How to Become a Fashion Designer PART-4 Setting Yourself Up for Success

Get educated about the business side of fashion. Being a successful fashion designer not only requires talent and creativity, it also requires a sound knowledge of the business and marketing aspects of the fashion world. Keep yourself updated on the happenings in the fashion industry by regularly reading trade journals like Women's Wear Daily and Daily News Record.

Many fashion design programs include courses in marketing. Some programs/majors highlight marketing more than others, so be sure to do ample research on the coursework involved in the program you choose. If you've already undertaken a course but missed the marketing/financial side of things, consider doing short courses in these aspects of business.

Learn beyond design. There is an entire supply chain involved in the fashion industry and you need to understand what each person's job is, so that you can see things from their perspective too, in order to make compromises, meet demands and understand where things get held up. Research what others do, such as buyers, merchandisers, pattern cutters, garment and fabric technologists, quality controllers, graders, sample machinists, sales people, PR and marketing people, fashion journalists, retailers, event organizers, fashion stylists and so forth.

Know your customer. This skill is basic and essential and it's one a fashion designer must never lose sight of. Know how much your customers spend, what their lifestyles are, where they like to shop, how they like to shop and what they like and dislike. Know what are absolute needs and what are the things that only get bought when disposable incomes are less tight. If you have done marketing, you should have a solid understanding of how to work out customers' needs.

Know your competitors. Always keep an eye on what other fashion designers in your area of interest are doing. At a minimum, keep up. Better still, surpass them while still meeting your customers' needs.

Trade fairs are an excellent place to develop deeper understanding of how the fashion industry works and what will work for you in terms of meeting customer needs and staying competitive.

Look for fashion design jobs. There are various ways to find work in the fashion industry as a designer and it depends on the type of designing you're interested in. In some cases, being versatile will help you a great deal, just so that you get the experience and then jump across to your real passion later. And in most cases, you'll need to be persistent and apply to many different places to get your foot in the door. For starters, some places to apply to include:

Existing fashion houses and designers - look for internships, entry-level paid positions, assistants to designers, etc.

Costume positions with movie studios, theaters, costume stores, etc.

Online advertisements through various online job agencies

Word of mouth––use your college or fashion industry contacts to get you through the door. In an industry that values what people who already are well positioned have to say, this is a good way to get started.

If running your own design business, be prepared to be financially astute. You may be exceptionally creative but be absolutely certain that if you run your own fashion label, you need to be business savvy. You do need to understand those numbers and the invoices that keep piling up on your table. If you really hate this stuff, there are good options, such as asking your accountant to take care of all things financial but it still pays to keep on top of the whole thing yourself. And if you really, really hate this side of it, look for work as a fashion designer with a fashion house instead of running your own label.

What type of trader will you be? There are many possibilities, including sole trader, partnership, incorporated company, etc. Each has distinct advantages and disadvantages that you should discuss with your legal and financial advisers before proceeding. Be sure that you are covered for liability in all circumstances, especially if you're in a particularly litigious culture.

Be realistic. You may need to be willing to move to match your market but that depends on how you work and sell. Being realistic means recognizing that it's pointless trying to sell a lot of haute couture to people who only want career clothing in a semi-rural town while it's no good trying to sell bikini to the Inuit. You'll need to focus on where your market is most likely to be and either work out whether it's best for you to live and work in that same area or how to get the distribution from your current area to the place where it's most likely to sell.

Take into consideration the influences around you. As a creative person, part of your creative process is being around like people and sparking off their ideas and suggestions too. It's a lot harder to do this alone or working alongside people who aren't into your fashion approaches.

Remember too that seasonality impacts fashion designing and may have an impact on the type of clothing you're producing and where you wish to sell it.

Consider the power of online selling. Provided you use good quality three dimensional images that can be zoomed and turned, selling your fashion online to anywhere in the world is another realistic possibility nowadays. This allows you greater flexibility in where you'll live and design and can reduce the daily commute to zero. This may be ideal if you plan on staying a small fashion label. Even then however, you should still make allowances for traveling to major fashion shows.

Living in a city with a thriving fashion industry makes good sense for many designers. According to the Global Language Monitor (GLM), the following cities were the top fashion capitals of the world in 2012, in descending order