Fashion Designers
Arts, Audio/Video Technology and CommunicationsO*NET 27-1022.00United States
Design clothing and accessories. Create original designs or adapt fashion trends.
- Median annual earnings
- $70,385
- Projected change
- +3.1%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 31.45K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
50.7% of the workforce
Growing to 32.42K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What fashion designers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material types, and accessory requirements.
- Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects.
- Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas.
- Select materials and production techniques to be used for products.
- Provide sample garments to agents and sales representatives, and arrange for showings of sample garments at sales meetings or fashion shows.
- Direct and coordinate workers involved in drawing and cutting patterns and constructing samples or finished garments.
- Identify target markets for designs, looking at factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status.
- Collaborate with other designers to coordinate special products and designs.
- Attend fashion shows and review garment magazines and manuals to gather information about fashion trends and consumer preferences.
- Purchase new or used clothing and accessory items as needed to complete designs.
- Adapt other designers' ideas for the mass market.
- Visit textile showrooms to keep up-to-date on the latest fabrics.
- Test fabrics or oversee testing so that garment care labels can be created.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $30,718
- 25th percentile
- $42,646
- 50th percentile
- $70,385
- 75th percentile
- $98,163
- 90th percentile
- $143,891
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $70,385 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+3.1%average or slower
202531,445 jobs
2035 projected32,418 jobs
973 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 50.7%
- Associate degree
- 44%
- High school diploma or less
- 4.3%
- Some college
- 1.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Apparel Designers486 postings
- 02Technical Designers432 postings
- 03Fashion Designers328 postings
- 04Designers295 postings
- 05Footwear Designers276 postings
- 06Women's Designers201 postings
- 07Apparel Technical Designers186 postings
- 08Designers/Sales Associates174 postings
- 09Accessories Designers173 postings
- 10Design Assistants171 postings
- 11Textile Designers158 postings
- 12Denim Designers153 postings
- 13Handbag Designers145 postings
- 14Menswear Designers122 postings
- 15Sportswear Associates121 postings
- 16Print Designers116 postings
- 17Product Designers103 postings
- 18Assistant Apparel Designers101 postings
- 19Costume Designers87 postings
- 20Swimwear Designers79 postings
Top employers
- 01Nike336 postings
- 02Fourth Floor262 postings
- 0324 Seven177 postings
- 04Centric Brands134 postings
- 05Solomon Page Group134 postings
- 06Nordstrom111 postings
- 07G-III Apparel Group98 postings
- 0824 Seven Talent Ca83 postings
- 09Atrium71 postings
- 10TekWissen69 postings
- 11Concept One Accessories63 postings
- 12Executive Profiles62 postings
- 13Adecco60 postings
- 14Serena & Lily57 postings
- 15Skill53 postings
- 16Russell Tobin52 postings
- 17US Tech Solutions52 postings
- 18Walmart52 postings
- 19Mamiye Brothers51 postings
- 20Rose International48 postings
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