How To Become A Fashion Designer In Australia: Explained

Fashion designers are at the forefront of the latest trends and styles — playing an artistic role by planning, designing, creating, and manufacturing clothing for various purposes.

They are involved in creating a garment from the beginning of its conception until its manufacturing. If you think you have the drive and the creative flair to become a fashion designer, you must pursue this career.

With a range of different fashion schools for aspiring fashionistas available, becoming a fashion designer in Australia has always been challenging.

Read the post below to learn how to get started and put your creative skills to use, including the fashion designer's salary, jobs, qualifications, courses, degrees, and more.

1. What Do Fashion Designers Do?

Shoes, clothing, and accessories are all designed by a fashion designer. A designer sketches the clothing before creating the sample product. After that, the clothing design is submitted to the management for approval to make the prototype. 

Fashion designers must possess sewing skills to produce their first clothing sample. When the design is complete and given to a textile manufacturer or a factory, the designer must supervise the process to ensure that the garment produced fulfils the company's quality standards.

It is crucial to thoroughly understand different materials and fabrics to ensure that the product is comfortable and durable. Fashion designers often must display their creations at a fashion show to present their collections to customers and creative directors. 

Fashion designers must provide a portfolio to ensure their fashion sense meets the company's expectations when applying for jobs. It is also vital for them to keep up with industry trends.

Regardless of where you end up working, having plenty of technical know-how and a keen eye for fashion is essential to your ultimate success as a designer.

2. Major Duties and Tasks of A Fashion Designer

• Maintain awareness of current local and global fashion trends.

• Illustrate concepts through specification drawings and by producing storyboards.

• Create patterns or collaborate with pattern makers to draft patterns from specification drawings or sketches.

• Consult with stakeholders and clients to negotiate design solutions and determine the objectives of the design brief.

• Control retailing and merchandising of garments.

• Use computers to modify designs and develop and manipulate patterns. 

• Select fabric, trim, and colour for sample garments, cut them and use a machine to create the garment.

• Develop and research materials and accessories for the production of garments.

• Approve the final samples before they go for production.

• Try and fit samples and discuss them with the sales, management, and manufacturing teams.

• Participate in quality management and communicate with manufacturing workers during mass clothing production.

• Complete the specification sheet by adding trim details and extensive sketches.

• Contribute to costing estimates.

3. Steps To Become A Fashion Designer In Australia

Working as a Fashion Designer in Australia does not require formal qualifications or industry accreditation. However, having work experience or a portfolio of your work in the fashion industry, including a degree, is highly valued. 

Here are some basic steps you can follow to become a fashion designer in Australia:

Step 1: Complete Your Education

Aspiring fashion designers must complete their education to hone their skills and be part of the fashion industry. Below are a few types of fashion courses you can choose from:

• Certificate: A Certificate is an excellent place to start if you are looking for a degree that will give you a foundation for success in the fashion industry. You can take up Certificate III in Clothing and Textile Production or Certificate III in Design Fundamentals.

• By studying these courses, you will get the knowledge and experience to be a valuable employee in any organisation. You can also continue your education further if that's what you prefer.

• Diploma: A diploma usually covers and elaborates on the subjects you have already studied during your certificate program. It enhances your overall skill set and improves your job prospects by properly training you for the workforce.

• You will learn how to present and develop design concepts with a Diploma, identify fabric handling requirements, apply quality standards, operate computers, estimate the cost of fashion items, and more.

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree: A bachelor's degree in fashion design will provide you with a wide range of skills that will help you get into the industry. Furthermore, you can further study and apply for a Master of Fashion (Entrepreneurship), which will help you build a global fashion brand.

• Online: Qualifying has never been easier — thanks to the opportunity of learning online. This allows individuals to study from anywhere, especially those who cannot study full-time because of other commitments.

With several fashion-styling courses available across Australia, there are no geographical limits when studying a fashion design course.

Note: Eligibility requirements vary between institutions. You must visit their websites or contact them directly to get more information about the admission process. Usually, most institutions conduct an interview or ask for a portfolio of your work.

Step 2: Develop Skills With Hands-on Experience

Students must train outside the classroom to sharpen the skills required to pull off a design, from the concept to the final product. Participating in an internship programme with a personal stylist, clothes retailer, or design agency will help you achieve hands-on experience. 

Students may also gain additional experience by volunteering at a design house.

Step 3: Get More Knowledge About The Fashion Business

Behind the artistic flair of the fashion industry is the business understanding required to keep an organisation running. Hence, you must become familiar with what goes on behind the scenes, like in the sales, finance, and marketing departments. 

