If you’re young and ambitious and figuring out your next move in life, this one's for you! If you’ve got a keen eye on everything fashion, then a career in fashion design would be a path to explore. Fashion design is a field that has made its waves throughout the world and as long as fashion lives, it will continue to do the same. As a beginner, there’s a big scope of growth in the fashion industry, but you need to be equipped with suitable armour to help you get up the ladder.
If you’re planning to make a name for yourself in the world of fashion, there are a few routes that you can take. First, you can join a big fashion house and work for well-known brands. Second, you can establish your own fashion design business where you can run the design and manufacturing of your own apparel into the market. Third, you could teach fashion design to young aspirants and aid the change towards a more fashion-forward world.
No matter what decision you take, as a beginner, you need to invest in quality things that will take you to your success. Whether it is upgraded courses, advanced tech and software, or even personal equipment, you need these things to stay on top of the fashion game. So here are a few things that you need to invest in as a beginner in fashion design -
1. Tech and Softwares
Just like everything else, the world of fashion also takes its inspiration from the digital world. If you see something that catches your eye, you don’t always have paper and pencil to sketch it out, but with a smartphone, you can easily capture a photograph that will be used later. As a fashion designer, you need state-of-the-art tools that will help you ace the game. Here are some of our recommendations.
- Laptop with the latest gen processor
With all the heavy storage apps that you’ll be using, a fast laptop is a must. Whether you’re going for a Windows or an Apple laptop, make sure it is equipped to handle it all.
- Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator
A fashion designer spends a lot of time on software like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. You will require an updated version of the software (not just a trial version) in order to spend hours sketching and illustrating your designs here. This software has the necessary tools required to create designs from scratch and reduce the turn-around time as well.
- Cintiq 12WX Pen Display
Designing can be an exhilarating experience with this latest gadget! With this multi-touch sketching tablet, you can easily draw out anything and everything.
- Inkling
This one might be a little gadget, but it can make wonders happen for an aspiring design student. The Inkling allows you to sketch on paper and then digitize your files. It is compatible with Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator so you can easily edit your designs even if you’ve drawn them out on paper.
2. Courses and upgrades
The world of fashion is very demanding, even when it comes to education. With fashion design, you need to hold a 12th pass certificate along with a degree or a diploma in any of the designing courses. On top of that, we have a host of incredible fashion designing courses that will get you up the ladder when it comes to polishing your skills as a beginner.
If you’re somebody who can master the art yourself, we recommend you to enroll in our excellent courses in fashion illustration, portfolio building and drawing. As a beginner in fashion designing, it would really help you to get a grip on all things fashion before making it into the professional world.
3. Stationary
As a fashion designer, your work will not just be working digitally. The designs once finalized will be taken live on fabric and materials. To bring your designs to life, you will require materials including stationery to bring about the necessary changes and alterations in the garment. For that, you will need -
Photo by Neven Krcmarek on Unsplash
- Alcohol-based markers/colours
To smoothen out colours, create an ombre effect and induce the correct blending between colours, alcohol-based markers work wonders. For designs who love to play with colours and experiment with shades, this one is definitely a must-have.
- Staedtler Luna watercolour
Sketching designs will definitely be a lot easier with a set of watercolours. The Staedtler Luna watercolours set comes with an entire kit necessary for a budding fashion designer. Mix all the colours you require to create your art and let the design speak for itself!
- Staedtler Mars Plastic Eraser
Now if you are working with watercolours, you will need to make your edits and changes. You will require an eraser that works its magic on watercolours easily and leaves no residue.
3. Personal items
As a fashion designer aspirant, you need to stay on top of your game at all times. Now that we have covered the tech, software, gadgets and courses, we will be moving to the items that you need personally to excel in this field. Your personal growth will determine how much you can achieve in your professional life and vice versa. So, here’s how you can take care of yourself while climbing the ladder as a fashion designer -
- Fitness tracker
With the number of hours spent drawing and sketching, you won’t realize you’ve missed out on meal times, exercise, etc. A fitness tracker is just what you need to streamline your health and fitness while you become the boss of fashion design.
- Meditation apps
Mental stability is important no matter where you go in life. The first step towards mental stability starts with calming your mind and understanding your inner self. Through meditation apps, you will be able to manage the stressful lifestyle that one can face while becoming a fashion designer.
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
- Books
Along with online courses, there are plenty of fashion design books that will help you in the field. The books can help you gain special insight on particular subjects or even help you start from scratch as a beginner.
As a beginner in fashion designing, you need to be driven and self-motivated. It’s going to be a challenge to ace all the levels initially, but the fast-paced life will surely become a thrill in no time. Most fashion designers are super motivated and love what they do. It is a busy profession, but a rewarding one. You get to channel your creativity and create a masterpiece out of fabric that can be worn by millions of people worldwide.
Being a fashion designer means you will get to be a part of the entire process of taking the garment from start to finish. It will require different skills and different levels, but as a beginner, you get to learn it all!