.

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Step 6: Work with other designers or team members to create a prototype design. A prototype/toile is created usually using cheaper materials (often calico, or fabrics similar in weight and characteristics) and uses models to make adjustments on the design.

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Step 7: Making sample garments. Sample garments using the actual fabric are made after the toile or prototype has been approved.

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Step 8: Present design ideas to the creative director or showcase them in fashion or trade shows. After the samples of the design are approved, or retailers at the shows place orders, the garments can then be manufactured, distributed and sold to consumers.

Fashion designers may get involved in or cover only certain scopes or all of the process steps, depending on their experience level and also the size of the design firm they are employed in. In smaller firm, designers are often in charge of greater responsibilities such as patternmaking and sewing, while larger houses employ a separate team for specific tasks which resembles a specific part of a big machine.

The fashion industry has the most fashion designers working for wholesalers and manufacturers. Manufacturing establishments, wholesalers, or design firms designers create designs for the mass market. These designers are known as “in-house designers” that normally tend to have a more scheduled working hour, however sometimes they need to work long hours to meet production due dates or prepare for fashion shows.

‘About 25 percent of fashion designers were self-employed in 2012.’ (Source) Self-employed designers normally work on a custom basis and create unique clothing. They generally have irregular work schedule to meet deadlines. A freelance or self-employed designer also work for individual clients and may have their own brand and label.

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After reading or watching interviews with designers, I've realize that being a fashion designer, you do not only have to know how to sketch and design but they must be well organized to minimize waste of time as fashion designers have to meet tight deadlines and the process from coming up with an idea to the final manufacturing requires a lot of time. Besides, Fashion designers should have the quality of teamwork. 'Fashion designers can never work in isolation ...... A designer needs the support of various satellite industries ...... in order to be truly successful.' (Sorger & Udale,2006). Besides, a fashion designer should equip themselves with essential skills of making a garment. As Gillian Hung (President of the Malaysian Official Designer's Association (MODA)) once said, a designer have to know pattern making, or else they would be seen as a handicap because they have to depend on other people a lot. (Episode 167, Bella 2015, NTV7).

After all the research and this write-up about what do designers do, I've had a better understanding of the responsibilities and duties of a fashion designer in the whole process of making a garment to selling the collection, the working environment either working for a design firm or self-employed, and a better understanding of how the fashion industry works as well as the qualities of a fashion designer.

Fashion designers, have to stay up all night, always trying their best to shine, and competition in the fashion design industry in this era is extremely intense. In short, I belief being a fashion designer is not as easy as it looks and you really have to LOVE what you do in this industry.