If you’re looking to become a jewellery designer, there are plenty of ways to go about achieving your goal. While there’s no one “right” way to ensure success, there are several early career options for aspiring designers who are looking to make their mark on the jewellery industry. How do you decide which route to take?

The best way to become a jewellery designer will be based on your skills, needs, resources and personality. What works for one person might not be the best plan for you and vice versa.

When you are starting a business in a new field, it is an important time to take stock of who you are and what you have to offer. In doing so, you’ll be able to develop an understanding of the best path to success for your (jewellery) career.

In this article, we will show you how you can discover four paths to become a jewellery designer and how to understand which process will be the right one for you.

1. The Traditional Jewellery Maker Path

For many years, the best way to become a...

Working with clothing manufacturers overseas is a natural progression for many fashion brands. The move is often necessitated by two main factors - a need for larger volume production or a necessity to reduce costs and increase margins.

Finding clothing manufacturers overseas or any fashion manufacturers for that matter has got easier over the last few years. There has been an influx of multiple online fashion manufacturing directories focusing on different areas and verticals of the fashion industry. Yet, working farther away is not got much easier.

It is not impossible either! It is important to go into these new relationships and make this big change with eyes fully open.

Many fashion brands make the mistake of getting excited by the potential savings they will make by moving their production offshore, and neglect to see the obstacles and challenges such a move will instigate.

No challenge is insurmountable, but choosing not to recognise it early enough and deal with, will o...

Buying ethical clothing and talking about ethical fashion has become the "in" thing of our generation. But what does it mean? What makes clothes ethical? Few ask the question let alone look into the process and meaning of this modern-day term so many feel so passionate about. The truth is, ethical clothing is not something that starts and ends with the designing and sewing of them. It's important that the actions before and after the actual creation process are also ethical. What does that mean exactly?

"Ethical clothing" can refer to many different aspects of production. It can mean that the materials used for manufacturing those clothes have been grown in an organic fashion. It could also mean that the people who are creating those clothes are working in adequate conditions.

But it could also refer to the actual workers who are growing the cotton crops used for making the clothes, and their work conditions.

Read more about ethical manufacturing here.

What can you do to ensure th...

The rise of cruelty-free fashion and beauty brands is apparent and all around us. Over the last few years, keen followers of fashion, no doubt would have noticed a sharp increase in consumers seeking more conscious fashion choices.

For many, the search led them to nowhere. Others chose to do something it and launched their own brands in this increasingly popular product niche.

The poor state of the planet we live in is highlighted daily. No longer do we witness natural disasters from a safe distance. More and more of us experience first-hand or know of someone who has been directly affected by such climate change provoked calamities.

Most causes point to the vast amount of land, claimed through (mostly) deforestation in order to make it suitable for growing crops that will feed the animals. According to a study done by the Harvard University approved in 2013, around 30% of the worlds ice-free surface land is farmed to support the feeding of chickens, pigs and cattle that we consume....

Sustainable fashion terminology can be confusing to most. Like many other industries, fashion is shaped by economic and political forces. It is like a living organism – always evolving and changing. I'm sure – like me – you must find it hard to keep up with all the terminology used by industry insiders. Not only are there new words and labels emerging, but often they overlap in meaning and it is confusing to know what they all mean exactly.

So, here is a handy guide that will clear up the confusion. Even help you understand, if you are in fashion, what you should look out for and stand for.

Conscious Fashion

Conscious fashion is a catch-all term. It is often used by people to imply “sustainability”, “ethical” practices or “eco”. Some brands use the name to imply “mindful” and “purposeful” and in fact even use it as part of the brand name. They don’t always have to be a sustainable fashion brand, though some may be. It is best to check for more information on their website and even c...

Fashion Trend Forecasting agencies' foresight into future trends is not limited to predicting the colours and materials that will be popular over the next two years. Forecasters also delve into the lifestyles and buying habits of your brands' consumer to gain insight into their present values and future desires. Let's take a look at what these agencies do and why they are important.

What is Fashion Trend Forecasting?

Fashion forecasting is the technique of predicting buying habits and moods of the consumers. It includes the prediction or forecasting of colours, fabrics, textures, and various other styles that are going to be presented on the runway and will be in the stores for the upcoming seasons.

What are the Types of Fashion Forecasting?

Short-term: This is used by merchandisers, production managers or products developers to generate style directions and to shape collections. Most apparel companies these days subscribe to the services which easily provides them with reports ...

A fashion Lookbook is a catalogue of well-styled images that convey the essence of your brand through creative storytelling.

Creating your fashion Lookbook should be a natural occurrence for a creative. Wanting to tell your story and market your products to the public is all part of building your brand.

Brand building is all about weaving stories to engage your audience.

In the highly visual world of fashion, how you communicate your design ideas is extremely important.

Once you have perfected the design process, product development and sample making, your marketing should begin in earnest. There are many eye-catching ways to entice buyers, press and customers but the most effective is a Lookbook.

With this fashion catalogue of well-styled images, you will be in a better position to sell yourself in a professional manner. The lookbook conveys the essence of your brand through creative storytelling and works in a multi-functional way. It shows your products on models, in a stylised...

Ever wondered how top fashion designers manage to create multiple collections per year? Season after season, year after year, seemingly never running out of ideas. It can look like designers have pre-agreed on a theme and are just presenting variations of it. Truth is, fashion inspiration is behind it all!

Fashion inspiration comes from various sources. Its influence can transcend time, geographical location and then manifest itself everywhere. It is the outcome of creative research, which in turn is an essential part of the design process. It is the sourcing of and collection of ideas prior to design.

Once you have defined your subject, the research you undertake should be experimental and investigative. It is an essential tool in the creative process and will provide information, inspiration and creative direction, as well as a narrative to your collection.

Gathering information, to nourish your mind and to inspire your next collection, can easily be done by viewing myriad selecti...

QUESTION:

I have an idea for a clothing fashion brand but I don’t know where to start. What should be my step 1 that’s the most important to do at the start?

Anna from Madrid

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3RDVZtY-0w[/embed]

What a great question!

Your first step needs to be checking if there is a market for your idea? Most businesses fail because the founder/ designer wakes up with an idea that they think is amazing and become focused on bringing it to market, before checking if the market wants it or even needs it.

So your number 1 step to start a fashion brand should be to validate your idea.

Do some research online and by going to shops (if you live in a location where you can easily visit shops) and make a list of your potential competitors.

• Make a note of who they are and why you consider them competitors?
• What products do they have that your potential future product will compete with? Why? How would your product idea be similar or different from theirs?
• A
...

QUESTION:

I want to start my own clothing brand and I’d like to start working on the designs but I can’t sketch. I know exactly what I want to create but not sure how I’ll communicate my ideas on paper to the people I will work with. I can trace but I’m scared that’ll lead to copyright issues. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Alice, Belgium

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHuUnzyxGMU&t=36s[/embed]

Hi Alice,

Firstly - you should know that many famous designers can’t draw either. A great example is Paul Smith who openly has spoken about not being able to draw.

But learning how to communicate your designs and draw is just a skill that, with practice, can be acquired and improved on.

Drawings and sketches do not have to be perfect.

What is more important is that they communicate the elements and ideas that are important to you and the design.

Another useful and practical way to communicate your designs is to use reference images that contain the elements you...