What does a Fashion Designer actually do?

The short version

Fashion designers create clothing ranges — and in the UK that mostly means high-street brands and their suppliers, not couture. The real craft is tech packs, fittings, costing and factory communication; the sketching is a fraction of it.

The pitch: your work gets made and worn at scale. The catch: London-centric, internship-gated entry, and pay that lags the glamour for the first five years — plus AI is compressing the concept-sketching layer of the job.

Entry routes that actually work

• Fashion degree + internships — the industry hires through placements and graduate shows, not CV portals.
• Design assistant ladder — tech packs and CAD work, then up to designer.
• Technical routes — pattern cutting and garment technology are scarce, valued skills that pivot into design.