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Dear Fashion Girl,

Dear Fashion Girl,

I have a question that no one seems to be able to answer. I love fashion and design. I someday dream of being a fashion designer. But I thought right now that I could get into the industry a different way. Here is a description of the job I am thinking of. A person working for an apparel company who designs outfits and draws them on a paper and gives those to another person. Then that person shows those designs to a bunch of people. What those people say about the designs determine if they will use them or not. What is that job called? I would be very grateful to know. Thank you!

Christina

Dear Christina,

It's great that you are following your love of fashion! In your job description, you mentioned several different positions in an apparel company. A senior designer is the person who designs outfits and creates sketches of those designs on paper including details like buttons and specifications like the amount of fabric needed for the outfit. The senior designer then shows the sketches to a production team, who react to the designs and work out the costs and time involved in producing the garments. The senior designer collaborates with this team to come to a final decision about whether or not to use the designs.

An assistant designer is a senior designer's right-hand person. The assistant designer works closely with the senior designer, but it is usually the senior designer who presents their designs to the production team. They need to hear production feedback in order to make changes to the designs. The senior designer is deeply involved in the design process until the final design is reached. Once the design is approved, the assistant designer translates the original sketch into a finished sample garment, using the technical skills of pattern making. The assistant designer might also be called the first patternmaker, if there is not a separate person in this position. This is a perfect career path for you, since assistant designers are often promoted to senior fashion designers after gaining a year or more of experience.

Hopefully this gives you a starting point for further research into fashion careers. For more information, take a look at our website under the Fashion Design major, where you will find a list of job descriptions.

Good luck with your future in fashion!