Georgia+Lysaght

Clothing Designer

1. What skills will I need? 2.How much can I earn? 3.What are the chances of getting a job?
 * drawing, sewing, computer drafting skills
 * communication skills
 * you want to make sure you get your ideas acoss clearly when speaking or writing
 * basic art skills, as in sketching and/or painting and all of the basic art terms
 * you need to have a real appreciation for beauty, an eye for detail and color, and sewing.
 * I can earn between $30,000 and $60,000 a year. But if the business has just started they may earn less than this, but those who have a well-known label and older buisness can earn considrably more.
 * Job opportunities for clothing designers are poor due to the small size of the occupation, and limited demand for their services

The sources I used to find this information. List these in order of usefulness 1.[|www.careers.govt.nz]

1. About the job Summary: Clothing designers create ideas for clothing and other fashion items. They usually specialise in one area of fashion.

Task and Duties:
 * Researching fashion trends and staying current on contemporary styles
 * Creating sketches and samples
 * Choosing materials
 * Attending fashion shows
 * Performing business administration tasks
 * Marketing products
 * Supervising or working with design team members

Knowledge: They need to know previous styles and movements in fashion history. They also need to be aware of current fashion events and developments.

Personal and physical qualities:
 * Confident
 * Adaptable
 * Must be able to work under pressure
 * Patient
 * Dedicated
 * Motivated
 * Creative and imaginative
 * Communicating

2. About the qualifications and conditions Secondary education: There is no secondary educational requirements to become a clothing desiner. Sixth Form Certificate or NCEA equivalent in maths, English, art, clothing and textiles is preferred.

Tertiary education: There is no specific tertiary education requirements but there is training offered on the job and some related courses include Fashion Design and Textile Design may be helpful.

Useful experience:
 * work in the clothing industry
 * fabric or fashion sales work
 * colour or design work
 * draughting or computer-aided design (CAD).

Working conditions:
 * may work long and irregular hours, including evenings and weekends
 * work in offices, workrooms, factories or clothing shops
 * may travel to different factory sites and to local or overseas fashion shows.

Hours and contact with people: I can work by myself or with a small team and I work with clients, fabric and trim suppliers, production managers, sewing machinists, clothing markers and cutters and other clothing designers. I work regular and long hours, weekends and evenings and I may have to work extra near the beginning of a season when clothes are in a higher demand.

Related job (s):
 * Clothing Marker/Cutter
 * Clothing Pattern Maker
 * Graphic Designer
 * Sewing Machinist
 * Tailor/Dressmaker
 * Artist

My conclusions about this job: I would enjoy this job as i like to create and design but i would not like the long hours.I would rate my interest in this job high as i think it would be fun but diffucilt. This job would match some of my skills and values as i am not very patient but i am confident and friendly. what i would do to develop the knowledge, skills and qualities needed is go to university and other courses. This job is likley to change over time with the different fashions and demand in clothes, that would mean its alright for me because it shouldent change that much for me.