HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL FASHION ENTREPRENEUR IN THE APPAREL INDUSTRY
The fashion industry is a huge business but, for someone who is new to this business, you need to be well informed and know all the facts before you take a dive into the unknown. The real secret of a successful fashion design career is all about “Preparation”. Many people assume that the fashion industry is a no-brainer business; however, it is not. One needs to be savvy and master all facets of one’s technical life skills. Every year, there are several thousands of students graduating from all the fashion institutions around the world. Unfortunately, not every fashionista makes it in the business, due to the many factors that can derail a young designer’s career. If you want to stay ahead of the pack, do your research thoroughly, ask the right questions, and talk to professional designers who own their businesses before you jump into the fashion industry.
For instance, the biggest mistake most people seem to make is a lack of research, when it comes to choosing the right school for their fashion training. The second biggest mistake is how people use all their money to invest in their fashion education. As we all know, the bigger and the more famous a school is, the more you pay. Okay, let’s pause right here. Just because a fashion school is prestigious, how is that going to help your career if you have no real technical life skills to obtain employment? In reality, your technical life skills, such as sewing, pattern drafting, French draping and pattern grading, are your trade skills, which are all you really need to create a garment to sell or obtain employment, right? Paying a lot more does not mean that you are guaranteed to be successful in any way. It is far more important to master all of your basic life skills – and fully understand how to connect them together – and, eventually, by the time you find the right opportunity, you will have learned a lot more and gained plenty of experience…
ALL FASHION DESIGN SCHOOLS SET VERY LOW STANDARDS
The way fashion institutions operate and teach their students today is worrisome. Many students are being coerced to take useless courses that have very little, if anything, to do with the fashion industry. Unfortunately, many fashion schools are focusing far less on hands-on technical skills training (industrial sewing, pattern drafting, French draping and pattern drafting), and a whole lot more on academics. Fashion institutions are teaching their students way out of their depth with inexperienced instructors, poor techniques, outdated textbooks, rubbish courses, and old machinery that often breaks down during class. Students are wasting precious time and hard-earned money to learn and do theory, exams, essays, and mickey mouse projects, as well as consuming all their energy on courses and programs that have no practical use or relevance to the apparel industry. For instance, students are being required to pay for courses, such as fashion illustration, elements of design, textile, fashion history, resume writing, portfolio preparation, colour theory, and so on, that are no longer required in the fashion industry. The bottom line is that garment factories and retailers are ONLY interested in the business of making and selling garments for profit. So why are fashion schools making their programs so academic and impractical?
DON’T BECOME ANOTHER FASHION SCHOOL STATISTIC – DO YOUR RESEARCH THOROUGHLY!
If you wish to become successful as a fashion designer, you need to start early. Preparation is the KEY element to your success! If you are planning to register or continue your education in any fashion studio or institution, you might want to conduct some careful research, such as comparing and reviewing all of the facts, savings, costs, freebies, and program syllabus/content, before you make that big commitment. Why waste your money and time if you are not getting REAL quality, substance and results in your fashion design career training? In the long-term, being well-informed will help you save time and money on your life skill investment and career.
We see more and more fashion design institutions using glossy ad campaigns on TV, online and in print to lure the young and naive into their web of false promises. These institutions often fall far short on their promises of delivering actual results for their graduates. Incredibly, many graduates of fashion design colleges and universities are leaving school with either limited or no knowledge of or skills in sewing, pattern drafting, French draping or grading. This will have a long-lasting detrimental effect on a student’s future employment and business opportunities. In the world of fashion, you no longer need a university degree or a college diploma to get a job or start your own business. What you really need is a REAL life and trade skill, experience, and confidence to be successful. At the end of the day, your skills and experience are what every single employer wants at the job interview and on your first day on the job, NOT your degree or diploma…
LIVE YOUR LIFE WITH NO REGRET
Every day is a new day and a new opportunity that comes along. Why waste time and miss all those opportunities that come into your life each day? Most of us go through life afraid of change because we are afraid of failure, but, if we don’t try, we will never know our full potential or our fate and destiny. Life is like Yin-Yang (hot-cold), which is the same as risk and reward. With good preparation and plenty of hard work, you can produce a positive result known as “SUCCESS”. Success is also when you find your own peace and happiness. How can you be rich, happy and successful if you let fear hold you back each day in your life? When will you ever have another opportunity like this again, since you only have one life to live?
Regret is the one thing people often talk about during their final day on this planet. Always remember to think big, chase your dreams and pursue your passions. Try to live your life with no regret.
