Career Comparison: Fashion Designer vs Fashion Stylist

Most people who want to pursue a design course in order to enter the creative field of fashion tend to get grossly confused when asked if they want to become a fashion designer or stylist.

To put it plainly both these job profiles are very different from each other but after adequate experience if one wants then he/she can easily switch his profile from a fashion designer to a stylist but doing it the other way around can be difficult.

As professionals, both fashion stylists as well as fashion designers conceptualise colours, textures along with designs to create some unique styles for their client or audience.

Explaining it in simple words, a fashion designer is a person who creates new clothes and is the hands and brain behind establishing a new fashion trend. On the hand, fashion stylists are people who study these fashion trends and select clothes and accessories to style models/celebrities for events, fashion shows as well as photoshoots.

Personality Traits

Fashion Designer	Stylist
Creative & Artistic Original and inventive Sensitivity to colors, shades and tones Ability to think in three-dimensions to translate into garments what they visualize Good communication Goal oriented Resilient Business acumen Interest in sketching Eye for detail Visual imagination Fashion conscious Persuasive Observant Understanding of market and customer lifestyle	Detailed knowledge about trends Original and inventive Sensitivity to colors, shades and tones Eye for detail Visual imagination Fashion conscious Persuasive Observant Understanding of market and customer lifestyle Visual accuracy Creativity Spoken and written communication Interpersonal skills Time management Problem-solving ability

What to study

In order to become a fashion stylist, candidates can pursue any of the below mentioned programmes:

• Advanced Diploma in Clothing Management, Fashion Designing, Textile Management, Apparel Management (3 year duration)
• Advanced Diploma in Fashion Designing, Apparel Merchandising (2 year duration)
• Diploma in Apparel Merchandising, Fashion Designing, Accessory Design, Garment Production Technology, Garment Quality Control (1 year)
• Certificate course in Garment Merchandising

However, one can also do fashion designing as a degree course and thereafter do a short term training programme in styling. In such courses aspirants are taught – history of fashion, sciences of textiles, visual merchandising as well as retail buying.

Candidates who want to become fashion designers can pursue any one of the courses mentioned below:

• Bachelors in Textile Design
• BDes Fashion Design
• Advanced Diploma in Clothing Management, Fashion Designing, Textile Management, Apparel Management (3 years)
• Advanced Diploma in Fashion Designing, Apparel Merchandising (2 years)
• Diploma in Apparel Merchandising, Fashion Designing, Accessory Design, Garment Production Technology, Garment Quality Control (1 year)
• College Diploma in Fashion Designing (1 year)
• Diploma in Apparel Design
• Diploma in Textile Design

Job profile

Fashion Designers:

Fashion designers are the minds and hands behind the fashion trends that we so eagerly follow each season. Fashion designers work to analyse consumer trends and thereafter design clothes, shoes, handbags and other accessories which they feel will appeal their target audience.

Fashion designers identify their forte and select a niche for themselves. Some of them design clothing range for children while others do the same for teenagers or professionals and some others may just specialise in wedding clothes and accessories.

Fashion designers work closely with manufacturers so that they can get the fabric as well as embellishments of their choice. Designers are involved in every stage of the production process of their new (clothing/accessory) line.

In this commercial era, designers also involve themselves in the advertising process of their clothing range. They work to organise fashion shows to properly market their clothes/shoes/accessories so that their target audience are informed about their work. They may also work with creative directors to create advertisements or plan fashion shows to market their clothing to the public.

Typically, the job of a fashion designer involves predicting fashion trends, sketching their ideas, selecting fabric/material for their creation and thereafter overseeing that the end result is as they had initially visualised.

Fashion designers do not normally have a 9 am- 6 pm duty. However, when an event/fashion show is coming up they work round the clock.

Fashion Stylists:

They are responsible for shortlisting as well as coordinating garments/accessories to plan the complete look for their client. Fashion stylists need to always be in sync with the latest as well as upcoming fashion trends.  

Fashion stylists need to select garments as well as accessories for models, actors or their other clientele. Apart from this, fashion stylists may also work to dress mannequins or their clients for photo shoots as well as retail store displays.

Even big stores hire fashion stylists to offer styling advice to their customers. Generally, clients hire a vast, creative team to stay in sync with the latest fashion trends. Such a team includes fashion stylists along with fashion designers, makeup artists, hair stylists as well as fashion photographers.

A very important part of a fashion stylist’s job profile is to study fashion trends and forecast fashion highs and lows for every season.

A typical working day for a fashion stylist may require them to attend meetings and thereafter head out to complete their styling assignments. Apart from this, stylists may even have to attend fashion shows and showrooms to study trends on a regular basis.

Fashion stylists also need to source accessories, garments and props. Apart from this, fashion stylists advise fashion photographers on which can be the most photographic locations for a particular shoot and they are also closely involved in selecting apt models, hair stylists and makeup artists to ensure that the overall aesthetic of a photoshoot are met.

Fashion stylists can seek employment with fashion houses, fashion publications, apparel companies or designers. However, after making a name for themselves they can also work as freelancers.

Salary

The starting salary offered to a fashion designer may vary as per the firm he/she joins. Here, the payscale would also differ if the fresh design graduate joins a renowned fashion designer or a commercial retail firm. As per PayScale.in the entry level salary package for a fashion designer may range between Rs 144,690 to Rs 618,716. PayScale.in also mentions: “The average pay for an Entry-Level Fashion Designer is Rs 303,087 per year” in India.

On the other hand, a fashion stylist can get a salary anywhere in the range from Rs 138,591 - Rs 1,357,412. PayScale.com mentions that in India “A Fashion Stylist earns an average salary of Rs 280,000 per year”.