If you’ve ever wondered what fashion skills are required to work in the industry, you likely think you need to know how to sew.

Sewing is a handy skill, but it’s not necessary to work in fashion.

The same is true for drawing. A portfolio full of beautiful hand-drawn sketches alone isn’t enough to catch an employer’s attention. 

Fashion designers don’t rely on sketching collections by hand or stitching garments at work.

Unless you’re pursuing a career as a seamstress or fashion illustrator, these skills are not required.

In my 15+ years of working in the fashion industry, I’ve realized that success hinges on a specific set of skills (and sewing and drawing are not nearly as important as portrayed on Project Runway). 

So, in this article, I’ve put together 8 practical fashion skills that I have actually used in my work and that employers are looking for when hiring fashion designers. This curated list mirrors the real demands of working in fashion and the reality of most available jobs in the industry.

Disclaimer: Let’s not confuse ‘sewing’ with understanding ‘garment construction.’ Garment construction knowledge is important, and that insight often comes with basic sewing skills (more on this below). But you will not be sewing on the job! When it comes to drawing, I know people with varying skill levels. I want to be clear about what is ‘required.’

Personally, I cannot draw by hand at all, and I know many designers who can’t, either. Some people argue that hand sketching is a great skill to have, and I wouldn’t argue. But you don’t need to be able to draw fancy fashion illustrations (more on this below).

8 Essential Skills to Work in Fashion

1. Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator (and other design software)

While traditional drawing skills aren’t necessary, mastering Adobe Illustrator is essential for creating technical sketches and components of tech packs. In fact, I consider Adobe Illustrator as one of the two most important software tools for fashion design.

Now, let me clarify: when I said ‘drawing’ isn’t mandatory for fashion design, I’m referring to traditional hand drawing. Apart from doodling design ideas on scratch paper (which didn’t have to look “beautiful”), I never had to use hand drawing at work. Illustrating technical sketches is different. You don’t have to be Picasso to make technical sketches, and this skill can be picked up and honed much faster than freehand drawing.

I didn’t learn garment technical sketching in school (nor do I have a fashion design background). I did, however, study graphic design and I leveraged this skill to learn how to draw tech flats quickly. 

If you need help in this area, I’ve created tons of guides for flats on both this blog and my Sew Heidi YouTube channel. My guide on how to create technical flat sketches in Adobe Illustrator is a good place to start.

While not as popular as Adobe Illustrator, familiarity with other design software such as Photoshop can be advantageous. Photoshop enables designers to create mock-ups and edit product photos. Nowadays, the demand for 3D design skills has been increasing as well, and I won’t be surprised if it becomes the norm in the near future. 

2. Proficiency in MS Excel

Apart from Adobe Illustrator, MS Excel is another indispensable tool in the fashion industry. It’s the go-to software for so many tasks, including tech pack templates, size charts, cost sheets, production timelines, you name it. Excel proficiency is non-negotiable in fashion regardless of your role – whether you’re a fashion designer, technical designer, merchandiser, or product manager, you need to know how to use Excel.

Spreadsheets may sound like an accounting job, but designers use them all the time. I used to joke that I spent more time working on spreadsheets than doing anything else!

If you’re new to MS Excel, I talk about it in more detail in my guide to MS Excel for Fashion Designers (with loads of FREE fashion templates!).

3. Problem-Solving Skills

While the need for creativity is often highlighted in fashion, I’d argue that problem-solving skills are the true backbone of the industry. Unless you’re building your own brand, designing for others means you have to take into account design briefs with constraints like budget, trends, customer demographics, and more. At the end of the day, fashion is a business, and your designs need to sell.

‘Problem-solving’ sounds really cliche, but it comes up all the time. Designers are constantly trying to figure out how to create within budget and consolidate materials across multiple styles. For example, you often can’t afford to have a custom leopard print fabric just as an accent on a dress unless you’re manufacturing thousands. So a clever solution is to use the same leopard print fabric on multiple styles, or pick from stock fabrics. 

4. Trend Awareness

In addition to problem-solving skills, fashion designers need to have an eye for trends. This means staying up-to-date with the latest trends, analyzing consumer behavior, anticipating what will be popular in the future, and knowing how to reflect this in your designs.

It’s more than just looking at what’s on the runway. It’s having a keen eye for current or upcoming events and how those get interpreted into fashion. For example, when Covid hit, loungewear became an even more popular category than it was before since everyone was at home. That ‘trend’ lasted for multiple years!

Thankfully there are a lot of resources for fashion trends and I’ve also curated a list of free (and cheap) trend resources. This list includes resources that actual fashion designers (including me!) use for their design work.

5. Fabric & Finishing Knowledge

Fashion designers are responsible for picking suitable fabrics for their designs. This means that it’s important to know the properties of different fabrics and how they will drape, move, and wear on the body.

Let’s say you’re designing a summer dress. You have to decide what kind of fabric you want for the dress – it could be cotton, linen, rayon, or something else. Then, you’ll ask the manufacturer to send you sample fabric swatches. You’ll look at all the swatches they send and pick the one you like best for making the dress.

Finishes are just as important, too. For example, peached or brushed finishes will add a soft feel to fabrics and are common in activewear. Antimicrobial finishes are often used in performance apparel, or UPF finishes are frequently seen in beachwear. 

Understanding what fabrics or finishes are suitable for certain applications is key, and certain categories require nuanced knowledge. For example, did you know that kids and baby sleepwear has to be flame resistant. If it’s not, it will all get recalled! (I know a brand that this happened to!)

Learn some of the most common fabrics and fibers used in the fashion industry with my Fabric Dictionary and Fiber Dictionary.

6. Understanding of Garment Construction

Fashion designers must be familiar with garment construction principles to ensure their designs are not only visually appealing but also functional and wearable. You’ll see construction callouts in tech packs to guide manufacturers on how to properly make the garment.

This entails familiarity with pattern-making techniques, sewing methods, and garment assembly processes. As a designer, you do not need to physically sew or create patterns yourself, but comprehending these principles is crucial to effectively communicate with pattern makers and manufacturers. For example, if the top you’re developing is ill-fitting, knowing if you need to add a dart or reshape the pattern makes all the difference.

One of the best ways I learned about garment construction was by taking old clothing apart. I would buy stuff at thrift stores and take my seam ripper to it! It’s a great cost effective way to reverse engineer how a garment is made.

Here’s a Garment Construction Dictionary and the 9 Essential Types of Stitches Used in Garment Construction to get you started!

7. Communication Skills

Fashion design is all about teamwork. From the initial idea to the final product, many people, like designers, pattern makers, and manufacturers, need to work together. That’s why good communication and getting along with others are super important.

As a designer, you need to explain your ideas clearly, listen to feedback, and work well with everyone involved. Each step in making a design is a team effort, so it’s crucial to talk openly and work together smoothly.

In my experience as a designer, I ended up in a couple of meetings every day (way more than I hoped for). Everything from design approvals, revisions, supplier meetings, sample evaluations, to packaging discussions.

Depending on your exact role, you will also be communicating with people around the world from vendors and suppliers to factories and manufacturers. They’re also juggling tons of other designs from other brands, so you have to stay on top of things and push communication hard to keep everything on track.

8. Time Management and Organization

The fashion industry moves fast. If your work is tied to production, you’ll always have deadlines breathing down your neck (Trust me, I’ve been there!). 

I know that “time management and organization” sounds so cliche for any job. But in fashion, it’s not uncommon to work on 40-60+ SKUs (styles) at once. This was at least the experience of my career and many other fashion designers I know! Keeping track of that many moving pieces and parts is no joke!