How to Learn Fashion Design at home?

Fashion designing is one of the most creative and sought after career options these days. Every kid who completes a school degree wants to go to a fashion school to learn the nitty gritty about fashion designing. But, the process is not as simple as it may seem. Not everyone has the time and resources to complete a degree in fashion designing.

Do you know you can learn fashion designing even from the comfort of your home? Yes, you read it right. You can be a fashion designer by staying at your home. All you need to have is to have the passion and quality to become a fashion designer.

You can learn fashion designing in two methods. The first method is the conventional approach of going to a designing school and completing a degree or certification. The other way is called the non-conventional method of learning all by yourself. None of these methods are correct or incorrect. Thus, no matter if you want to follow the conventional method of visiting a college degree or an unconventional process of learning it yourself, you can easily learn fashion designing.

If you have a creative linking and you have an understanding of fashion merchandising, you can easily become a fashion designer. No doubt the formal education in fashion designing will work in a structured way, but even the informal approach can work in your favor. Everything depends upon your passion, hard work, time, and energy spent in the process.

If you are ready, let’s start the process:

Develop your skills

Just having a creative link won’t work unless you have the skills needed to become a fashion designer. Even if you don’t have the skills needed to become a fashion designer, you can easily learn all these skills. If you are not ready to visit a training center, you can easily learn the skills from the comfort of your home. Some of the major skills needed to become a good fashion designer include:

• Ability to draw
• An eye for texture and color of the textile
• Ability to understand and visualize concepts
• Mechanical skills like sewing and cutting of different types of fabrics.

How to develop these skills:

• The first step begins by taking tuition that can help you to understand the basics of sewing. You can visit a local sewing center near you, or if you already have the skills, you can brush up those by trying to sew different types of textiles at your home. It is very important to have the ability to sew different types and textures of textiles. If you have the confidence and skills to sew different types of fabrics easily, no one can stop you from becoming a good fashion designer. When you are thinking about becoming a fashion designer, you need to have the capability to sew soft as well as rough-textured clothes and merchandise. If you have never been into sewing, this process may seem challenging for the initial few days. But, with practice, you will be able to sew all ranges of clothes.

• The next step is to understand different types of fabrics. Not all fabrics work the same way. Thus, you need to understand how different fabrics move, drape, and react when worn. You may also read different books to understand different types of fabrics. Going through the historical aspects of fabrics will enable you to understand why a particular type of fabric works in a particular manner. Thus, if you understand the characteristics and features of a particular type of fabric, you will be able to understand how it can be sourced and the perfect way to source a particular fabric.

• The next step that you need to do to elevate your skills is to try to learn from different designers. Nothing can be better than learning things from experts. You don’t need to worry about visiting a fashion designing school to learn different things about different fashion designers. These days almost all fashion designers have their YouTube channel or a website that can help people to understand different aspects of fashion designing. Try to check their background, their particular style, how they work, what they study, and the reason they undertook fashion designing as their career option. Knowing about different fashion designers and the way they work will help you to develop a unique style, and you will be able to get that guidance, even if you don’t attend a fashion designing school. So, borrow and build up your ideas by looking at the best fashion designers around the world.

• Research a lot and try to build storyboards and product ranges. Researching the recent trends and styles will enable you to stay updated, and you will be a fashion designer who follows the recent trends.

• If you have an interest in fashion designing at a young age, don’t wait to complete your degree or other degrees. Start learning at a young age. This way, you will have lots of time to understand the concepts and details of fashion designing.

Thus, the best way to learn fashion designing at home is to brush up your skills and try to learn about the latest trends in fashion.

Learn and learn

Learning should never stop if you want to become a good fashion designer. There are millions of things that you need to learn about designing. From color combinations to different types of sewing techniques and latest trends, you need to learn about lots of things.

• The first and the foremost thing that you need to learn is to know about different materials, the thread used, sewing technique, and how particular fabric works. Once you get a proper understanding of these things, you won’t have to worry about how you will learn fashion designing.

