Fashion Designer

Explore employment trends, required job duties and skills for this career. ASU offers a variety of degrees that can help you prepare for and meet your career goals. Visit ASU's Career and Professional Development Services to learn how to develop your career plan.

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Potential job titles in this career

Apparel Fashion Designer, Clothing Designer, Costume Designer, Dance Costume Designer, Designer, Fashion Designer, Historic Clothing and Costume Maker, Latex Fashions Designer, Product Developer

* Additional schooling, certification, or degrees maybe be required for some of the potential careers that are listed.

What will I do?

Direct and coordinate workers involved in drawing and cutting patterns and constructing samples or finished garments.

Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects.

Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material types, and accessory requirements.

Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas.

Identify target markets for designs, looking at factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status.

Attend fashion shows and review garment magazines and manuals to gather information about fashion trends and consumer preferences.

Select materials and production techniques to be used for products.

Provide sample garments to agents and sales representatives, and arrange for showings of sample garments at sales meetings or fashion shows.

Adapt other designers' ideas for the mass market.

Purchase new or used clothing and accessory items as needed to complete designs.

In this career, it is important to know

Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

It's useful to be good at

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.

Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).

Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Employment trends

Location	Pay period	2022
Location	Pay period	10%	25%	Median%	75%	90%
United States	Hourly	$16.67	$25.40	$36.87	$50.39	$67.27
United States	Yearly	$34,660	$52,840	$76,700	$104,800	$139,920
Arizona	Hourly	$17.20	$23.73	$25.72	$52.30	$53.32
Arizona	Yearly	$35,770	$49,360	$53,500	$108,780	$110,900

2022 Median%
United States	$36.87 Hourly	$76,700 Yearly
Arizona	$25.72 Hourly	$53,500 Yearly

Employment (2022)

24,900 employees

Projected growth (2022 - 2032)

Slower than average (2% to 3%)

Projected job openings (2022 - 2032)

2,300

* Data obtained from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA).

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Accelerated programs allow students the opportunity to expedite the completion of their degree.

3 year programs

These programs allow students to fast-track their studies after admission and earn a bachelor's degree in three years or fewer while participating in the same high-quality educational experience of a 4-year option. Students should talk to their academic advisor to get started.

Accelerated master's

These programs allow students to accelerate their studies to earn a bachelor's plus a master's degree in as few as five years (for some programs).

Each program has requirements students must meet to be eligible for consideration. Acceptance to the graduate program requires a separate application. Students typically receive approval to pursue the accelerated master’s during the junior year of their bachelor's degree program. Interested students can learn about eligibility requirements and how to apply.

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Concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests, earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor.

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Joint programs, or jointly conferred degrees, are offered by more than one college and provide opportunities for students to take advantage of the academic strengths of two academic units. Upon graduation, students are awarded one degree and one diploma conferred by two colleges.

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