It is crucial for designers to have a well-defined, distinctive and consistent brand identity that resonates with the target consumer. This ranges from the creative identity of the designer to the commercial identity of the store and the visual identity of the communication strategy across all touchpoints while leveraging new emerging channels such as social media and influencers.

Creativity, balanced with analytical skills, as well as intuition, helps the designer create novelty in a sea of ​​similarity.

The evolution of the fashion designer on a global scale has been quite interesting over the past few years. We have seen the industry move towards the term “creative director” rather than fashion designer. The Creative Director designs and oversees the visual identity or language of collections to store design and digital branding, to provide a consistent image to the consumer. He must also make informed decisions based on the data provided by the various units.

Sell ​​what you can make or make what you can sell? Finding the right balance is essential. Doing what you can sell being the least risky source of income, balanced against selling what you can do to the consumer looking for novelty and innovation. Sometimes consumers don’t know they want a particular design until it’s created.

Skill sets

Unlike in the West, where graduates tend to join an existing brand, in India students tend to join a family business or go into entrepreneurship. Therefore, they require a balance between creativity and business acumen.

While fashion design is already quite heavy in terms of research and technical skills of drawing, cutting, sewing, it also requires soft skills such as communication, negotiation and leadership.

Agility and adaptability are essential for sustainable competitive advantage in this dynamic industry. For example, many successful designers are familiar with the different tiers of the market and tap into them with brand leverage by creating new sub-brands at other entry points, or branching out into appliances or accessories. The same goes for fashion business and fashion design students.

Today, fashion design students take a holistic view of most aspects of business to understand how everything is interrelated and works as a whole. For example, merchandising guides design decisions or consumer intelligence helps color choices.

The pandemic has catalyzed what was already happening in terms of positive changes: sustainability and circularity, technological advances and innovation, but above all, the movement towards more responsibility on the part of consumers and companies. This means that the fashion designer must now make conscious and informed decisions regarding the entire supply chain.

Fashion design is not only about creativity, but also about business acumen.

The author is Director of Education, Istituto Marangoni