THERE ARE MANY GOOD REASONS WHY YOU WANT TO LEARN FROM AN INDUSTRY PROFESSIONAL
Many of our clients wonder why you need to pay more when you want to learn fast and professionally. There is a good reason why professionals are called “professionals” – it’s because they are good at what they do and they have done it every day to earn a living, sometimes for many decades, with plenty of experience gained over time, and that is how they know all the tricks of the trade. I hear people say all the time, “I can do this and I can do that because I watched someone do it on YouTube”, but, quite frankly, those YouTubers don’t know any of the trade secrets or techniques. First of all, most people on YouTube do not work in the garment manufacturing industry or own a business, which is why they are doing all their demonstrations in their own home. Secondly, those individuals on YouTube are not the real professional experts who work in the fashion industry because they have never set foot or worked in any garment factories in places like China, Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. And finally, they have no real-life experience in ever working in a garment factory setting. So, how can these YouTube individuals become experts? You need to judge for yourself…
LEARN HOW TO DESIGN AND SEW SMARTER, FASTER, AND MORE EFFICIENTLY TO GENERATE UNLIMITED INCOME
Forget about attending a reputable, prestigious fashion design school. If you want to sew like a pro, all you need to do is to master the basic foundations of sewing and pattern drafting. Pattern drafting will help you to understand the order of garment construction and allow you to design anything you want to create. It will help you to piece the garment together like a jigsaw puzzle. Practice makes perfect, and, with plenty of practice, in no time, you will become an exceptional designer/sewer. Don’t waste your time trying to make an apron, tote bag, or pajamas, if you truly want to improve your sewing skills. Try to work smarter not harder for yourself and learn real technical skills, whether it is for a hobby or a profession you chose. Sewing and fashion design is more than just a hobby, if you become really good and skillful. In fact, you can capitalize on your skills and make a business out of it. Just imagine… when you think outside of the box, the sky is the limit, in terms of what you can do with this precious life skill. There are many seamstresses in the world who own two houses, by using their sewing skills to generate income. Having said that, you certainly don’t want to live with regret by missing out on this opportunity to learn a practical life skill that can potentially make you ‘filthy’ rich.
TRADE SKILL VS. UNIVERSITY DEGREE
It is disheartening and discomforting to know that, after spending $45,000 to upwards of $150,000 on your education, you are burdened with a huge debt. You are unable to get your fashion design career/business started and then you have to go back to retail work, earning minimum wage. This is the new common path that most young people are facing in this tough economy. Tuition fees are increasing each year, but the quality of education remains the same. University and college graduates are leaving school jobless with very little trade skills to survive.
Why is our society so obsessed with that piece of degree/diploma paper? And yet, at every job interview, the majority of employers don’t even bother to check, follow-up or verify the applicant’s education. Most surprisingly of all, most employers are far more interested in discussing and questioning an applicant’s trade skills and experience, than finding out which school she/he graduated from. Typically, an employer will use a sewing or pattern drafting test to conduct the first job interview, to assess an applicant’s basic skills or experience. Sadly, if an applicant fails on the sewing or the drafting test, it is highly unlikely she/he will get the position…
FASHION DESIGN OFFERS MANY CAREER CHOICES
A career in fashion design allows you to choose from many great professions, such as:
Fashion Designer (Head Designer, Chief Designer, Assistant Designer, Junior Designer)
Fashion Stylist (Fashion Coordinator, Creative Art Director, Celebrity Stylist)
Fashion Buyer (Fashion Wholesaler, Wholesale Buyer)
Patternmakers (Pattern Drafter, Plotter, Pattern Grader, Gerber System Operator, CAD Operator)
Trendsetter (Fabric Trend Forecaster, Fashion Trend Forecaster)
Sample Sewer (Sample Maker, Sample Cutter, Fitter, Bundler, Presser, Sewing Machine Operator)
Tailor (Dressmaker, Seamstress, Couturier, Alterationist)
Costume Designer
Fashion Instructor/Professor
Drycleaner
Fashion Entrepreneur
GOOD SEWING REQUIRES MORE THAN JUST SKILLS
Have you ever wondered why so many people know how to sew but their sewing really lacks finesse? Or their workmanship always looks very homemade? Or their sewing doesn’t have that “WOW” factor?
Most home sewers don’t have the basic foundation sewing skills. There are many types of stitches and seams in sewing. Knowing when, where and how to apply these stitches and seams will bring out the “WOW” factor in their sewing. Furthermore, home sewers don’t have the proper basic sewing techniques to complete their garments. I have seen many sewers either add too many steps or leave out important steps, while lacking consistency. By mastering basic sewing skills, your garment will look more professional and truly exceptional. Essentially, every sewing project will incorporate all of your basic sewing techniques.
Secondly, most sewers don’t have the proper sewing tools, sewing feet attachments and sewing machines. It is so important to have the right tools, equipment, and machines to get the job done right. There are many sewing tools and sewing feet to help make your sewing more refined. Having the right sewing feet can really help give your garment a cleaner look and finish. It is also important to have the right sewing machines that meet your needs…
IS THE FASHION INDUSTRY A CUT-THROAT BUSINESS?
In my personal experience, having been in this business for nearly three decades, I have seen the best and the worst sides of the fashion industry. From the designer’s perspective, there are a small number of insecure designers in North America who go around and backstab their rivals and competitors. This is a common practice to get ahead in North America. Yes, there are some petty designers who just want to stomp over everyone to get their brand recognition. Luckily, only a very small fraction of the individuals in the fashion business conduct themselves in this manner, in comparison to the whole garment industry. There are a lot more passionate and kind factory garment workers than there are cold-blooded, snobbish designers in the world.
Generally speaking, when dealing with garment manufacturing workers, I find 99% of the work force is quite helpful, cooperative and hard-working. Poverty is one of the biggest problems in most Asian countries. In every factory I have visited in each country, no matter how small or how big the size, garment factory workers always greeted me with a big smile on their faces and displayed great pride in their work. Even though wages are low and everyone is underpaid, garment factory workers are content and courteous because they truly appreciate one of the simple things in life, which is a job to support their family. During my visits, the owners/sales representatives told me that their employees have a choice to work or not to work…