• To learn all these aspects of fashion designing, you don’t need to visit a college or a university. You can learn fashion sketching and technique of color coordination and styling, even by following different websites and YouTube channels. Make sure not to get stuck to the fashion of your local area. Get exposed to the world at large. If you follow the global fashion protocols, there are chances that you will be a better fashion designer with an open mindedness to follow fashion from all over the world.
• Try to participate in all kinds of contests and competitions based on fashion designs and fashion sketches. No matter if you win or lose these competitions, you will get an in-depth understanding. Participating in these competitions will also help you to be competitive, and you will always work towards achieving bigger goals in fashion designing.

• Once you understand all the basic details about fashion designing and you get all skills needed to create fashion designs, you can think about applying for an internship or apprenticeship. The internship you complete is not like a college degree; you can complete your internship with any major fashion house in the town. The internship will help you to get on the job training, and you will get to know how the actual world functions. So, find an internship for you. You will need an impressive portfolio to apply to the internship. Don’t be under the illusion that you will get to work on different designs when you are doing an internship. You will get to do little jobs and to assist the designer. But, the connections you make at the internship will enable you to pursue a career in fashion, and you will understand all basics that are needed to be a fashion designer. You will also understand all the challenges that a designer has to face and how they work with different customers to create the best dress and designs for them.

Understand your passion

• Although most students have a pre-determined approach to the type of designer they want to become, if you haven’t decided about which type of designer you want to become, it’s important to know the details. Thus, try to understand your design interest before you enter the industry. Some of the major design interests include Haute Couture, ready-to-wear and athleisure designs. So, it is important to know about the field you want to choose.

To gain a perspective about this, you need to start from the button. Try to understand why you like a particular design and which type of designer you want to become. If you want to become an athleisure designer, it is important to know about different sports and how your designs can help a sportsperson to feel comfortable in a dress. Numerous factors have to be considered when you are designing an athlete’s wear.

Just choosing a particular type of designer wear is not enough. You also need to understand the market niche and economic impacts. You need to understand if your target audience will like and feel comfortable in the dress you design. Each type of dress designing comes up with certain advantages and challenges. Thus, you need to weigh down the challenges and benefits before deciding on choosing the best dress designing approach for yourself. Try to explore different options and try to go for a technique. Choose the design technique that you are most comfortable with. Although you may like different designing techniques initially, choosing a particular genre will help you to perfect one single method of designing. Try not to overextend yourself. It is better to perfect one dress designing technique rather than exploring different options. Some of the major options that you can try include

• Women’s day wear
• Women’s evening wear
• Men’s day wear
• Men’s evening wear
• Boy’s wear
• Girl’s wear
• Sportswear/fitness wear
• Knitwear
• Outdoor/adventure wear
• Casual wear
• Accessories
• Costume design for movies and theatres

So, choose the option that suits you the best, and then, you will be able to garner maximum attention and appreciation from your target customers.

• Try not to be run by your ego. You may think that you are good at designing a particular type of dress, and you may get egoistic. But, staying in the fashion industry requires much more than being confident. Although you see lots of fashion designers in magazines and newspapers every day, they are just 1% of the population. Thus, you need to be humble and grounded if you want to achieve bigger success in this field. Having a snob attitude will blind you from making money. So, be passionate about making money and being famous, but don’t make your goal all about making money and being famous. Don’t lose your craft and creativity just because you want to make lots of money.

• If you want to be a good fashion designer, it is very important to be realistic about your goals. If you are living in a warmer region, and you decide to design ski jackets, this can’t be called a realistic goal. If you plan to design an entire collection and you don’t know the best way to attract your customers, this is also an unrealistic plan. Thus, keep your goals simple and realistic and try to know the best way to achieve those goals. Extravagant design sketches look great on paper, but when you design these realistically, the customer may like or may not like the design. Thus, try to have a realistic goal and don’t get run only by your intuition.

• The mass market may not look like a good option if you want to be the biggest fashion designer in town, but you need to focus on the mass market if you want to get maximum exposure to your audience. If you want to make a garment or dress that will be liked by all types of audience and customers, you will have to understand the dressing style and the taste and preference of all types of audience. The mass market is one of the best ways that will help you to become a big fashion designer in the future.

