What Is A Fashion Designer?

Misconception Of A Fashion Designer

People often misunderstand what  fashion designers do. In conversations, I frequently get asked, “What do you do as a fashion designer?” or “Do you only sew?”

Being a fashion designer is more complex than it sounds.  It is the art of applying design, aesthetics, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. Fashion designers conduct research and interpret  designs for their targeted audience.

They also oversee the entire design process from start to finish to create styles and looks that are meaningful to people. The purpose is to create clothes that make a statement, define people’s individuality, and inspire people to be who they want to be. It is like the first impression that people will make to the world.

Different Styles

Everybody’s style can vary from day to day. Therefore, each design is different and the outfits they pick can depict their mood, taste, and their stage of life at that moment. They can wear more neutral colors, smaller prints, more basic looks on days where they are feeling more mellow. This will allow them to blend in more and feel more calm. On days where they feel happy or jolly, yes I just said jolly, they can wear vibrant colors to express that.

Special Events

Then there are special occasions like the red carpet events that celebrities attend. There are many celebrities who want to look chic, beautiful, and stunning by wearing exclusive dresses or pant suits. These exclusive dresses that they wear are haute couture, meaning that they have exclusive custom fitting designs and high fashion.

Designers and their teams work endlessly to make a one of a kind dress that have over 12 fittings to perfect the silhouette. Not only that, this dress has never been touch by a sewing machine. Everything is hand crafted and hand sewn, which is why they’re very costly.

People only see the completed garment which is at the final stage of fashion designing. However, there are more processes in creating a garment.

More Than Just Sewing

Fashion Designers do more than just sewing. They oversee the entire design process from start to finish. However, some are more involved than others. There are two types of fashion designers, corporate and non-corporate.

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Independent Fashion Designers

Non-corporate fashion designers will create outfits from the beginning which is the planning stage, until the end, completed garment. This includes concept planning, drafting, sourcing, fitting, and sewing.

Corporate Fashion Designers

As for corporate fashion designers, their focus is only in the design stage. Then their designs are outsourced and manufactured by other companies. Corporate designers do not see the final product until it has hit their corporate stores.

So, what is a designer?

In the end, all fashion designers curate style and authenticity by creating aesthetically pleasing clothes for the people. This enables people to pick and choose what defines them as a person.

If you want to learn and know more on how to become a fashion designer, check out my blog post, “How to become a Fashion Designer“ for more info. 

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