Many things are required when it comes to running a clothing business. But the most important of them all is hiring a clothing designer. Having one can determine the success of your business and how far your brand can go. All you need to do is find one. The Iconic Apparel House is glad to help you with it. So hang tight and learn these steps on how to find one.
What is a clothing designer?
A clothing designer is a designer who is involved in all of the production aspects of a clothing line. Hiring one can go a long way for your clothing brand.
Currently, there are two types of designers that you can hire. You can hire a full-time designer or a freelance designer who would work from their home.
Where to Find Professional Clothing Designers?
There are three ways to find designers for your clothing business.
Searching on the Internet
You can find talented and creative designers through freelancing websites and Internet forums. However, you must be careful, because unfortunately, there are as many time wasters as there are professional designers of clothing.
Through Referrals
Another approach to finding a designer is by speaking to people in the clothing industry. Some may be able to give you the contacts they’ve worked with and have found to be very beneficial.
Through a consultant
If you’re not comfortable searching on freelance websites and talking to people, you can always hire an experienced professional to help you look for a professional designer. A consultant probably has experience in the industry, so they know what to look for in a creative designer.
How to Hire a Clothing Designer for your Clothing Brand
Hiring the right person for the job will be tricky. It’s never a black and white area when you have to choose the right designer for your business as there are many talented individuals in the industry ready to work. So we’ve explained the hiring part into these simple steps.
Set a Budget
The first thing to consider when hiring a clothing designer is your budget. How much can you afford? What’s the market rate per design for a professional designer? You have to set a budget for this part because if you don’t, then most likely you’ll run out of money to spare for other parts of your business.
Education, Training and Experience
Though the educational qualification isn’t a determining factor when judging the competence of a designer. We recommend that you go for the one who had enough training and education to qualify as adesigner.
Also, you should consider the amount of experience the designer has. An experienced one should have worked on different projects for several years, therefore, knows how to handle challenges and difficult tasks.
The Designer’s Portfolio
A designer’s portfolio is crucial when considering hiring a designer. Think of it as their “degree” or “certificate” of fashion designing. It should contain samples of the designer’s best jobs. Make sure to have a good look at the designer’s portfolio as it can show a lot about their knowledge, skills and creativity. Judging by the strength of these qualities will determine if the designer has what it takes to work for you.
Test the Designer
Before making the decision, you should test their skills by giving them short and relevant tasks. Ask them to make some sketches for example. This can help you judge their creative abilities further.
Get More Opinions
If you’re not an expert designer or you’re not using a consultant to hire a clothing designer, you should try to get second opinions. Preferably ask someone you know who happens to be an expert fashion designer before moving on to hire the designer.
Sign an agreement
When you’re satisfied with the designer’s competence, then you both should start coming to terms and conditions of the contract. A contract can help you and your designer to stay on the same page. It also provides security for both you and the designer. That’s why having a contract is very important as it protects your rights, be it intellectual property or copyright infringement.
Provide Additional Training and Support
Just because the clothing designer you hired may be talented on paper, it still doesn’t mean they’ll skyrocket your clothing business. Remember, the designer you hired is new to your business so, give the designer an orientation session and further training sessions. This will bring long-term value to your clothing business as the designer will get used to your brand. Also, make sure you answer their enquiries and questions promptly and give them the freedom of creativity.
The Iconic Apparel House
The Iconic Apparel House can be the designer that you’re looking for. We’ve designed and manufactured custom clothes for you to sell to your customers. We’ve worked with numerous brands across the world. So, contact us now and learn more about what we’re good at.
