If you’ve landed on this article page, you’re probably searching for a
good business idea—an idea that’s light on the pocket but heavy on
returns, promising both a fulfilling journey and potential profit.
|
How
to be a successful Fashion Designer in Nigeria
A fashion designer is one who gives shape to his creativity by
putting down those designs on paper in the form of sketches,
selects the best suitable and fashionable material or fabric and
pattern to make it a reality and the fabric is later sewed as
per the designer’s instructions. You may have to start playing
the hardball, by using your talent and creativity appropriately,
if you want to stay in this glamorous world. A fashion designer
needs to be pro at his/her work.
Are you really passionate about making your career in Fashion
Designing? An artistic attitude and keeping tab of fashion
trends are a few traits needed to be successful in this field.
The fashion industry offers a plethora of opportunities to
specialize; some of them are listed below:
Types of Fashion Designer
Footwear Designer – Specialized designer that designs footwear
like shoes, sandals, boots. There is a good market for designers
who can invent designs, and use the modern technologies like
light weight material.
Accessory Designer –The designers who invent new and attractive
accessory designs like fancy handbags, belts, suitcases,
scarves, hays, eye wear and hosiery items.
Costume Designer – Costume Designers, design and research
costumes for the artists involved in
performing arts like television artists, motion picture
artists, stage artists to name a few.
Dress or Clothing Designer –The designers design, new creative
designs for men, women and children apparels for different
occasions.
Role of a Fashion Designer
A fashion designer needs to study current fashion trend,
consumer requirement and market trends. On the basis of this
research work they may be asked to produce reports predicting
the future fashion trends.
The fashion designers as a team have to produce designs in the
form of sketches and to create prototypes by using inexpensive
material or fabric.
Fashion designers have to prepare sketches of their design via,
Computer aided design (CAD) software which gives them a virtual
environment to work.
Fashion designers visit trade shows, manufacturers, market, etc.
to get the right fabric for their design.
Fashion Designers displays created samples in front of editors,
creative directors and the people of fashion world by fashion
shows and model ramp walks.
Fashion designers are responsible for the final check of the
produced product before the launch.
You should believe that you can get an edge over the other
fashion designers with your go getter attitude.
Skills Required to be a Fashion Designer
Creativity – A fashion designer should use unique ideas to
create designs with the use of materials and colors.
Technical Skills – A fashion designer should possess the
knowledge about the textiles, process, fabrics sewing and
pattern making.
Computer Knowledge – A fashion designer should be a whiz at the
computer. Knowledge of Computer Aided Design software is
mandatory.
Artistic Skill – A fashion designer should be able to produce
the designs in the form of sketch with the detailed work.
Detail Oriented – A fashion designer should have an eye for
detail, so as to
produce the sketch with the detailing which includes designing,
coloring or pattern making.
Decision Making – A fashion designer need to take decision
regarding design materials to give ensemble a unique look.
Team Player – A fashion designer should be a team player.
Fashion designing is an amazing career that you can chase in
Nigeria and become very successful if you have the right
information at your disposal. Fashion designing is an integral
aspect of the fashion business in Nigeria, and with the
country’s teeming population, it is very easy to make a good
living as a fashion designer in Nigeria.
Typically in Nigeria, fashion designers are able to design and
sew clothes for their clients. In other climes, fashion
designers typically stick to designing fashion styles while
leaving the sewing aspect to tailors and other professionals,
but in Nigeria, it is often more profitable as a young fashion
designer to design and sew the clothes to scale your business
faster.
Fashion Design Schools
There are a number of fashion schools that you can attend in
Nigeria to become a fashion designer. Most of these fashion
schools typically have different courses, programs, and syllabus
that will take you through the whole process of learning fashion
designing and sewing. It is advantageous to attend a fashion
design school because they are typically in touch with current
practices and standard operating procedures in the fashion
design industry.
However, fashion schools are typically expensive for the average
Nigerian. Their fees range anywhere from 150,000 Naira to as
much as over 1 million Naira. Therefore, if you are strapped for
cash, fashion design schools may not be the best option for you.
Learn Fashion Through Fashion Apprenticeships
Another amazing way you can learn fashion design in Nigeria is
by becoming an apprentice for fashion designers who are already
practicing. Nigeria, like other African countries, allows for
apprenticeships especially for artisans and people who are
looking to learn handiwork. It is a cheaper and more realistic
way for you to become a fashion designer in Nigeria.
To learn fashion design through the apprenticeship route, what
you need to do is to approach a fashion designer in your
community and indicate your interest in learning under them.
Typically, they have some requirements for apprentices who want
to learn under them. These requirements are usually fees that
most people can afford, so it should be pretty straightforward
to sign up.
It is important to state that when you are negotiating your
apprenticeship contract, you should make sure that both parties
understand when you are graduating. This is to avoid any clash
when you are ready to graduate and set up your own outfit.
Fashion Events and Industry Seminars: Fashion weeks, trade
shows, and industry seminars provide designers with
opportunities to immerse themselves in the latest trends and
network with industry professionals. Attending these events
offers firsthand exposure to emerging trends and fosters
collaboration and idea exchange.
Create new sketches every day
To be a successful fashion designer, you need to constantly
create new designs. When you first begin drawing, try to draw
every day and produce new ideas regularly. Even if your ideas
don't turn out the way you want, practicing can help you refine
your skills and develop a high-quality portfolio. As you fill
your sketchbooks with ideas for garments, accessories and
outfits, include color palettes, swatches of fabric and other
details you would use if you decided to manufacture each design.
One of the ways you can develop your skills as a fashion
designer is to look through your sketchbooks for design ideas
that you want to improve upon. Take your original design and
draw multiple iterations of it to brainstorm the most
attractive, trendy, flattering or interesting design. You can
also think about how you would adjust or style a garment to suit
different styles and audiences.
Build Your Portfolio
One integral thing you need to do on your journey to becoming a
fashion designer in Nigeria is building your portfolio. As you
start out, many people will not know your brand and
understandably, they may be skeptical about your competency. But
one quick way to make them trust your business is by showing
them your portfolio.
Your portfolio is a showcase of previous jobs that you have done
for previous clients. And as someone who is just starting out,
you might find that it’s difficult to build a portfolio because
people don’t trust you yet. To circumvent this, you might have
to create a few designs free of charge for family and friends to
build your portfolio.
If you want to become a successful fashion designer in Nigeria,
you have to look for a way to put your business in the faces of
people who are looking to patronise businesses like yours. The
only way to achieve that is by promoting your fashion design
businesses rigorously.
As a new fashion designer who has just established a fashion
outfit, the goal is to make sure that as many people as possible
in your target audience get to hear about your business. To
achieve that, you need to employ different promotional tactics
including the following:
Take Advantage Of Social Media
There are more than 2.23 billion users on Facebook, 1 billion
users on Instagram, and 335 million users on Twitter. This means
your customers are hanging out on social media.
It’s increasingly becoming impossible to grow your sales and
customer base without a social media presence. Today’s
businesses need to be savvy on social media because that’s where
their customers are. A strong social media presence is one of
the cheap ways to promote your business as an entrepreneur.
Pursuing fashion design independently takes effort and
commitment, but it can be a satisfying path for people who are
self-motivated and passionate.
Get our Practical Guide on How to be a Fashion Designer in Nigeria. In this Guide, we explore the key steps you should take to enter the fashion design industry without spending extra time in the classroom. By following these tips and approaches, aspiring Nigerian fashion designers can navigate the ever-changing landscape of fashion trends with confidence and creativity, creating designs that captivate audiences, drive sales, and leave a lasting impression in the industry.
|
