Fashion design permeates our culture. Legendary fashion designers like Kenneth Cole and Calvin Klein's clothes can be seen not only on the fashionable hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas in an issue of Rolling Stone, but practically everywhere you look. The Peas cavort through a 16-page spread in an array of hip, tailored pieces, showing off their seamless blend of class and funk. An issue of Vogue featured Donald Trump's bride-to-be, Melania Knauss, in a $100,000 Christian Dior-designed wedding dress. So, it's not hard to find fashion, but is it hard to get into fashion?The Basics of Fashion Design
Magazine spreads, wedding gowns for real estate moguls' fiancées, and celebrity endorsements all sound lofty, but aspiring fashion designers should know that this kind of success is attainable if you're prepared to work hard. If you want an edge on the competition, remember that designers look for an apprentice with a two- or four-year degree from a fashion design program. While studying fashion design, you'll learn how to sketch figures and patterns before moving on to textiles and sewing. As you learn the craft, you'll soon start to see your own "look" emerge.
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Find Your Own Style
The National Association of Schools of Art and Design suggests that you see as much design and art as possible to inspire your own style. Think of some designers you admire. What kind of image do they project? Do you want to pursue associations of wealth and the high life, as P. Diddy has done with his Sean John line? Or do you click with the country-club, all-American look like Ralph Lauren's polo shirts and khakis? The more you observe the visual world around you, the more you can incorporate into your style.
Career Prospects
If you're thinking that you'd like to study fashion design, but don't have the ambition to be a household name, there are many career choices for graduates. Celebrities like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton often rely on personal stylists to give them a distinctive look that both the public and the paparazzi appreciate.
Of course, not every designer wants to be a name-dropped on the red carpet. Some do-it-yourselfers would rather remain on the indie scene and choose to sell their work through boutiques and Web sites. Others choose to pursue design opportunities with major brands like Gap or J. Crew.
Who knows where your designs could take you? Whether they appear in the pages of a magazine or on the bod of a movie star, you'll enjoy using your creative talent and original ideas with fashion design.
