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What is It Like To Be a Fashion Design Major?

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Marist chapter.

“Oh… that’s such an easy major, literally a walk in the park.”

“I can do that in five minutes, that’s not hard at all.”

“Literally, my major is harder than yours…”

Source: W Magazine

No , no, no, no… nooooo. Being in a fashion design program is definitely not the “easiest” major out here. These are just a few of the complete inaccurate assumptions that I’ve heard from some people around on the Marist College campus.

Yes, it’s probably easy for some people to make a quick presumption about what it’s like to create fashion or even redesign fashions that are already out there. HOWEVER, being a fashion design major isn’t all that lavish and easy. It’s actually quite a tough, relatively long, stressful and sometimes confusing process before you even start what you want to work on or even know how or where to begin.

So what is it really like? Well… as a designer you get trained to have an eye for a sense of style. What makes outfits look so put together? Why does a certain fabric only go with this specific fabric and not another? These are just a few questions you have to learn how to answer when illustrating any design or even creating it with fabrics. But these questions aren’t trying to limit you: they make you think even more outside the box or even change your concept, which is never a bad thing. Pretty much you just start from the bottom, from the very basics, and slowly making your way to the top, to incorporate the finest details in your design.

Source: Gyfcat

To become a designer…

I’ve learned few things in the past couple of years about what it really takes to be a part of this whole other world and most people don’t realize it until later…if you want to create anything, you need to think bigger. Start off small and work your way up into creating something that you could potentially see almost anywhere.

Source: Patrick Leger

It all starts with your ideas and having fun with it. Sketch it out and then think about the technicality of how any garment could come alive. There are many problems that can arise while trying to make your idea come to life, which is all apart of the process of whether it can actually be made or not. Once you’re in the fashion world designing, it’s what you’re going to be doing most of the time and it’s a wonderful process as long as you’re having fun with it! I always think, “Go big or go home.”

Learning to accept failure is a big thing that everyone in the design program needs to learn how to cope with. It’s kind of like how to, “forgive and forget.” You just need to learn how you can improve on what you are trying to do or even coming up with something new.

Learning to manage your time wisely is SUPER important. This isn’t something you can work on in a few hours and say you’re done. You have to keep working on it until you feel like you’re getting it right or if your professor(s) are saying that you’re headed in the right direction. This program is designed to take time, and keep working on it 24/7. It’s pretty much your job: to learn and to create.

Lastly, you must learn to accept criticism, not just from your professors but from your peers as well. These are the people who are going to help you see your vision even more clearly than you originally did. They can even help you improve on any ideas you were thinking of changing during your process, or better yet, change your whole idea completely and have something better and new to show! I know criticism can be something tough to get, but the more you get, the better for you because it helps to motivate you and to make you think of things you wouldn’t have thought of in the first place!

These are just a few of the things of what it takes and what its like to be a fashion design major! Good luck and let your creativity shine bright!

Source: Gifer

 

I'm always lost in my thoughts, but I do what makes my soul happy!