Where Portfolio Are Used by Fashion Designers and Companies.

Showcasing portfolios to secure a task in the fashion industry is not a new concept. Mode Designers accept been sharing portfolios to land their dream job for years. However, there nevertheless appears to be questions effectually what goes into making a fashion blueprint portfolio. Well-nigh frequent questions asked are:

How long should a portfolio be?
Should a portfolio be showcased digitally or equally a tangible object you tin concur?
How many collections should you share?

We at Beyond Talent have a lot of experience when it comes to portfolios. Every bit specialists in style design, we know what makes a portfolio stand-out, look professional and leave a lasting impression to secure you the chore. To aid you lot fulfil your career ambitions, nosotros're here to offer tips for creating a mode designer portfolio for your adjacent chore. Hither's to edifice your all-time yet!

What is a style designer portfolio?

At that place are two types of portfolios and it'due south important the two don't get mixed up. At that place's your Personal Portfolio which showcases your total experience equally a mode designer and includes all the collections you're proud of. And then there's a Specific Portfolio which is what y'all gear up when you're applying for a role. This portfolio is tailored to the role you desire and is shared with the recruiter to see if you're the right candidate to be referred for an interview.

Here are some more details about the two types of portfolio:

Designer Portfolio blazon 1: Personal Portfolio

Your personal portfolio is what you lot accept to an interview. Information technology includes collections you take created during your time as a designer and demonstrates the skills you lot take perfected. You lot may specialise in i category, for example knitwear, which means your personal portfolio volition express this. Or if yous have feel in a variety of pattern and tendency areas this should be exhibited throughout.

Designer Portfolio type 2: Specific Portfolio

A specific portfolio is one that a recruiter or visitor may ask y'all to share afterward an initial give-and-take about a office. This portfolio is what yous create to help you secure an interview. It's non what you have to the interview. You need to showcase your all-time collections that reflect the type of function yous're going for. For example, if the position is for bailiwick of jersey, your specific portfolio volition testify your very best bailiwick of jersey pattern piece of work.

Now you know the type of way designer portfolio you're trying to create for your side by side job, let's get into the item about what each of them should and shouldn't include.

Create a fashion designer portfolio for your side by side job

Every manner portfolio is different, and they should exist different. Professional portfolios are at that place to showcase y'all, your ideas, your creativity and your vision. Make certain you express yourself and show your individual flair, however think to keep your work examples commercial too. The companies you're applying to volition demand to be confident your designs can exist produced and sold. But don't let this flatten your work. Make sure the real creative y'all yet shines through.

Every type of portfolio needs to follow the same format:

a brief introduction
concept mood boards
and your designs

If you're applying for a fast-mode role y'all should also include a technical drawing of a complicated item (such as a coat or trousers) to showcase your skill.

If you lot're after a Head Designer function then your portfolio volition of class exist dissimilar. As Caput Designers manage a team of designers (and don't design), your portfolio will need to testify how your team'due south terminal collections were created, and include catwalk and photoshoot images.

Here are more than details about each of the sections a Personal and Specific Portfolio should display:

1. Offset with a brief introduction

Don't make your introduction too long, work to a maximum of seven lines. It should explain the reason, purpose and inspiration behind your collections and what the reader of your portfolio can expect to find inside. If you're writing an introduction for your Personal Portfolio so it tin can include a flake more than about you as a designer – but don't get overboard with lots of text. Go on information technology brusque.

two. Include concept mood boards

Mood boards are important to explain the inspiration behind your collections. This will aid recruiters and companies see how yous work and how artistic you lot are. Include pictures, material swatches, drawings, and color and textile palettes. 1 or two pages dedicated to your concepts volition be suffice, anymore and your portfolio is at gamble of being likewise long.

A good instance of how to present a mood board in your portfolio

three. Showcase your way designs

Showcase your designs through loftier-quality drawings and photos of your last collections. Employ hand-drawn silhouettes, demonstrate how your designs wait when they're styled with other garments, and include inspirational images to bring the entire look and feel of your collection together.

For loftier-end luxury brands, employers will await to run into sketched silhouettes of your concluding designs. Nonetheless, fast-mode companies will also want to come across your designs created with Illustrator or InDesign, alongside your drawings.

It's essential you include your very best work when revealing your designs. This is what employers will be looking at to gauge whether your mode and skills are right for their company or non.

