How to Become a Freelance Fashion Designer

Getting Started equally a Way Freelancer

What is Fashion Freelancing?

A freelancer is characterized as someone who is self-employed and non committed to an employer long-term. And so, a Fashion Freelancer could be someone who offers custom services to private clients or someone who contracts projects with larger companies. In any case, a Mode Freelancer is providing a specific way-based skill to the marketplace.

When I first started freelancing I really couldn't sympathize how I would be able to build a client base. I didn't remember there would exist that many brands/people in need of a Tech Pack or Technical Sketches. Boy, was I wrong! The Freelance Manner community is strong and has a bounty of potential clients in demand of services just similar these. So, if like me y'all're not sure how your skill will translate to freelancing, proceed reading. There are then many opportunities to make a full-time income freelancing in the manner industry!

FREELANCE JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Near every sector in the wearing apparel manufacture can be done independently equally a contractor or freelancer. Here are some ideas of different manner freelance chore opportunties that yous can explore:

Patternmaking: Creating and troubleshooting custom patterns for design developers or way make startups
Technical Design: Creating Tech Packs, Technical Flats (CAD), or assisting with Production Development
Sourcing: Curating fabric and trims for clients, or interim as a curated location (store) for purchasing unique fabrics/trims
Illustration: Traditional mode illustrations for the purpose of art or presentation, Technical Flats (CAD), schematics for a way garment or accessory (how to apply and/or features), or other product illustrations
Graphic Pattern: Create graphics for packaging, brand logos, other branding, or social media and website graphics
Agent / Liaison: Connect style brand startups to factories and suppliers
Autobus / Educator / Mentor: Piece of work with students or new graduates to educate them about the industry and give them industry experience
Marketing / Merchandising: This could firm a myriad of things such as a fashion branding expert, social media manager, store display merchandiser, and more
Sample Maker: This is one of the well-nigh in-demand jobs I have personally seen. Many startup brands desire to work with a local sample maker to get their garment perfected before going through multiple samples with a factory.
Design Tool Supplier: Creating and supplying digital and physical pattern tools to other freelancers or startups
Mode Designer: Assist a client in creating their collection before sending it off to a Technical Designer
Stylist: Work with photographers and private clients to curate wardrobe for special events and photoshoots
+ more! There'due south and so many opportunities for unique skills out there, so don't be afraid to experiment!

SERVICES

Here is a cursory list of some of the types of services that you might provide as one of the above professions to give y'all an idea of the area you might want to get into.

Technical Flats, CAD's, Fashion Flats (Technical Designer or Illustrator): Technical Flats are used as a function of the Tech Pack to illustrate how your garment is constructed
Colour Matching (Technical Designer, Quality Control, Colour Specialist): Colour matching is vital for garment production and decoration
Branding Boards (Graphic Designer, Merchandising, Style Designer): Branding boards are the backbone for creating a brand/collection and provide the aesthetic for the brand
Mood Boards (Fashion Designer): Mood boards are a creative chemical element to aid in creating the aesthetic for a specific look or collection
Tech Packs (Technical Designer): Tech Packs are the blueprint for how a specific garment is built
Print or Graphic Development (Technical Designer, Fashion Designer, Graphic Designer): Unique prints and graphics are adult for specific methods of decoration
Fashion Illustration (Manner Designer, Illustrator): A creative and/or artistic illustration usually used for presentation
Social Media (Merchandiser, Marketer, Graphic Designer): Now more than ever having quality graphics and content for social media are vital parts of building and marketing a fashion brand
+ more!

How to Notice Clients

Information technology'due south easiest to notice clients by first starting out on a platform where people are already searching for your services. It's a nifty fashion to build a customer base and refine your services. You'll spend less time searching for clients and more time getting jobs.

The most important nugget to have in order to get leads is a portfolio or examples of your work. For Technical Designers this tin can exist quite tricky! I take a full post on what my ideal portfolio would await like, but I'chiliad still trying to discover the perfect solution. What's well-nigh important is just to have examples of the work that yous want to do (ie. the projects y'all well-nigh enjoyed) in order to show clients what you offer. Your portfolio is an opportunity to show off your creativity, so recall outside the box for ways to prove off your skills.

Next, I highly recommend ramping up your social media and website presence. If you don't own a website, consider starting ane! I too talk about free ways to start a website in that commodity I just linked. Why is it so of import to take a website? Because SEO is goint to exist one of the biggest factors in driving potential clients to you. Recall virtually information technology… When a potential client is in need of a service where practice they go? Yup, that's right. Google. If your site is ranking on the first page of Google, and then you lot're going to have a lot more clients reach out to y'all. Also, having a LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, etc. is a nifty way to notice industry connections and get referrals from young man freelancers. You can also use social media to share resource with your clients and provide them with even more value! Which we all know is the #i fashion to surprise and delight your clients.

