Fashion Designers
Design clothing and accessories. Create original designs or adapt fashion trends.
- Median pay
- $80,960
- Doing it now
- 32,700
- By 2035
- Up 0.1%
- Usually needs
- Bachelor's degree
a year
across the country
2,500 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Direct and coordinate workers involved in drawing and cutting patterns and constructing samples or finished garments.
- Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects.
- Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material types, and accessory requirements.
- Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas.
- Identify target markets for designs, looking at factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status.
- Attend fashion shows and review garment magazines and manuals to gather information about fashion trends and consumer preferences.
- Select materials and production techniques to be used for products.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftSee 880 colleges that teach it
- Design and Applied ArtsSee 679 colleges that teach it
- Apparel and TextilesSee 94 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Creative and expressive
Hands-on and practical
Leading and persuading
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $80,960 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.