Tag: Fashion Job
SFD110 How to break into fashion design without going to fashion school
Selena Leong has worked her way up from production associate, to product development, to technical design, to apparel design. Along the way she’s worked with brands on both coasts including Aeropostale, Forever 21, and even Ralph Lauren. And she did it all without ever going to fashion school. In the interview (which you’ll love), we […]
If you want to work in fashion, don’t send emails like this
I’m going to put on my glasses and wag my finger at you for a quick minute. Like the true nerdy old lady that I am! Because there’s a BIG lesson many people (and you?) need to learn to advance their fashion careers. It starts with emails like these: What should I include in my fashion […]
How to Draw Fashion Flats in Illustrator (In 20 Mins!)
If you want a job in any part of fashion, knowing how to draw fashion flats in Illustrator is a mandatory skill. The problem? Adobe Illustrator can be a really frustrating software to learn. And it can feel like everything takes FOREVER. But it doesn’t have to! CUT YOUR ILLUSTRATOR TIME IN HALF WITH THESE TUTORIALS ⏰ Oh. […]
8 More Strategies to Land Your Dream Fashion Design Job
No matter your skill level or where you live, you can use these strategies to land your dream fashion job. If you haven’t noticed, there are a few themes that come up over and over in this book to land your dream fashion design job. Beyond the required technical skills of sketching fashion flats in […]
How to Land a Fashion Design Job If You’re 35+
Have Experience But in Between Jobs? Take Time Off for a Family? This Chapter is For YOU! An interesting thing happens when you hit a certain age in fashion. Well, the word “interesting” may not be quite right. Arguably, “depressing” is more appropriate. Whether you happen to be a more seasoned candidate or took some […]
How to Find Your First Fashion Design Job (or Internship!) After College
Even If You Have No Experience You know one of the hardest things to do in the fashion industry? Land your FIRST job. It’s the whole chicken and egg thing: “I can’t get a job without experience. But how can I get experience without a job?” Getting your foot in the door when you’re just […]
Seven Awesome Fashion Jobs You Never Knew Existed
Because Being a Fashion Designer Isn’t Your Only Option! We just reviewed what a day in the life of a fashion designer looks like. And it may have left you feeling a little flat. Which is why we’re going to go through 7 awesome fashion jobs you never knew existed. The best part about these […]
How to Get a Fashion Design Job
You want to know what happens when you go to fashion school? They teach you how to tap into your creativity by hand sketching, draping, and sewing beautiful designs. And while you may walk away with gorgeous portfolio from your senior collection, a book full of amazing sketches and photos of your runway show is not going to get you a job.
Bonus Episode: What I Wish I Knew About a Fashion Career (from 10 industry experts)
Becoming a fashion designer in real life is not what most people think it is. Because what you see on Project Runway and what you learn in school is not how the industry actually works. So if you want a career in fashion, get the inside scoop from 10 industry experts. Most of them have […]
SFD067 Working with a Fashion Showroom
You finally have your design process down and your merchandise production down to a science and you feel like you’re ready to take on one of those big time retailers, but you have no idea how to reach them. You have no idea how to get your foot in the door of a fashion showroom, […]
What’s it Like Working in Fashion: Expectations VS Reality (in memes)
Ohhhh….this is a good one. I had a blast putting these memes together and know you’re going to love them 🙂 They’re all centered around a common theme I hear from designer friends, coworkers, and my podcast guests who work in fashion. It goes like this: “I wish someone told me what working in the […]
Breaking Into the Creative Side of Fashion: From Product Development to Designer
There’s nothing more I love than a good fashion career success story. And a few weeks ago, a girl named Savannah emailed to tell me how she went from product development to fashion designer. It started back in 2013 when she graduated from fashion design school…but then got stuck in product development for 5 years. Like many […]
SFD063 Mailbag: Fashion Design Career Advice on Samples vs Prototypes, Made to Order fashion and Textile Design
Many of you have loads of Q’s about working in fashion…and I know it can be hard to find answers. Maybe you don’t know any industry experts to ask. Maybe your coworkers are tight lipped and not willing to share their secrets. Maybe you just don’t even know where to go. Which is why I’m excited […]
For a successful fashion design career, do the opposite of everyone else
The fashion industry is a nasty mix of secretive behavior and cutthroat competition. We feel like the more tight lipped we are, the further we’ll get in our fashion design career. But the fascinating truth? Doing the complete opposite of what everyone else in the fashion industry does is how you get ahead. What does that mean? It means talking, […]
Freelance Fashion Designer Rates: Project Rates vs Hourly
As a freelance fashion designer, it’s easy to totally eff up your pricing… and only once it’s too late, do you realize YOU’RE NOT MAKING ENOUGH MONEY! So you’re wondering, how do you set your rates as a freelance fashion designer? Should you do a flat rate and price by project, or should you charge an hourly rate? Now, […]
Fashion portfolio mistakes that most freelance designers make
How can two fashion designers with similar portfolios have drastically different success with freelancing? After 6-months, one is desperate for any work, while the other has 3 steady clients and is on track to quit her full time job. What fashion portfolio mistakes is one of them making that’s leading to failure? I’ve been talking […]
SFD052: Mailbag! Your Fashion Industry Q’s Answered
Many of you have loads of Q’s about working in fashion…and I know it can be hard to find answers. Maybe you don’t know any industry experts to ask. Maybe your coworkers are tight lipped and not willing to share their secrets. Maybe you just don’t even know where to go. Which is why I’m adding a […]
How FIT is cheating you out of your dream fashion design job
Back in 2015, I was a guest lecturer at FIT (ranked 2nd for fashion in the US and 7th in the world). I was pretty nervous about teaching at such a prestigious school and practiced my Illustrator lecture way too many times the night before. But despite my anxieties, it went great. In fact, it went AWESOME. […]
Traveling Overseas to Fashion Factories… I Almost Had a Full Blown Panic Attack
Imagine the stereotypical life of a fashion designer: frolicking in fabric, sketching beautiful designs, and traveling overseas to fashion factories. Truth is, a lot of us don’t do any of this. We spend our days in Illustrator, Excel and writing emails. And for me, after almost a decade in the industry, I’d never had the opportunity […]
How to Survive as a Fashion Designer (and why I thought I was a unicorn)
Figuring out how to survive as a fashion designer is like figuring out how to survive Black Friday madness: But instead of just one day a year, it’s every day. All year long. This business is brutal and there’s no mercy. People will push you over and punch you to get what they want. And they couldn’t […]