Yous may also consider doing contract work. I work with a hiring agency who will ship me opportunities for three-half dozen month contracts with larger companies who don't need a full-time hire. You tin can also sometimes find freelance/contract opportunities and clients through mode-specific job list sites like these:

Fashion Incubator Forum
WWD Career Listings
And don't overlook traditional avenues such equally: LinkedIn, Facebook, Pallyshare, Indeed, etc.

FREELANCING CHANNELS

There are several methods to consider when starting your freelance career. You can choose i or more of these methods to get started.

In person – Finding clients through group meetings, mutuals, or tradeshows
Online – Using your own website to service clients
Platform – Using someone elses platform to find and serve clients

Choosing which option is best for y'all will depend on how you work and your personality type. For me, I started out on a freelance platform because I was still working a nine-5 and so it was much easier for me to manage fifty-fifty though I was paying a 20% cut of earnings to the platform. I also knew I, as an introvert, wouldn't do as well at in-person client work (although I did exercise some hither and at that place). I learned that in-person customer piece of work took upwardly fashion more fourth dimension and simply wasn't as convenient.

At that place are pros and cons to each then you but have to decide what'south right for yous. I somewhen decided to switch to hosting all my client work through my own site because the xx% cut was no longer worth it to me. I was able to spend less on a CRM and I already had congenital a client base of operations through Instagram and the platform I was freelancing on.

FASHION FREELANCING PLATFORMS

Here are some freelancing platforms with clients who are looking for fashion work:

Fiverr
Upwork
Desinder

Freelance platforms are peachy because they have intendance of all of the payment and provide you with a lot of security. However, that security comes at a price. Typically a freelance platform will take a cut of your earnings or you will pay a membership fee. Depending on where you lot're at in your career, starting out on a freelancing platform may be a neat opportunity for you. It certainly was for me when I first got started.

MY FIVERR Experience

Every bit you may know, I got started freelancing on the platform Fiverr. So, I wanted to give you a little behind the scenes of my personal feel so that you can get an idea of if working through a freelance platform is right for y'all.

Hither's a petty groundwork…

Back in 2015, fresh out of Academy, I was deep in the throws of searching for task opportunities. The chore application and interview process took a lot longer than I thought information technology would, so I decided to start freelancing on the side to build my portfolio (and earn some cash). I had seen a friend post about joining Fiverr so I took a look and joined up too! Dorsum and so, Fiverr was built on the premise that each service only costed $5. There were ways around this, of class, by charging additionally for certain file types or per cartoon.

I listed a few services and waited for the orders to come in. Around the same time I likewise joined Upwork, yet I never gravitated to information technology as a platform. I preferred Fiverr because clients could reach out to me vs. me having to bid for jobs. (Remember those pros and cons I was talking about? Every platform is unlike so do your research and try them out until yous detect the right fit for you!)

I had a few orders before I took on a full fourth dimension position as an Assistant Technical Designer and connected to freelance through the platform. In 2016 I used the portfolio I had garnered from working on Fiverr to be promoted to Illustrator at the same company. I somewhen started Points of Measure and moved my freelance services independently to my own site.

I really enjoyed my time using Fiverr especially considering of their analytics feature. They have the time to compile your data so you tin keep rail of your goals and achievements. Past using those stats, I was able to provide solid numbers to support my resume and portfolio and land jobs in the future (interviewers love those numbers!). I even include those stats as a part of my portfolio to this 24-hour interval!

My thoughts and recommendations…

Fiverr and other freelance platforms are an amazing style for beginners to gain experience and build a client base.
Working with clients from all over the world teaches yous valuable lessons in working through language barriers and providing exceptional customer service.
Providing different services allows you to experiment with what you want to do. It as well helps you get a amend understanding of your process and pricing.
Freelance platforms give you security (in getting paid) without having to pay for expensive software or awkward payment collection emails.
Freelance platforms do take a cutting (or require a membership fee) so you'll have to make up one's mind for yourself when the correct time is to strike out on your own.
Platforms like Fiverr devalue the work of freelancers with competitive pricing. Retrieve that clients become what they pay for, so if they want to go somewhere else to pay less, that's OK. Know your pricing and stick to it. You lot're in control of pricing your services, so don't undersell yourself!
A freelance platform that provides you with analytics and reviews is incredibly valuable to the future of your career. Numbers don't lie!

That'due south it for this section! I hope this gave you lot the confidence to start exploring the different Fashion Freelance opportunities available to you. I'll come across you next week for Section 2! If you want to become a reminder when it launches, be certain to subscribe.