PPD1

As part of the PPD1 brief we are to research a few jobs in the fashion industry and see what interests us. I am actually going to start on the jobs that i know little about to broaden my knowledge and then look further into the jobs i know a bit more about and think i will be more suited to.

LAY PLANNER: This persons job would be to decide how patterns are laid on fabric trying to minimize waste and save money on fabrics. This used to be done by hand and measured by eye before the development of CAD. Using a computer to work this out saves on a lot of space in a factory, but doesn't require as skilled person to do the job.

COOL HUNTER: This is someone who constantly looks for something new, and will daily upload ideas, products, pieces of art, design, culture and technology. an example of this is coolhunting.com. They investigate cutting edge trends, fashions and ideas and then sells them on as market research to companies who will then generate ideas from them.

SAMPLE MACHINIST: this is someone who will work alongside a designer and techs to make up the first sample of a garment. after that production sequences can be finalized and garments can be adjusted if needs be. They require fantastic sewing skills, both on machine and by hand, and need to be fast and precise. They need good fabric knowledge and must know different sewing techniques. 

GARMENT TECHNOLOGISTS: The garment technologist would be involved in choosing an appropriate fabric and design, which will be in budget. They would then work with the pattern graders to oversee the sizing, fitting and testing of the pre-production garments. A garment technologist would also analyse product returns and faults.

FASHION DESIGNER: Fashion designers need to be able to not only draw their designs but produce samples using technical skills.

 

Fashion designers can design items of clothing for a wide range of stores, from everyday high-street chains to exclusive design houses. They may specialise in designing men’s, women’s or children’s wear.

 

A fashion designer may spend their time doing the following:

 

·      collecting ideas and looking for trends

·      sketching ideas or using a computer programme to draw designs

·      developing ideas into patterns and making samples

Hours are really long and designers may find it really hard to switch off as they are constantly looking for ideas and inspiration. a starting salary is sometimes as low as £12000 but an experienced designer usually earns over £22000 and that can increase to endless amounts if you become famous!

After researching different Jobs in the fashion industry i think i will be more suited to a fashion designer, although i'm sure everyone will think that at this stage! i know i have a lot more to learn and i may find that i'm really good at a skill that will lead me to a different career within fashion. And i know there is so many more jobs in the fashion industry than i have looked at here, but it definitely has given me an insight.