What are designers in fashion?ĭesigners in fashion are professionals who create concepts of new and trending styles, build real-life prototypes of these designs and prepare the final products to sell to customers. In this article, we review what fashion designers are and the different types of designers in the fashion industry. As you work in a certain specialty, you're typically responsible for identifying current trends and creating fashionable designs that appeal to your target audience. When you pursue this role, you must decide if you'd prefer to create clothes, shoes or accessories. They can progress to work on bigger productions, with more famous actors! They may also become freelance/set up their own business, and then contract their services out to productions.If fashion has always interested you, a career as a designer could be a great path to pursue. However, as they gather more experience they will have more responsibility and control over decisions. ProgressionĬostume designers will start off with little control or autonomy. The lowest 10% earned less than $33,561 and the highest 10% earned over $46,329 per year. SalaryĪccording to, the median annual wage of a costume designer in the United States is $39,481. They will have tight deadlines to work to and an unpredictable timeline as things won’t always go according to plan (e.g., actor or producer might not like costume, fabric may be out of stock). Often, they will have a lot to do in a short space of time. Attention to detail, as costume designers will need to spot even the smallest of things (e.g., colour or texture) to ensure that the costume fits well with the productionĬostume designers are likely to work long hours.Ability to work well under pressure, as costume designers will need to work in a stressful environment and will need to meet tight deadlines.Communication skills, as costume designers will need to communicate instructions on how their costume is made with costume makers.Artistic ability, as costume designers must be able to draw freehand in order to sketch their vision for every costume.Teamwork skills, as costume designers need to work with actors, costume makers and the director so much have the ability to work well with others.As well as this, costume designers will need skills such as: They will need a strong portfolio that demonstrates their skills in this area. Skills and relevant work experienceĬostume designers need to be creative and enjoy costume design and acting. Generally speaking, most costume designers will have a bachelors degree in fashion design or merchandising that is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. They will then go on to gather experience in the costume design industry and will create a portfolio in this. Giving specific instructions to costume makers, wardrobe supervisors and assistant.Creating costumes and ensuring they fit with the productions design concept and budget.Sketching costume designs and showing them to the director or producer.Conducting research into suitable costume styles and fabrics.

Discussing ideas with the director, and production, make-up, lighting and set designers.Studying the script of the production, film or show to understand the character and gather information on costume requirements.The typical duties and a costume designer include:

They create the outfits/costumes for characters, ensuring that they balance the scene with texture and color. A costume designer is responsible for designing costumes for a film, stage production or television show.

Jobs for costume designers