Fashion Design Job Outlook: jobs & prospects for new fashion design grads?

[solongotgon]

As many of you noticed, manufacturing jobs are being outsourced and seems like this is affecting the fashion industry. I am wondering about the job prospects for newly graduated fashion design students. I know internships are the way to go but I am curious to hear it from those who are working in the fashion industry.

How are the downsizing in fashion companies?
Lot of competition for new designers?

According to the US census, there is 5 % growth for fashion designers which is deemed low. Just curious to know how the fashion industry might evolve into and what new designers can focus on.

[BetteT]

Welcome to the Fashion Spot, solongotgon!

I can't answer your question, since I'm freelance. But hopefully, someone else may have some insight based on what they are seeing on the job or even those recent grads who are out there looking for a real job, not just an internship.

I"m going to change the title of this thread a bit ... to see if it will generate some interest.

[BetteT]

BTW, I did a search for jobs, grads and found a lot of good info. Here are a few threads that are related and might interest you:

Reality Check for New Fashion Grads (an old article, but the theory is the same).
Classifieds for Fashion Jobs / Careers ... Where to Search for a Job?
All about Resumes / CV's and Cover Letters for Jobs and Internships

[solongotgon]

Originally Posted by BetteT

Welcome to the Fashion Spot, solongotgon!

I can't answer your question, since I'm freelance. But hopefully, someone else may have some insight based on what they are seeing on the job or even those recent grads who are out there looking for a real job, not just an internship.

I"m going to change the title of this thread a bit ... to see if it will generate some interest.

Thanks Bette

[gius]

Hello solongotgon! Nice to see you here. Do you recognise me? ^^

I've worked for a smaller designer, who has been in the industry for maybe about 4-6 years. Manufacturing was done in house, but a lot of designs were outsourced. Most of their business is done with boutiques and such in the States and they are experiencing less and less clients buying. But in my own opinion, their designs are not very original, so I'm not really surprised...

They are definitely downsizing --generally I would say if you are hired as extra help, then you will probably get laid off. You must be someone who is irreplacable ;-) There was one woman who was hired just to do odd cutting jobs and cleaning, but she gets along so well with the boss and now she's there for all the odd jobs... driving, organizing inventory, even cooking meals for the staff! There is also one woman who has a lot of history with the owner, and she wanted to work on her own schedule (just one or two days) and was allowed.

I think internships with smaller designers are the best since they will get you to do so many things, even making patterns and toiles. But for a job, it really depends on what you feel about the boss. Mine wasn't exactly organized and behaved very much on impulse, so.. not quite reliable from the beginning.

I was one of six who did not get fired but I left anyway to focus on some lessons I wanted to take... I'm sure I would have quit eventually.

[gius]

I should probably sum it up(?)...

I know you want to have your own business eventually, so.. The point is, there are always people looking to buy, recession or not. It depends on your product design, where and how you sell. There are a lot of venues, not just department /flagship stores. There are a lot of opportunities.
And if you want to work for a company, it's just based on how you feel about the company. The boss, co-workers, the way the company is run. I see you do this already in a first meeting, so I'm sure it will be easy for you Listen to the N