• Another important way to get the best returns is to pay attention to what your competitors are creating. Some of the major characteristics that you need to pay attention to are the zipper size, the texture of the garment, comfort, breathability, and different other characteristics used by your competitors. Try to analyze each piece manufactured by your competitor. Fix the price of your design by paying attention to the prices offered by your competitors. Your customers may want a dress that may fit their needs within their budget. Extravagant dresses are worn by only a few people and for only a few days. Thus, try to create dresses that may suit your needs.

• Another major factor that you must pay attention to is to create some key pieces. Try to create a dress or a piece that shows your absolute strength. But, to create a key piece, you need to pay attention to your strengths and weaknesses. In addition to creating a key piece, you also need to check if the product will be loved by the audience at large or not. Thus, try to convince the market by designing something that shows your strength.

Be a fashion industry ready

This is one of the major steps that are important to learn before you enter the fashion industry. You may be ready for competition with local designers and designers from your location. But, this does not mean that you are ready to give competition in the fashion industry. Focus on these points to know if you are ready for the fashion industry or not.

• Before you make sure about entering the fashion industry, it is important to assess your skills and personality. It is very important to have a command over your communication skill and presentation skill if you are thinking about joining the fashion industry. You also need to have a willingness to work hard, sometimes even at odd hours. People who belong to the fashion industry also need to be able to cope up with stress, criticism, and harsh comments from media houses as well as the audience at large.

• If you want to devote your life to fashion designing and a career in the fashion industry, you should be able to get rid of all kinds of insecurities. You must have the power to stand up to what you believe in. You should understand the fashion industry inside out. Try to eat, drink, and breathe the fashion industry.

• If you can’t manage stress well, the fashion industry is not the perfect option for you. In addition to this, you should be able to face all types of insecurities and instability. The career in the fashion industry is full of highs and lows, and thus, it is important to go with the flow. You may need lots of guidance when you are thinking about joining the fashion industry, and all these points will enable you to stay prepared.

Set yourself for success

It is also important to get educated about the fashion industry and to stay updated about all aspects of the business. Try to feel the success in advance. Being a successful fashion designer is not only about being creative and passionate; it is also about handling finances, profits, loss, and the entire business arena. You need to have sound language about business and marketing if you are thinking about making a name in the fashion industry. Keep yourself updated about what’s happening in the fashion industry and keep following the local trends in fashion. You need not only be informed about the local fashion topics but also about the happenings around the globe. Try to read as many fashion journals as you can. Also, know about everyday dresses that people are loving. Keeping yourself updated about the industry will enable you to market your products in the best way possible.

• If you are interested in designing as well as marketing, you don’t need another person who can help you with the marketing of your product. But, if you have no idea about marketing, it is important to get assistance from a person who understands marketing. Thus, just designing is not important; you also need to have knowledge about marketing and the business aspect.

• An entire supply chain method is involved in the fashion industry, and you need to understand this supply chain management so that the products that you manufacture can reach the target audience. Research what others do, like the people who are involved in supply chain management, how they influence buyers, what are the best methods of advertising, and you can get in touch with journalists, fashion magazines, and other options that can help you to connect your products with the audience at large.

• One of the basic considerations that you can’t forget when you enter the fashion industry is that you can’t forget your customers. Your customer should be your major focus when you are designing a particular fashion product. Try to gather information about the lifestyle of your customers, about their taste, about their preferences, and what are the best times when they make the purchase. All these points will enable you to get your collection ready by the time your customers demand your product. Thus, you have to be in hell whenever you think about understanding your customers. Numerous courses are available online that will help you to understand your customers very well.

• Try to visit and participate in different types of trade fairs to get an idea and understanding of the types of products loved by customers. Most of these trade fares are free of cost, and you can even try to showcase your products at these trade fares. The involvement and the choice of customers can be determined by visiting these trade fares.

• If you are sure about all details of fashion designing and yet, you can’t get the level of success you always thought, it’s time to take a job in a fashion house. No doubt you want to become the best fashion designer in your town, but getting a fashion designing job will help you to get the confidence and the skills you lack. Working in a fashion house will also enable you to work in a team which you miss when you don’t attend the fashion designing college or university. Thus, you want to gather every little knowledge about the fashion industry in addition to earning a few bucks; joining a fashion house can be one of the best options to choose from.

