If you have always wanted a career as a fashion designer but either cannot afford to go to University, or just don't want to spend three to four years at college before doing so, don’t be disheartened as a degree is not required to break into the profession.

If you really have a raw talent, you are willing to work hard and you have picked up the basic skills necessary to secure an entry-level position in the fashion industry, there's a good chance you'll be able to make it without a degree!

A great example of a designer who went from a New York staple to fashion legend, as he took the lofty reins as the creative director at Balenciaga, was Alexander Wang. Wang was actually a Parson’s Fashion School of Design dropout!

Many of today’s renowned designers DO have degrees but often in entirely different areas. Commes des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo studied art and literature and Raf Simons was on his way to becoming an industrial furniture designer. While the...

Fashion designers create all the clothing and accessories in the world purchased every year by consumers. Fashion designers study fashion trends, design all the clothing and accessories, pattern cut, select colours and fabrics, make up or oversee the final production of their designs. 

Fashion designers work extremely hard and need to be good at working with teams of people. As a young designer into the industry you will often work in a supporting role to the head designers as you learn the basics of the industry and become accustom to your trade.

This design process from design concept to final production takes many months.

As a young designer you will need to learn how researching current fashion trends and make predictions of future trends. Sometimes you will need to do your own research while other times you will learn how to use trend reports published by fashion industry trade groups. Trend reports let you know what styles, colours and fabrics will be popular for a...