Tips to Get Your Fashion Designs Noticed.

For an aspiring fashion designer, getting your designs noticed is one of the biggest hurdles to overcome in this extremely competitive industry. Like all artistic trades, it takes years of experience and training to develop fashion designing and manufacturing skills used in the market. Luckily, there are several opportunities for designers of all ages and backgrounds to enter their designs, have them judged and get noticed as fresh talent. Here are 10 tips for getting your fashion designs noticed:

Academic Training

In order to take your fashion designs to a professional caliber, academic training may be necessary. Most apparel design programs consist of art, fashion drawing, manufacturing and other relevant subjects that will teach you industry specific skills and prepare you for a career in apparel design. Fashion design programs are offered at four-year universities, community colleges, as well as art and design institutes. Once you undergo the necessary training to develop and enhance your design skills, you will have a portfolio of designs that will help you get your first fashion job and noticed as a young designer.

Internships

From fashion merchandising, fashion showrooms to fashion PR internships, Free Fashion Internships posts several internship opportunities at big name designers around the country. Most of these internships are geared toward college students who need the internship credit for class, as well as working professionals and those who want to expand their fashion design skills. Some are paid internships and others are not, which is irrelevant to the knowledge you’ll gain from working with a fashion designer, the relationships you’ll create and the experience that is key to getting your name out there.

Fashion Jobs

Very seldom do people become fashion designers right out of college, therefore, it is important to find fashion jobs that will help launch your career as a fashion designer. There are a wide variety of occupations in fashion, such as sales representative, buyer, stylist and merchandiser, that allow you to work with designers and manufacturers on the creative and business aspects of apparel design. There are several online job sites for careers in fashion, like Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) career site, which posts highly- desired fashion jobs in fashion-forward cities.

Competitions

Depending on your level of skill, you may want to enter local or state competitions first, and work your way up to regional, national and international competitions as your design skills increase. The annual international competition, ITS Fashion Competition, features talented, young fashion designers who want to have their designs noticedacross the world. There are also competitions that offer full or partial scholarships to fashion institutes, such as The Art Institutes’ Passion for Fashion Competition. This annual competition is geared toward high school graduates, who are looking to study fashion design, fashion marketing, merchandising and retail management.

Fashion Shows

In order to get your designs noticed, you have to start small sometimes. An easy way to accomplish this is to host or enter a local fashion show. Hosting a fashion show that features your designs can be done on a shoestring budget. Rent out a local venue, school gym or open your house, invite the whole neighborhood and use your friends as models. You never know what kind of connections you’ll make, and who might want to promote your designs. The same can be said for entering into a local or regional fashion show, to feature your designs and scope out your competition.

Networking

Networking in person is sure to get your name out there, but if you don’t know anyone in the fashion industry or with connections, then you might want to start by using social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace. These sites allow you to create your own profiles, where you can upload pictures of your designs, post events and tell the world about your potential as a fashion designer. Let the chain of befriending help push your name and designs throughout the Web.

Blogs

Starting a fashion blog is a surefire way to get your designs noticed. Not only do you have the freedom of writing about your designs, styles and influences, but you can also post pictures of your designs and sell garments online. There are several free blog services, such as Google’s free Blogger, which is simple, easy to use and a great starting point in your journey as a fashion blogger and designer.

YouTube

What better way to share your fashion designs than to broadcast them on the ever-popular video platform, YouTube. Here, you can show your designs and market your skills, while letting viewers in on who you are, what your style is and why you should be noticed. You can also videotape your competition garments, runway shows and your design process and share it with fans.

Sell Your Stuff

Let your designs get noticed and sold on fashion marketplaces, like Etsy, which sells handmade or vintage apparel, accessories, art and supplies made by independent designers. This international marketplace connects you, the designer, with consumers who are looking for one-a-kind pieces. Selling merchandise on online marketplaces is a quick way to develop clientele and see what consumers enjoy most from your collection.

Dress Your Friends

Dressing your friends in your own designs is one of the easiest ways to get your garments noticed. Like walking advertisements, your friends can sport your designs and promote you as an up and coming designer. This practice will capture the attention of the public and get people talking about you and your clothes. With friends on your side, you can count on them to talk-up your designs and spread the word about your potential as a professional designer.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 1004