Create a fashion portfolio

The next and the last step towards becoming a fashion designer is to create a fashion portfolio. Numerous videos are available online that can help you to create the best fashion portfolio ever. Pay attention to the following points when you want to create a fashion portfolio.

• When you are thinking about designing a professional fashion portfolio, you need to include the best designs you have created, your best design sketches, drawing that shows your ability to convert your idea into a 2D or 3D model, color studies, and the photos of the pieces you have designed. Your fashion portfolio should be such that a person should look at it, and he/she should be able to identify your personality and the manner you work.

• Try to create your fashion portfolio by using a good web application that has the best experience of creating a fashion portfolio.

• No matter which type of fashion portfolio you need, it’s important to keep all elements together. No matter if you are applying for a position in a fashion house that creates athleisure, it does not mean that you can’t show your ability to create evening gowns. The person who is giving you the job wants to get a detailed understanding of your strengths, weaknesses, and your genre. Thus, try to create a holistic portfolio that can showcase all your work.

• The next point that you need to pay attention to while you are creating a fashion portfolio is to organize your work. It is completely your choice to showcase your work in the form of a story or chronology. Try to assess how each element of your work will fit the story. Play around with different arrangements. Keep the factor in mind that your story will be assessed by an individual. Prepare the portfolio in such a way that no one can prevent you from taking up the job.

• If you are not confident that you have created the perfect portfolio, ask your colleague or your family and friends for their review of the fashion portfolio you have created.

• Gather all materials together before you begin creating your fashion portfolio. Color samples, fashion swatches, sketches, photos, and everything that is needed for the process should be at your desk. Although you can’t showcase the actual pieces, you can use the pictures, the textile used, and the reference and the story behind your creation to show how and why you created a particular design. Creating a fashion portfolio may seem a challenging task initially, but once you get used to that, you won’t face any problem.

Top 6 Skills you need to have if you want to become the best fashion designer

Fashion designing is not all about creativity, art, and design anymore. The world we are living in is being evolved with each passing day. Thus, if you want to be the best fashion designer in the town, you need to have the following skills:

Creativity

If you are thinking about becoming a fashion designer, creativity should be our fundamental asset. When you look at a particular fabric, you should have the creativity to envision what the dress will look like when you have created it.

3D designing

Another important skill that you need to have to seize the fashion designing world is to have the ability to create 3D designs. If you have 3D designing skill, you will be able to get faster decision-making skills, and it will also eliminate the requirement of having different physical samples for your collection.

Visualization skill

You also need to have the ability to visualize any type of design that is possible with a particular type of textile or material. When you put a design on paper, you should have a visualization capacity to understand how the actual product will look like.

Digital drawing

Another important factor that’s needed to become a good fashion designer is to be able to do designing sketching on different digital devices. Gone are the days when people used to draw only on papers. Digital devices have made the process simpler and easier for everyone. Thus, try to gain the skill of digital designing if you want to become a good fashion designer.

Communication skill

It is also important to have good communication skills to gain maximum benefit in the fashion designing world. In the changing diaspora and market, it is important to have the best communication skill if you want to seize the market by your abilities.

Multitask

Every designer needs to be a multi-tasker. Thus, you need the ability to complete multiple tasks at the same time. You need to work with different teams simultaneously. You may need to collaborate with the marketing team, supply chain management team, advertisers, magazines, journalists, and TV channels all at the same time.

Becoming a fashion designer may seem like an uphill task initially. But, if you are passionate and you have the commitment and dream to become the best fashion designer, no one can stop you. If you don’t have the time and resources to visit a college and if you are determined to become a fashion designer, without any university degree, you need to read this article completely. So, stay glued to your passion and ambition. Try to inculcate all these points and skills and move towards your dream of becoming a fashion designer.

Let us know if you want more details about how to become a fashion designer at home. All the best for your new journey towards becoming a fashion designer.