MBA&Education 7 skills that every fashion designer should develop
It is true that today we live in a global society, where people are increasingly connected. Consequently, the scenario for today's professionals becomes more demanding, especially for designers. According to data from the National Survey of Occupation and Employment of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), 24.4% of designers work independently.
Particularly for fashion designers, this scenario demands for them the development of skills that are essential today, since success is no longer guaranteed just because they have a portfolio. As Anna Fusoni –an expert in the fashion industry– explains, designers must take into account the business that fashion entails and not so much “the dream of glamour”.
7 Skills Every Fashion Designer Should Develop
In order to be successful in the fashion world (regardless of your conception of “success”), it is not enough to have an innate talent or a great passion for fashion. Beyond design or creativity, you will need to acquire some basic skills that will help you create your own brand and make it grow sustainably.
Some of them are:
1. Marketing
–Ernesto Rinaldi
In the last few years alone, the term “eCommerce” has grown exponentially. Thanks to online store platforms, local designers like Pink Magnolia have emerged. Even Paola Wong –co-founder of this company– agrees that knowledge and passion are not enough to make a business profitable.
Applying a marketing strategy goes beyond publishing a couple of posts on social networks. Knowing when to release a new product to take advantage of trends or favorable market conditions, when to launch a new fashion line, how to market your designs or which segment your campaigns will target are some examples of the decisions you will need to make if you want to be a good designer. Fashion.
To sustain your career as a fashion designer, you have to be able to maintain a viable business, or at least know how to make your creations sell.
2. Communication
This skill turns out to be the cornerstone in the world of design, because in 90% of the time you will spend putting together your project you will have to communicate your ideas clearly and precisely so that everyone can understand.
After you have an image of what you want, the next step is to convey it to your team and make sure that what you envisioned translates clearly on paper or on the catwalk. You should also encourage the discussion of ideas in a concrete and fluid way, extract the most coherent ideas, negotiate possible changes and let your coworkers, and even your clients, know about them.
Poor communication can ruin everything, and if you really want to ensure the perfection of your ideas, you'll need to effectively communicate even the most irrelevant of details.
3. Administration and finance
A lot of designers don't have a background in finance, and many don't bother trying to learn it. While you don't need to have the level of knowledge of an accountant, the most successful designers have an understanding of basic financial concepts, create and stick to budgets, and use financial education to make decisions and run their business. forward.
4. Technical and technological knowledge
Today, technology is making great strides in fashion and as a designer you will need to equip yourself with the latest tools to be a leader in your field. From digital drawing to 3D printing to using social media to share ideas with other designers, a good understanding of the technology available will give you a huge competitive advantage.
While technology cannot compensate for your essential design skills, it can complement or even enhance your work as a fashion designer.
5. Innovation
Trends may be fleeting, but a designer's success lies in their ability to reinvent themselves and become an entrepreneur. It is important to highlight that the basis of this is to understand the rhythm in which your audience or clients are, and mainly adapt to changes.
Within this plane we find design thinking. As Tim Brown explains, “It is a discipline that uses the designer's sensibility and methods to match people's needs with what is technologically feasible and what a viable business strategy can convert into customer value and value. a market opportunity.
6. networking
Without a doubt, a skill that you should practice, since connecting with other designers in the industry or the world of creativity, as well as interacting with potential clients, and finding out about job opportunities, will greatly improve the growth of your project or business.
“Networking is key in any profession and medium, if you don't worry about increasing your business network it's very difficult for you to get far. Networking is capitalizing on the result of public relations in a non-economic way, making them know you as a person, brand or company and showing your qualities to carry out some type of alliance or business”
–Robert Robie, regional director of The Fashion Group International of Mexico City
7. Leadership
Many designers consider themselves to be very organized. However, when the time comes to mount large-scale projects, they realize that it is necessary to know how to work with a large team of designers.
And it is that leadership works as the key for projects that imply flexibility and responsibility for the assignment of tasks, whether it is a collaboration with other designers or you have authority over the project, you must have the ability to measure progress to ensure a good plan.
In summary, the drastic changes that we have seen in many aspects in the fashion industry – being one of the most competitive sectors within business – demand today's designers to develop the skills that will definitely allow them to grow as entrepreneurs. and visionary entrepreneurs.
Photo: Pexels
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