The opportunity for remote work in fashion depends less on the job and more on if the brand allows you to work from home.

While big-name brands mostly hire in-house, small to mid-sized brands and startups are usually more open to remote work. Brands that aren’t located in big fashion hubs are even more open to it as they don’t have access to huge talent pools.

The 7 Best Remote Fashion Jobs

In my 15+ years working remotely in fashion and coaching thousands of freelancers, these are the most in-demand remote fashion roles I’ve seen.

1. Remote Technical Designer

Technical designers turn fashion sketches into production-ready garments by creating fashion flats, tech packs, design specifications, and construction details.

Skills Required: Knowledge of pattern making, garment construction, and digital design tools (i.e. Adobe Illustrator, 3D design software, etc.)

These technical designers are working remotely:

🎧 Jenny is a technical designer who landed her first client in one month.

🎧 Arya, a technical designer from India who does flats and tech packs with brands around the world (I recently caught up with Arya, and she’s working on multiple $1k+ projects and just landed her biggest client for $3,000!).

🟦Soidée Romero (Linkedin) who charges $150 – $1,200 for a single tech pack.

👉 Learn more about the technical designer role here.

2. Remote Pattern Maker

A pattern maker drafts the templates needed to sew clothes. They also hold fitting and construction reviews to make sure the garment fits and looks as envisioned.

Skills Required: Pattern making and garment construction knowledge, plus points if you know how to use digital design tools (i.e. CLO, Gerber, Optitex)

These pattern makers are working remotely:

🎧 Jade is a freelance pattern maker who freelanced for Alexander McQueen.

🎧 Alison is a freelance pattern maker who was able to exceed her past full-time salary in just 18 months of freelancing. After 4 years, she is now earning 75% more than her old salary!

🎧 Darci transitioned from working in a factory to freelancing as a pattern maker and is now working with brands worldwide.

👉 Learn more about the pattern maker role here.

3. Remote Textile Designer

Textile designers create print designs for fabrics. They design repeating patterns, allover prints (AOP), and sometimes placed prints. It’s a great blend of creativity and technical design. 

Skills Required: Strong illustration skills and color sense, knowledge of different types of fabrics and print techniques, proficiency in design software such as the Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator)

These textile designers are working remotely:

🎧 Masha lives in New York City and works from home doing textile design (charging $75/hr).

🎧 Lucia lives in Germany and does textile design for brands worldwide (charging $60/hr).

🎧 Katerina does textile design from Macedonia and out-earned her previous full-time salary (in her first year of freelancing!).

👉 Learn more about the textile designer role here.

4. Remote Graphic Designer

A fashion graphic designer works with marketing to create visuals for social media channels, websites, email campaigns, print materials, and more. 

They may also design trims like labels, hang tags, and create prints for graphic tees and sweatshirts.

Skills Required: Proficiency in design tools like Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, Fresco), CorelDraw, or Procreate, knowledge of color theory, typography, and layout principles

These graphic designers are working remotely:

🎧 Atara Himmel, a New York based graphic designer specializing in brand design (whom I’ve personally hired and RECOMMEND) got a $1500 retainer just for a single client. 

🟦 Diane Pascual (Website) is a surface pattern designer who charges $300 per design.

🟦 Ferdinand Onandia (Behance) is a freelance graphic designer who works on apparel and other merchandise and charges $100 an hour working freelance.

👉 Learn more about the graphic designer role here.

5. Remote Production Assistant

A production assistant manages parts of the manufacturing process like sample making and bulk production. They collaborate with fashion designers, suppliers, and manufacturers. They may coordinate timelines, monitor inventory, facilitate communication, and oversee quality control.

Another related role is a sourcing agent, who finds materials (sourcing) for garment production such as fabrics, hardware, and trims. 

Skills Required: Project management software, or industry specific tools like tech pack software to stay connected remotely

These production assistants / sourcing agents are working remotely:

🎧 FAST grad Amanda Russo offers sourcing and product development services for factories. Just 3 months into freelancing, she’s already surpassed her previous full-time salary.

🟦 Shilpi Jha (Linkedin), a Fashion Sourcer from India transitioned to freelancing and now earns $2,500 a month (5x more than the average salary in India!).

👉 Learn more about the fashion sourcing agent role here.

6. Remote Fashion Virtual Assistant

If you want to break into the fashion industry but have limited experience, a Virtual Assistant (VA) is a great option. As a Fashion VA, you’ll support fashion brands, assisting with scheduling, email management, research, and data entry. 

This remote role allows you to gain exposure to the fashion world and learn the inner workings of the industry.

Skills Required: Strong organizational and communication skills, ability to handle various administrative tasks, and familiarity with online communication tools like Slack, Zoom, and project management software.

🎧 Learn how to become a remote fashion VA.

7. Remote Fashion Consultant

Fashion Consultants offer advice on different topics such as trend forecasting, brand development, and assisting fashion brands in the design through the product development process. 

The main difference between a fashion consultant and the other roles is that consultants offer advice and guidance, and not execution. So while a fashion consultant may advise, “hot pink is on trend,” a fashion designer would execute and design a hot pink collection.

