Gone are the days when studying Fashion Designing was considered peripheral or irrelevant. Today fashion industry is growing by leaps and bounds and it seems to be the preferred choice for anyone who is artistically inclined and has an eye for fashion trends and style. Malaysia in particular is relatively young in terms of the fashion scene, but with more and more students enrolling in fashion and design related and creative courses, universities have now started to open departments in fashion designing. Local designers in Malaysia are also beginning to gain worldwide recognition year on year.

It is important to clarify here that courses in fashion designing need not restrict you to work only as fashion designers. There are other career choices you might wish to make including production executives at fashion and retail houses, fashion product development, pattern and textile designers, cutters, stylists, and in fashion marketing etc.

 

Job of a Fashion Designer

Fashion Designers typically design and create clothing, accessories and footwear, depending on your area of specialization and skillset. When we talk of clothing, it could mean anything from casual and evening wear, to work wear, workout apparel, childrens wear, bridal couture, or menswear.

Its the Fashion Designers who come up with the initial concept of the design and ensures that the final product is aligned to that. The initial concept could be sketching the designs on the computer or by hand, selecting colour schemes, type of material to be used. Usually the fashion designer has to work with his/her entire team to design the prototype. Some independent fashion designers also have to work through the entire production phase, working with suppliers, factory staff and also oversee costs. Others who work for retail or fashion houses however, may just be involved in the designing along with some rough cost estimates for others to work on.

 

What does it take to Fashion Designer?

Although earlier it was possible to become a fashion designer without a formal education, with the increase in competition and fashion now becoming a global phenomenon, a career in Fashion would require some formal training about the world fashion scene, fashion trends, new processes and technicalities etc. It is thus advisable to get a diploma in fashion design or a related field to get started. Having a Bachelors degree in fashion design or fashion merchandising is an ideal option for someone who have their minds set on becoming a fashion designer earlier in life. This would help them gain some essential additional knowledge of how the industry works, design strategies and techniques, advanced pattern making, computer-aided design, history of the art and certain business marketing strategies. Having a degree also helps you to build your portfolio in a bigger and better way and with some universities aiding you with an internship at the end of the course, it could help you to gain that initial experience in the fashion industry.

 

Universities offering courses in Fashion for International Students

 

Career prospects

Fashion designers are mostly recruited by clothing manufacturers, wholesalers, retail fashion houses as in-house designers. Some fashion designers also opt to work independently and set up shop accepting assignments from their clients on a contract basis. Some others go on to start their own fashion line few years down the line.

Jobs directly related to a degree course would be:

• Fashion designer
• Retail manager
• Retail buyer
• Stylist
• Retail merchandiser
• Visual merchandiser
• Textile designer

Jobs where you could use the degree in a relevant field would be:

• Fashion event manager
• Clothing/textile technologist
• Celebrity shopper
• Make-up artist etc.