Tell me about it
Fashion designers design and make clothes and accessories for haute couture, designer ready-to-wear or high street fashion, perhaps specialising in an area such as childrenswear, menswear, leisurewear, beachwear, lingerie or wedding outfits.

At the top end of fashion design is haute couture, a prestigious field in which a designer works on unique creations for exclusive clients. This involves a great amount of work amending outfits, organising fittings and liaising with clients to decide what they want. Designer ready-to-wear collections are produced mainly by the same haute couture houses and bear the all-important designer logo. They are much sought after as they are produced in limited runs and sold often at a high price in specialist boutiques. High street fashion is what most of us wear, with the more fashionable items often based on the latest designer ready-to-wear collections.

Fashion designers have to plan well ahead, working with buyers and forecasters to predict future trends, decide on fabrics and colours, and produce sample garments. The best designs may then be adapted for mass production.

Entry level
You would normally enter this career after taking a degree or HND in fashion. In England and Wales,entrants to these courses usually complete a national diploma or foundation course, lasting one or two years. For these you would generally need five GCSEs, and sometimes an A level, although some foundation courses would accept you with relevant experience and a good portfolio of work. In Scotland, degree courses take four years. The first year equates with the foundation year in England and Wales, and introduces you to general art and design.

You might opt to continue your studies to postgraduate level before starting work.

Pre-entry experience is highly desirable, as experience of any kind in a design studio can only enhance your job prospects. Retail experience can also be useful.

Making the grade
You should be prepared to work in a junior position, such as developing other people's designs, as a colourist or in a pattern-cutting role, before moving up the promotion ladder. Developing contacts in the industry and gaining experience will help quicken this process. Some design graduates get experience working abroad - possibly for low pay in a very junior position in fashion centres such as Paris, Milan or New York - before coming back to the UK to compete for that elusive lucky break.

Career progression in fashion design often means moving to a new employer. You may go from design room assistant, the lowest level job that is actually in the design room, to assistant designer, designer…and even head designer.

Personal qualities
You would need real creative flair, including an eye for colour and a feel for fabrics. You should be passionate about clothes, patterns and textiles and you must be able to communicate your ideas to buyers and manufacturers. Good drawing skills would be essential, together with the skills to make up sample garments.

It is essential to work within budget, to tight deadlines, and you would certainly need an understanding of the business aspects of the fashion industry.

Looking ahead
Fashion design is extremely popular and competition for places is correspondingly fierce. Up to a third of fashion graduates do not get a job in fashion design, although they may work in fashion journalism or as stylists or buyers.

Womenswear is both the biggest segment of fashion design and the toughest to break into. Other areas, such as childrenswear and menswear, are less competitive. You must ensure that you have a portfolio demonstrating your ability to design for your target market. Top couture houses, where competition for jobs is really cutthroat, rarely advertise vacancies.

Alternative suggestions
If your main interest is in design, you might consider training as a graphic designer, jewellery designer, industrial product designer, interior designer or textile designer.

Other fashion options might include costume designer, fashion model, journalist, photgrapher or retail buyer.

Take-home pay
You could expect to start on around £14,000 to £17,000 a year, probably more in London. This should rise with experience to anything from £25,000 to £55,000. As a top design director, you might earn £100,000 or more. Self-employment/freelance work is commonly possible and there may be opportunities for part-time work.

Effects
Deadlines, pressures and anti-social hours can intrude on your private life as you work through the night to prepare your latest creations for a fashion show. At other times, you would work a normal five-day week, Monday to Friday, nine to five.

Sources of information
Skillfast-UK: www.skillfast-uk.org
Chartered Society of Designers: www.csd.org.uk
Crafts Council: www.craftscouncil.org.uk
The Design Council: www.designcouncil.org.uk
Your Creative Future: www.yourcreativefuture.org