Fashion Career Articles

hat’s the most common faux pas when it comes to fashion portfolios? Many design students and entry-level designers make the mistake of filling their portfolios with all of their favorite fashion illustrations, or photos of garments they’ve made. Companies don’t need to see tons of imaginative avant-garde sketches - who’s really going to wear that stuff? They just don’t sell! Don’t get me wrong, you should still show off some illustrations and your ability to develop a collection, but following an organized format is a much better approach to showing off your talents and skills.

Choose Your Dream Market

First thing’s first: decide what design market you want to break into, and make a list of companies that fit into that category. For example, if you would love to design for a better sportswear collection, such as Bebe, other choices on your list could include Armani Exchange, Anthropology, and DKNY. Then take some time to look into the companies you chose. What’s their design philosophy? Who is their customer? Where do they draw inspiration from, and what does their current collection look like?

Once you’re familiar with the type of companies you want to work for, think about what they want to see from you. You’ll need to show that you have an eye for style and can create a cohesive collection for a specific customer, and the company should be able to identify with the price point and styling of your designs.

Putting It All Together

In addition, most entry level or assistant designers start out doing computer flat sketches, assembling presentation boards, and assembling tech packs. Show your prospective employers that you’ve got each area covered! Develop a series of 3 to 6 small groups with 6 - 8 figures or complete outfits per group. Start off each group with an inspiration page: a collage of images, fabric swatches and other findings that help set the mood and introduce the color story for the group. Next come the fashion illustrations, which demonstrate how garments will look on a body and give you the opportunity to express how you would match up each piece to create coordinated outfits.

Following illustrations are flat sketches or floats (stylized flats). A “flat” is basically a black and white sketch of how a garment looks when laid flat. Flats must be clean, correctly proportioned, and include all garment details like: seams, topstitching, buttons and hardware. While some companies still sketch flats by hand, the vast majority produces them via computer so it is important that you are comfortable creating them.

Floats are more stylized versions of flat sketches that usually show some kind of movement in the garment. Alternating the use of flats and floats from group to group is a good way to add variety to the layout while showing your versatility. CAD artwork (flat sketches rendered with colors and fabrics) can also be incorporated into a group of your fashion illustrations or flats and can be added as a separate section.

Does Size Really Matter?

In a word: yes! Make sure your portfolio is a manageable size. Most likely, you’ll be showing your portfolio in an office and need to open it on a small or cluttered desk. Anything larger than 9″ x 12″ is just too large and unnecessary. I remember making my first portfolio 11″ x 17″ (the advice of a college professor, believe it or not). As you can imagine, it was not practical at all - I even recall one interview in a small office where I had to present my portfolio from my lap!

That being said, by following these guidelines, you’ll be sure to create a kick butt portfolio that will get your talents noticed and give you a competitive edge amongst other candidates!