Skills Required: Trend forecasting, brand development, and strategic planning, familiarity with online communication tools (i.e. Slack, Zoom)

These fashion consultants are working remotely:

Disclaimer: many fashion designers, technical designers, etc, are also consultants! As a freelancer, many designers will offer guidance and consultation along the way. They’re essentially doing both jobs! The people’s stories I’m sharing below fall into that category.

🟦 Sophie Morin (Linkedin) is a lingerie expert from Paris and charges a base fee of €800 a day as a freelance fashion consultant.

🎧 Connie built an entire fashion design agency with 6 employees (in 2022, they had over $1M in revenue).

🎧 Kristen also built a fashion design agency (and is building her fashion brand on the side!).

👉 Learn more about the fashion consultant role here.

5 Steps to Start Working Remotely in Fashion as a Freelancer

1. Build the right remote skills

You likely already have the fashion skills – now you need the remote ones:

• Digital Literacy: Be comfortable using tools like Slack, Google Suite, Dropbox, and project management platforms like Trello or Asana. 
• Communication: Since you’re not in an office, clear and consistent communication is key.

Most freelancers I’ve hired and worked with don’t communicate enough. Err on the side of over communication to start. Your client will let you know if it’s too much.

• Time Management: Working from home means no one is micromanaging you – but you need the discipline to stay productive.
• Adaptability – Every brand has different tools and workflows. Be the person who says, “I don’t know this tool yet, but I’ll figure it out.”

2. Create a digital portfolio

You don’t need an elaborate website or a massive social media following to make an impact. A niche and professional PDF portfolio is sufficient!

Choose work that best showcases your abilities. All you need is  2-3 complete projects that showcase your process.

I call this the Process Portfolio, and I talk about it more on my Ultimate Guide to Creating Your Fashion Portfolio (in a weekend).

3. Find remote fashion jobs & projects

The type of brand / clients you apply for matters. Here are your best bets:

Startup brands and independent designers

Most of them don’t have offices or full-time teams yet, so they’re open to remote freelancers. They’re fast to hire, but often need more hand holding.

Middle-America brands that are not located in fashion hubs

These are smaller brands based outside of fashion hubs. There are tons of them, and they’re often more remote-friendly and stable than you’d expect. They may not be flashy, but they usually pay well and are easier to work with.

Upwork

I don’t usually recommend job boards – but based on my experience (and hundreds of my FAST program students), Upwork is the exception. I’ve hired from there myself, and with the right pitch and portfolio, you can land great clients.

🎧 It’s how Lucia, a textile designer, is charging $60/hour and is fully booked.

Being present on LinkedIn can also help you connect with various fashion companies and clients who are offering remote opportunities. Don’t overthink it, just create a niche profile and make thoughtful posts/comments on relevant topics. 

🎧 It’s exactly how Aashika, a freelance fashion designer, is getting clients to come to her.

4. Reach out directly to brands

Don’t wait for job posts – reach out first. Many brands need help but don’t have time to go looking for people. When you show up in their inbox with the right pitch, you’ve already made their life easier.

The key to a good pitch? Make it about them, not you. Show that you understand their brand and how you can help.

(I break this down step-by-step – plus include pitch examples – in my Ultimate Guide to Being a Freelance Fashion Designer.)

5. Set your rates

Undercharging is the #1 mistake for fashion designers, technical designers, and beyond who want to work remote and freelance! Know your value and don’t be afraid to charge accordingly.

Here are a couple of ways to figure out your rates: 

Method 1: Drop 3 Zeros

Take your current (or ideal) salary and drop three zeros. Want to make $100k/year? Start at $100/hour.

Method 2: Industry Averages

Find out what other freelancers in your niche are charging. If pattern makers charge $75–$100/hr, don’t set your rate at $40.

Make sure you look in the right places – sites like Fiverr (sometimes even Upwork) are often full of cheap freelancers. You can also check out 100+ examples of real life rates from fashion freelancers and listen to stories of real life freelance fashion designers on my Fashion Designers Get Paid Podcast for inspo.

(If you need more pricing strategies, here’s my guide on pricing hacks to make sure you don’t undercharge and 3 strategies to figure out your freelance rates in fashion.)

Freelancing is The Best Way to Work Remotely in Fashion

While some jobs offer remote full-time roles, the most flexible and realistic way to work remotely is through freelancing. Freelancing lets you:

✔ Set your own rates and schedule.
✔ Work with multiple brands instead of just one employer.
✔ Choose projects that match your skills and interests.

Working freelance in fashion completely changed my life. No rigid 9-to-5 schedule. I could grocery shop mid-day, hit a yoga class in the morning, and take vacations without asking permission. I wasn’t limited to working for brands in my city – I could collaborate with clients all over the world.

If you want to break into fashion freelancing, I’ve put together an Ultimate Guide to Freelancing in Fashion that walks you through how to find clients, set rates, and build a profitable remote career. Check out the full guide here!