FASHION STUDENTS Archives - The Business of Fashion

“Journey of a Dress” – DVF Exhibit at LACMA

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Diane von Furstenburg’s ‘wrap dress’, the exhibit “Journey of a Dress” made it’s way to Los Angeles at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) January to May.

I headed over to LACMA a few weeks ago with a girlfriend and wanted to share my photos with you below.

While all of the dresses were fun to look at, I found myself more intrigued by Diane von Furstenburg as a woman in business. I was fascinated by her story and history as she made a name for herself in the fashion industry.

Did anyone else have a chance to view the exhibit? What did you think?

Fashion and Technology with Poshmark

When it comes to the business side of me, there’s two things to know – that I love fashion and I love technology. I’m quite the nerdy fashionista. So, when my girl friend told me about an app called Poshmark in November – I was beyond thrilled to check it out and I’ve been attending daily “Posh Parties” through my iPhone ever since!

Warning: Do not continue if you are trying to keep your shopping addiction in check!

What is Poshmark?

Poshmark is a free app available on iPhone or iPad that allows you to sell items from your closet and shop items from other women’s closets. You can often find great deals on gently used or new items that you’ve always wanted, but never wanted to pay full price for! Poshmark has three “Posh Parties” each day where you can share items from your closet or shop from other women’s closets. Sample parties in the past have been, “Marc Jacobs, Rebecca Minkoff & All Saints Party”, “Date Night Party”, and “Hot Handbags Party” – just to name a few.

What makes Poshmark so great?

For me, what makes Poshmark so great is the Poshmark community. I have only had great experiences with the ladies on Poshmark with whom I’ve bought from and sold to. I also attended a Poshmark meet up here in Los Angeles with my girl friend Winnie and had the opportunity to meet Poshmark’s CEO, Manish and Community Director, LyAnn – who happen to be some of the nicest people I’ve ever met! It was great to chat about Poshmark and meet a few new Poshmarkers as well over a glass of champagne.

How do I join Poshmark?

You can download the app for free on iPhone or iPad – or you can sign up directly from Poshmark’s website. (You will need the app to be able to sell items.) Here is a screen shot of what my profile looks like:

If you are already on Poshmark or are just signing up, please send me message and say “Hello”!

*I do have a few more invites available that I’m willing to share with you guys so you can get a $5 credit for your first purchase and I get a $5 credit too! Just use the code HNAAV when signing up. I only have a few left, so if it doesn’t work for you then it means someone else beat you to it! 😉

My Own Poshmark Closet Challenge:

So while I love fashion and shopping (online that is) – I absolutely cannot stand having a closet overflowing with clothes, shoes, and handbags! I am actually quite the minimalist believe it or not! I know, so ironic right? … The Minimalist Fashionista…. Even I can’t keep a straight face typing that! Ha! Anyway, it got me thinking – why don’t I get rid of almost everything in my closet on Poshmark and then every so often shop for a few new items. At the end of a season, when I’m done wearing the item I can sell it again on Poshmark to buy new items for the next season! That way I’m always recycling what I have and I only really end up spending the difference of what I bought the item for and what I end up selling it for. I already started the first round of cleaning out my closet so I’ll be posting it all in my Poshmark closet soon! Wish me luck and I’ll update you guys on how my plan of closet minimalism goes! 🙂

A Day in the Life of a Technical Designer

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: Raw Denim Jeans

So, it’s one thing to explain what a Technical Designer’s job description is, but I figured it would be more interesting (maybe?) to go into detail on what I do on a daily basis. Below I wrote down what I did yesterday at work, which is what a typical day is like for me.

9:15 AM :

I arrive at the office and check my email to see if the shit hit the fan since the previous day. 🙂

I am an Import Technical Designer and all of our factories and vendors are in China. So, with the time difference, they start replying to emails once we’re done for the day.

9:15 – 10:00 AM:

I answer emails and make a few urgent revisions to my tech packs.

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM:

I begin working on my tech packs, giving priority to those with a tight delivery.

Starting on a tech pack, I check over the sketch done by design and check it against the sample and the information that was given to me by my Technical Design Associate.

My first few tech packs that I was working on, the sketch didn’t match the pattern card or the sample, so I had to call design to figure out which was correct.

After I’ve made the revisions to the sketch, I move on and do my Sewing Details page in Illustrator. I call out all stitching and sewing information. You can see a sample Sewing Details page here.

We use WebPDM which makes doing tech packs WAY faster and easier. I upload my Sewing Details in WebPDM, and add label and hangtag information and placements to the tech pack.

The last page I work on is the BOM page. I list all of the fabrics along with the yields, trims, and packaging items and quantities. This is so the Coster knows everything this garment will need in production and get a cost on it.

After I have my completed tech pack, I generate the final product and email it out to production.

12:00 – 1:00 PM:

I have lunch at this yummy mexican restaurant that has really great lunch specials! 2 hard shell chicken tacos with rice and beans for $5.95 please! 🙂

1:00 – 4:00 PM:

Revisions, revisions, revisions. My revisions had been piling up, mainly due to the fact that they decided to change the fly stitching on a pair of jeans from a cross-over stitch to a regular double needle stitch. It was too difficult for the factory to execute in production which gave me a good 20 styles to revise. So, this is what I spent most of my afternoon doing.

4:00 – 6:00PM:

Back to my tech packs. I spend the rest of my day finishing up the rest of my tech packs and emailing them out. I get emailed a new list of buys, so I know that it starts all over again tomorrow morning! 🙂

So, there you have it! A typical day for me. If you would like me to go into further detail on anything, leave me a comment!

What is the Salary of a Fashion Designer?

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So, you’re passion is fashion design?

And now you’re wondering – what is the salary of a fashion designer?

A Fashion Designer’s salary is mainly based on three different factors – location, education/experience, and the type of company you are working for.

Location

The location of your new Fashion Design position makes all the difference in your salary. In the United States, most jobs in the fashion industry are going to be located in New York City or Los Angeles. Jobs in NYC usually pay more than in L.A., but it also costs significantly more to live in NYC. There are also jobs scattered throughout cities like Seattle, Dallas, Chicago, and Miami. Sometimes jobs in these areas can pay more than in Los Angeles or New York simply because its harder to recruit candidates to those locations. Based on my experience, the average Fashion Designer’s salary in Los Angeles is about $70,000. This doesn’t include any bonuses that a designer may receive in addition to their base salary because that number can vary greatly.
Education & Experience

Your education and experience in the industry also will influence your salary. The feeling I get in the industry in L.A. is that experience is given more importance over education. Most employers don’t really care whether you did a 2 year, 4 year, or dropped out before you finished your program, IF you have the experience. But, when exploring jobs in other areas such as NYC or Dallas, or the Midwest, I found that they were still very interested in the education I had received no matter how much experience I had. Starting out as an entry-level Fashion Designer (you will most likely be an assistant), your average salary will be about $30,000-$40,000. Once you have a few years experience and reach mid-level, you’re salary will be about $40,000 – $60,000. After you have over 7 years of experience, on average a Fashion Designer can make anywhere from $60,000 – $120,000. It is possible to make even more than that as well depending on the company you’re working for.
Type of Company

The type of company you work for will directly impact your salary. If you work at a smaller start-up company, your salary will be a lot less than if you work for an already established corporate company. Also, you may choose to freelance and work with many different companies. Freelancers usually charge more, but it usually evens out since the work is not always steady and you will have to pay for your own benefits.

What have you discovered about Fashion Designer salaries?