You should also learn about the creative side of the industry, particularly if you want to start their own fashion business.

Step 4: Build A Portfolio

Future fashion designers must build a portfolio demonstrating their talents and artistic abilities to show their creative side to prospective employers. You can create a professional portfolio by including the work you completed during your degree programme. 

Furthermore, you must approach each task as though you are about to present it to your future boss. Portfolios enable individuals to display various skills, such as pattern-making, sewing, and sketching.

Step 5: Keep Up With The Latest Trends

The fashion world changes every season. Hence, designers need to stay updated with the latest trends. It helps review business magazines and journals daily.

4. What Skills Do You Need to Become A Fashion Designer In Australia?

You will need to master critical skills to become a successful designer. Some are soft skills, and others are known as hard skills. Generally, soft skills include interpersonal and social skills that provide leadership and communication abilities. 

On the other hand, hard skills are teachable skill sets or abilities that are easily measurable. Below is a list of hard skills and soft skills that will be essential for your success as a fashion designer:

Soft Skills

• Time Management: When immersed in the creative process, it is easy to lose time. Learning how to maximise your time is an essential component of running a profitable business as you progress to becoming a successful designer.

• Effective Communication: If you want to run a design company by yourself, you will need to learn how to collaborate and communicate efficiently with others before working as a designer. Communication is integral to a designer's job as it helps them convey their exceptional ideas and ensure that everybody gets along.

• Accepting Criticism: One of the first lessons you will learn as a designer is that your colleagues in the fashion industry won't be shy to critique your work. To survive the bullying from snobbish magazine editors and other designers, you must have good ego strength. And if you can undergo this scrutiny without crying, you will only become more robust.

• Self-Confidence: The fashion industry is fiercely competitive. You must wait to achieve success, and you will have to work hard hours and overcome several obstacles to reach the top. Maintaining a high degree of self-confidence is essential for impacting the fashion industry.

Hard Skills

• Sketching/Drawing: Most impressive design ideas emerge on paper. Hence, you must possess self-taught skills or get creative experience and knowledge to sketch a simple human form.

• CAD (Computer-aided Design): When you understand what you want to draw on paper, you can use CAD software to move your imagination into the digital world. Many designers today choose not to use paper and generate all their brilliant designs on digital platforms.

• Business Skills: You need to start honing your business skills now if you do not want to spend the remainder of your life working with someone else. Remember, a successful designer's life is full of quick decisions that can make or break their business. A strong understanding of money is also integral to a leading designer's portfolio.

• Fashion Research: Lastly, you will require a clear understanding of how the fashion industry works before designing your first piece of clothing. The study is an unexpectedly necessary part of a designer's daily routine. You will have to determine if you want to rely on trend reports or do your research.

5. How To Become A Fashion Designer Without A Degree?

Suppose you have always wanted to become a fashion designer but cannot waste three to four years in college or cannot afford education. In that case, you can pursue a career in fashion design even without a degree.

If you are ready to work hard and have gained the basic skills needed for an entry-level job in the fashion industry, there's a fair chance you can make it without a degree. 

Here are some tips you can follow to become a fashion designer without a degree:

• Start drawing and filling sketchbooks.

• Learn and develop your Illustrator, Photoshop and CAD skills.

• Build up a solid portfolio with your creative designs and ideas.

• Take advantage of fashion-related courses available online to learn as much as possible.

• Try to connect with fashion industry brands and obtain an internship with a brand manufacturing company.

• Send practical or theoretical applications to companies where you would like to work.

• Improve your basic sewing skills through books, magazines, or the internet.

• Visit galleries and museums, and aim to understand and learn the history of art and costume. It is a valuable resource for any aspiring fashion designer.

• Try to register and participate in all fashion design-related events, stitching and sewing competitions.

• Make sure to participate and register for fashion-related events and sewing and stitching competitions.

6. How Much Do Fashion Designers Earn in Australia?

According to PayScale, the average junior fashion designer salary in Australia for individuals with less than one year of experience is up to AUD44,102 (this includes bonuses, tips, and overtime pay). An early career average salary for fashion designers with one to four years of experience is around AUD56,238.

The mid-career average salary for fashion designers with five to nine years of experience is estimated to be AUD68,208. An experienced fashion designer aged ten to nineteen can earn a compensation of up to AUD78,247. 

And finally, the senior fashion designer's salary in Australia for individuals with more than twenty years of experience is around AUD90,000.

Note: Fashion designer salary in Australia may vary according to the location and the skills you've gained.

Now that you know everything about becoming a fashion designer in Australia, you are ready to explore the field and live the life of your dreams.

Useful Links to Explore:

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