Clothing is considered one of the basic necessities of life. Originally we clothed ourselves for protection from the natural elements, but later that motivation was joined by other reasons. We began to wear clothes - and to be selective about what clothes we wore - to make ourselves more appealing to others, to help us feel better about ourselves, to decorate and to communicate. To accomplish these ends, clothiers thoughout time developed a host of materials and methods that they could use. By combining different textures, colors and materials in unique ways, and customizing the end results to suit each subject's particular needs, the act of clothing an individual evolved from being a nessessity to being an art.
Over time that art has developed and expanded. From sarapes to sandwich boards, the variety of apparrel that humans can create to express themselves appears to be endless. The notion of fashion now goes well beyond mere clothing. It includes the accessories that people use in their daily lives, like billfolds and backpacks. Apparel fashion melds into larger fashion landscapes, integrating itself with home fashion, product fashion, and others. An understanding and appreciation of fashion design is not just for clothing designers, but for merchandisers, purchasers and anyone else who works in an area that defines or promotes the styles and looks we live by.
Individuals pursuing a career in fashion design will find that fashion centers are regionally located and must expect to live where the jobs are. They can expect to work in a relatively clean environment. Their working conditions will range from that of the office studio to the manufacturing floor. At times they may travel for showings or to communicate with manufacturers about their creations. The fashion world experiences a certain amount of seasonality, at which time individuals can expect to work longer hours. Other times they may be working a typical 40 hour week.
Fashion designers now have more colors, materials and construction methods at their disposal than at any othe time in history. But even with the revolutuon in computers and computer graphic programs, sketching is still an intragal part of the creation process. Designers must develop their ideas, either alone or with a team, from the first layouts to the finished appareal. Besides considering what the qualities of the materials should be (weight, color, texture, elastisity, durabilty, expense, and chemical propeties, to name some), they need to consider how the garmet of accessory will be constructed. What kind of stiching should it have and what is the most economical way to cut patterns out of bolts of material are examples of questions that must be addressed.
Many fashion designers will be self-employed and these individuals will need to be skilled in all aspects of the creation process. Others clothiers may be specialized, leaving the actual assembly work to others. Still other individuals may not work directly with the creation of garmets at all. They may use their knowledge of fashion design to assist them as purchasers for large mechandising houses or department stores, or they may combine their expertise with a background in business or retailing, selling fashion merchandise directly to the public. People in all these areas will need to pay continual attention to changes in fashion trends, tastes and attitudes.
With only 16,000 persons employed as fashion designers in the United States, entrants into the field may expect heavy competition for jobs. Even allowing for a projected increase in job openings of between 21 and 35 percent by the end of the decade, only 3000 to 5000 thousand jobs can be expected to appear over the next few years.
Overall, the employment of designers is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2010. In addition to those that result from employment growth, many job openings will arise from the need to replace designers who leave the field. Increased demand for industrial designers will stem from the continued emphasis on product quality and safety; the demand for new products that are easy and comfortable to use; the development of high-technology products in medicine, transportation, and other fields; and growing global competition among businesses. Demand for graphic designers should increase because of the rapidly increasing demand for Web-based graphics and the expansion of the video entertainment market, including television, movies, videotape, and made-for-Internet outlets. Rising demand for professional design of private homes, offices, restaurants and other retail establishments, and institutions that care for the rapidly growing elderly population should spur employment growth of interior designers. Demand for fashion designers should remain strong, because many consumers continue to demand new fashions and apparel styles. The average annual income for fashion designers in 2000 was around $48,500 dollars. Entry level workers can expect to earn $25,000 to $35,000 dollars. Successful designers may expect to earn between $74,000 to over $100,000 dollars.
There are a variety of ways to earn a degree in fashion. Check out the feature " Degrees in Fashion" to learn more.
Part of ensuring that you get the right education is checking to see that the schools you are interested in are accredited. The following links will help you determine if your potential school or college meets the standard accrediation requirements for schools that have fashion programs.
- Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
- National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD)
- College Arts Association (CAA)
- Theatre and Motion Picture Production
- Interior Design
- Graphic Design
- Advertising
- Merchandising
- Retail Management
- Modeling
- Tailoring
Fashion attempts to express as well as to define the feelings and attitudes of the society that spawns it. Fashion design, by its nature, is a dynamic, ever-changing industry for, as people's tastes and attitudes change, so do their perceptions of what is desirable. Those who choose careers in this field, either designing, constructing or merchandising, will find themselve working in an environment that is always fresh and always full of new challenges and surprises.
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