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Fashion Designer Equals Easy Job?
By admins | May 28, 2009
(Fashion Flashback – This was originally posted on 10/30/08- Read the reaction of one of our contributers to fashion.net’s description of working as a fashion designer)
“However, there are many aspects of the profession. Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sportswear company as producing a label under your own name. Although the former career may not seem as glamorous as the latter, it certainly will make your life less stressful. To create your own label takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work. Not to mention living just above the poverty line for several years.” Fashion.net
Wow! Wow, OMG! When I read this job description of a fashion designer on fashion.net I began to hyperventilate. There are just so many things wrong with this statement, where does fashion.net get off making sweeping generalizations like this?
Obviously whoever wrote this has never worked as a designer for someone else. Maybe the author needs to stop by the New York Garment Center one night, at say 10pm, and see designers deliriously trying to churn out “one more” techpack for their VPs. The stress of being creative on demand, meeting deadlines, dealing with factories, and working with crazy vendors does not diminish because your name is not on the label. What does diminish is the recognition, the glamour, and most of all the paycheck! For both kinds of designers the threat of failure is huge in an industry where labels, companies, and retailers can go bankrupt with the turn of a trend. However, only the corporate designer has the added stress, that she could loose her job at a moment’s notice. In a business where everyone is trying to move up and turnover is so high, the stress of being replaced and told that “you have 20 minutes to clean out your desk” and be escorted out of the building can be overwhelming. Now, of course it is super stressful to run your own business and there are plenty of people working tirelessly around the clock to develop their own lines, but that doesn’t mean that others have less stress. Besides the fact that many “designers” with their own labels do very little work besides licensing out their name to manufactures, who in turn have a design team work their butts off doing the actual designing. And what about all the tech designers, pattern makers, production managers, and art directors? Is their jobs stress free because their name is not on the label? Come on!
“To create your own label takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work.” Well guess what, to create someone else’s line does too. “Not to mention living just above the poverty line for several years.” Um, do they think you can finish school and suddenly make a six figure salary leading the design team at Ann Taylor or something? You have to pay your dues as an intern or an assistant and work your way up. Whichever path you choose, money does not come quickly or easily. How Fashion.net can make such an assessment on such a subjective issue is shocking. Well that’s just my opinion but maybe I’m just stressed and cranky from working 60+ hours on someone else’s label this week!
(Written by one of our contributors after stumbling upon fashion.net’s. As always if any readers would like to share a story or suggest a topic please us the contact us button at the bottom of the page)
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Topics: fashion industry, jobs | 7 Comments » 
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May 29th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
ooh darling, I feel your pain! It is frustrating that the “work” regardless of whose name is on the label is often overlooked. Most people regardless of what industry they work in, work for someone else. This does not equal a less stressful job and anyone with a nightmare boss can argue it makes it worse.
May 30th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
I worked at a very large apparel company and it was ridiculous the turnover, especially in the creative departments. It was so common that people would make sure they had a “downloaded” anything they needed every thursday night because almost every friday somebody was let go and escorted out. And this was before the recession!
May 31st, 2009 at 2:03 pm
I totally know what you mean. I’ve been working in the fashion industry for a while and just started my own women’s apparel line. It is so hard for small designers right now.
November 26th, 2009 at 2:19 am
So true. Being a designer is not an easy job. It requires a lot of effort, hard work and time!
A designer should have the capability to handle all those things you mentioned above in your blog.
February 11th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
Hey, you know about what they say about doing what you love, cause if you do, you won’t work a singe day in your life.
May 6th, 2011 at 2:19 am
To create a new brand to let others remember, really not a easy thing.
December 13th, 2011 at 3:38 am
I totally know what you mean