Finding a Freelance Fashion Designer
Do you have a great idea for a clothing collection but don’t know where to begin? Do you already have a brand but need extra help? Have you searched for ‘freelance fashion designer’ and only come up with ads and one actual person? It’s hard to know where to begin when looking for someone to bring your vision to life. Maybe you’re a boutique owner who wants to start your own collection. Maybe you’re a small company that doesn’t have the capacity to hire someone full time. Maybe you’re a large company that just needs extra help. Maybe you only have a couple pencil figure drawings scribbled on a napkin from a night out with friends. The right designer can take those and run with them.
Here’s what to look for when hiring a freelance fashion designer:
Does their portfolio include a style and look similar to what you’re looking for? A good fashion designer will be able to tailor their designs to appeal to your target customer but if you don’t like the look of any of their work, chances are you won’t like what they design for you.
How much experience does the person have? As with any job, the more experience the person has in the industry, the more skills and knowledge go into their work. This leads to more efficiency, designs that are well thought out, and less revisions.
What kinds of questions do they ask you? In the first interview, a good fashion designer will ask about your target customer, your competition, your aspirational brands, your price point, and find out more details about the project.
How is their communication? Since some or all of the job will probably be remote, you want to make sure you hire someone who is easy to communicate with and responds in a timely manner.
Do they have additional skills that are part of the project you want completed? Maybe you are wanting a blouse design and an embroidery artwork design for the blouse. Look for a designer that has experience doing both and you won’t have to hire more than one person.
Does the person have a good understanding of garment construction? Look at examples of their sketches that have construction call-outs. You may not understand what all the call-outs mean but if the person doesn’t have examples at all, beware. Garment construction is an important thing that fashion designers keep in mind when designing so they’re not designing something that is not able to be made or is too expensive to construct.
Do you like the person? It’s going to be hard working with someone you don’t and since you’re hiring, make sure you’re going to have a positive experience working together!
Other than a good old fashioned Google search, some places to find a freelance fashion designer would be LinkedIn, Upwork.com, or StyleCareers.com. Also, as you may have guessed, I am a freelance fashion designer and happy to discuss your project further if I look like the right fit for you! Go to my Contact section or click here, fill out the form, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.