A fashion designer is a person who facilitates the movement of an article of clothing or outfit from idea to inception. Designers are responsible for analyzing current trends and deciding what is popular, as well as coming up with ideas for new styles and drafting designs for them. Designers can work in a number of different industries and settings including clothing manufacturers, design firms, or private businesses and individuals.
Depending on the fashion designer's expertise, experience, and business, he/she may play a different role in the creation of a new outfit. Designers who are hired by large design firms are often responsible for drafting the designs and overlooking the creation process. They will choose the colors, materials, and patterns for the outfit and supervise tailors and sewers as they recreate the design. Fashion designers working with smaller firms will have a less managerial position. They will often draft their designs as well as make the prototypes that they can show to clients.
When people think of designers, they often think of the people who create high-end, "haute culture" fashions. These designers often focus on producing very stylized and trendy outfits for wealthier customers. These are the fashions that are seen in magazines, fashion shows, and on celebrities. High-fashion designers may also work for individual clients to create a personalized ensemble. However, this is not the only type of fashion designer.
A designer working for a wholesaler or manufacturer creates designs for mass audiences, rather than higher-end fashions. These designs must be catered toward a large audience and altered to fit a number of different sizes. Depending on the design, the outfits may also be manufactured in a number of colors as well. These designers must come up with styles that will suit men, women, children, and infants. The designs must also fit the budget and expectations of the company the designer works for.
Some individuals work in more specialized fields. For example, some fashion designers work only on wedding dresses. These designers will often work with individuals or wedding dress retailers to produce customized dresses for their clients.
A number of designers work only on costume design for film and the performing arts. Though this work does not necessarily focus on current fashion trends, a costume designer has many of the same responsibilities as any other fashion designer. Costume designers might have to research the style of clothing worn by another culture, in different time period, or even in a fictional world. Costume designers must work closely with directors in order to find out what type of clothing is called for, since directors often have specific ideas about what their characters should look like.
A large number of individuals are self-employed and work from project to project. They may be called to design a range of different outfits depending on what the client wants. Their jobs are often less stable and they will generally have to adjust their schedules to meet the needs of each client. Each fashion designer's job will be different depending on what type of work they do.
