What do Children’s Clothing Designers do? Where do Children’s Clothing Designers work? FS takes a look:
Children’s clothing designers design clothing for children and teens of all ages. Some may specialize in clothing for babies, while others may focus on fashions for tweens and teens. Children’s clothing designers may also design accessories, shoes, and sleepwear for kids of all ages.
Children’s Clothing Designer Job Description:
Children’s clothing designers do more than just design clothes. They are current on fashion trends, they manage production, they are sketch artists and/or proficient with computer-aided design (CAD), they sew, and they often create prototypes for clothing that will eventually be mass-produced for large retail stores. Children’s clothing designers are also involved in marketing and promotions, hiring and firing, and managing assistant designers and other lower level employees. Like fashion designers that work exclusively with adult fashions, children’s clothing designers regularly attend fashion shows and trade shows.
Children’s clothing designers work for small retail shops, boutiques, large retail chains, department stores, upscale shops, and exclusive designer studios. Many designers are also self-employed. Some sell their own designs, while others might sell children’s clothing by other designers, or a combination of both.
Children’s clothing designers work in every nook and cranny of the country. You can find children’s fashions in even the smallest towns in the U.S. For high-end children’s fashions, however, many children’s clothing designers work in fashion capitals such as New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, Dallas, and Atlanta.
Becoming a Children’s Clothing Designer:
It takes a lot to become a successful fashion designer. If you plan to work for a large company, you will need talent, solid, proven skills, and a degree in fashion design. Employers also look for experience in the industry, whether through an internship or a full-time job. If you plan to open your own boutique, you will need design and business skills. A degree in fashion design with a minor in business, marketing, or fashion merchandising is the usual path for aspiring business owners.
Children’s Clothing Designer Salaries:
Salaries for children’s clothing designers are included with salaries for fashion designers overall. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median annual wages for salaried fashion designers were $61,160 in May 2008. The middle 50 percent earned between $42,150 and $87,120 and the highest 10 percent earned more than $124,780. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $32,150.
It is important to keep in mind that many children’s clothing designers are self-employed. Some run their own studios while others work for multiple companies. Its tough to determine just how much these individuals earn. However, some of the most successful independent children’s clothing designers may earn six figures or more per year.
Job Trends for Children’s Clothing Designer:
Employment of fashion designers is expect to average 1 percent for the 2008-2018 decade. This means, competition will be keen for top positions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the best job opportunities will be in design firms that design mass-market clothing sold in department stores and retail chain stores, such as apparel wholesale firms.