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While fashion varies from country to country, city to city, and even person to person, one thing remains the same: The leading fashion designers of the world have as much power to read emerging social design trends as they do to create them.
Ever wonder how every major designer just happens to choose the same basic color, pattern, or style each season? It’s not an industry conspiracy, but rather an indication of just how intuitive and knowledgeable clothing designers are. Their style may be innate, but their business savvy come from years of training and experience.
So the next time you browse the latest fashion design styles from London, New York, and Paris Fashion Weeks, remember this: From the elegant looks of Vera Wang to the funky fashions of Betsey Johnson, the style is meticulously well planned and ultimately is a balanced blend between the designer’s imagination and their ability to interpret the emerging public trends.
Fashion is, after all, as much a business as it is an art. Clothes and accessory designers spend hours poring over fashion magazines and other resources to keep a close eye on what the people are currently responding to in order to predict the colors and styles they are most likely to want next. They look back at historical trends to predict what will come back in style, and when. They mix their personal tastes with consumer tastes to create a look that is not only aesthetic, but practical and most importantly, profitable.
Once established, big-name fashion designers can make millions, but even the newly emerging designers make upwards of $110,000 per year. Many people don’t realize scores of other design jobs that are in fact sometimes better paid in the fashion world – such as fashion editors, fashion merchandisers, pattern makers, trim buyers, fashion consultants, and more. Plus, working in the fashion design industry can lead to close contact with celebrities and other VIPs. While we all know Chanel and Armani, other lesser-known creative talents are often the favorites of big-name stars. For example, you may not know who Arianne Phillips is – but you’ve seen her dresses worn by the likes of Madonna and Courtney Love, and her costumes have appeared in a number of films (most recently, “Walk the Line”).
In a field as competitive as fashion design, it’s getting in the door and being taken seriously that often can be the biggest challenge, which is why almost all the current leading designers claim to have kicked off their careers with a fashion degree. The top fashion design schools provide students with the technical, business, historical, and creative training needed to thrive in the industry.
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