Ahh? New York?Paris? What adream! Imagine, being a fashion designer in one of the fashion capitals of theworld. Hold on a minute. That's a big step. There are a few things you need tolearn about being a fashion designer before you make it to the big time.

                                                             

Let's say you spent most of your childhood creating clothesfor your dolls, yourself, and your friends. You've always dreamed of being afashion designer and everyone loves your sense of style and the way you combinecolors, fabrics and accessories. Great! It sounds like you've got the makingsof a great designer. That innate talent is critical in the fashion world butyou'll need some formal education as well. The world of the fashion designercan be extremely competitive. Not only are there lots of people gunning forjobs at the top design houses, but the most prestigious fashion designer schoolsonly take the best students. That's not to say you can't do it. But you'll needto make sure you have some basic skills and a few tools in your tool box.

 

First off, can you draw? It's not necessarily a must havebut it certainly will help. You need to be able to translate the designs thatare in your head into something people can see. So a good first step in yourquest to become a fashion designer would be to brush up on your drawing skills.Next, how about adding a little experience to your tool box? Do you live in a metropolitancenter where you can get an internship or entry level job in a design shop? Ifso, take advantage of the opportunity. If you are free to relocate, try gettingan internship in a city that has a vibrant fashion industry. You'll makevaluable contacts and learn more about the industry in a few months than youcan in a lifetime of reading books and magazines.

 

Now the education part. If you are just starting out and youare prepared to go to school to learn how to be a fashion designer, think aboutwhat kind of school suits you best. Are you a good candidate for a top notchfour year school or would a technical school better suit your needs? Can youmove away or do you need to stay near home? Either way, you'll never regrethaving the chance to immerse yourself in the fashion designer field and gain asolid foundation of the basics. There is a lot more to being a fashion designerthan sketching out ideas. You'll need to know about fabrics, pattern making,cutting and all those things that go into creating a final design.

 

Obviously, school is not the only route to becoming afashion designer. There are success stories of famous designers who started atthe bottom of a fashion house and quickly rose to the top. These days we alsofind overnight fashion designer stars created on reality shows. The fact of thematter is, if you are serious about becoming a fashion designer and you havethe drive and talent, the more traditional route will probably be the best. Getsome education, build a portfolio, make contacts, and work, work, work. You cando it!