Left epitome: A very good example of manus drawings combined with Illustrator to show a final collection. Right image: sketches for a luxury brand.

4. Share technical drawings

Technical drawings exercise not accept to be included in your portfolio, however if y'all're applying for a fast mode function it's highly advised you lot do to stand out in a higher place other candidates. Technical drawings tin exist drawn by mitt, however it would be meliorate to provide drawings created in Illustrator or InDesign. This is because fast manner businesses require designers to provide extremely accurate designs to suppliers then they can prepare prototype samples. There's no betoken providing a simple technical blueprint; show off your best skills by demonstrating yous can draw more difficult specifications like coats, trousers, bags or shoes.

Left image: A very adept technical sketch fatigued by hand. Right epitome: A technical drawing created with Illustrator.

5. Continue your style portfolio to 10 pages long

The length of a fashion designer's portfolio for a job is a question asked a lot. There'southward no set rule, even so information technology's essential to non include too much. Your Personal Portfolio tin can exist whatever length y'all similar, but make sure you only include your almost contempo and very best work. A recruiter or potential employer will non exist interested in work you lot did over ten years ago. Your Specific Portfolio should merely be around x-13 pages long. It should exist extremely tailored to the role you're going for and yous should scarlet pick your elevation piece of work.

vi. Modify your portfolio for fast-fashion and luxury blueprint jobs

Whether you're applying for a fast-manner role with H&M or a task with luxury brand Gucci portfolios will need to follow the same format (as listed above). However, there are some considerable differences when it comes to how you nowadays your piece of work. These differences are:

Creating a portfolio for a fast-mode make

Your portfolio must shout 'commercial'. It's important to limited your creativity, yet commerciality is what fast-way companies will exist looking for. You need to show that y'all understand your target customer, the industry, and that your designs can exist produced on mass.

Showing your hand drawing skills of final silhouettes will exist appreciated, just displaying your final pieces using Illustrator or InDesign holds more importance every bit you'll be expected to use this software.

Technical drawing skills are besides a must. You lot, the designer, will be providing technical drawings to suppliers to enable them to produce paradigm samples, which and then go onto mass production.

Creating a portfolio for a luxury make

Luxury make portfolios should express tremendous creativity and flair. Notwithstanding, make sure you practice still prove an understanding of commerciality, as luxury fashion employers will want to visualise how your work will exist produced and sold.

Your drawings volition need to be beautifully mitt drawn and you'll need to clearly evidence your artistic pattern process. Inspiration and ideas behind your terminal designs are fundamental to whether your style and skills can work in-business firm with a luxury brand. You lot tin can show technical drawings, but these aren't essential as luxury businesses volition have technical designers to support you in taking your garment from design to production.

vii. Have an centre-catching front encompass and use colour

In that location'due south nothing worse than a portfolio with a blank front cover. Be artistic and make your portfolio stand out with a striking front end page. Yous want a recruiter and employer to feel impelled to open it. Information technology'southward essential your portfolios are total of colour likewise. Don't try and exist creative with blackness and white tones, color is what recruiters and businesses desire to encounter.

eight. Create a digital or online version of your portfolio

It's quite erstwhile fashioned to show your portfolio as a tangible book you lot tin concord in your paw, therefore it'due south best to create a digital or online book. That said, if you're extremely proud of your offline portfolio, exercise bring it to your interview to bear witness your potential employer. But make certain you have a digital version of it also.

9. Don't include photos of mannequins wearing your designs

Photos of mannequins don't look very professional or considered. Prove model shots or press shots to reveal your last collections. These expect much slicker.

Fill up every page in your portfolio too. Blank space doesn't look impressive. Pages that have been thought out volition translate much meliorate than pages that accept been put together at the last minute.

10. Always include your recent work

Employers won't exist interested to know almost what yous created x years ago, they want to know what you can do now. Show your experience from the past two years, anything later than this should be removed unless it's really relevant.

Think to merely send a snapshot of your way designer portfolio in the first instance – don't reveal your entire piece of work straight away. Ship a shorter version of your portfolio initially, and then if you're invited to the interview you tin reveal the full thing. It's skilful to concord something back as it keeps the interviewer surprised and engaged.

eleven. Never, ever leave your portfolio backside

Finally, your personal portfolio is your individual property. Don't e'er leave it behind. An interviewer should respect that and not inquire to keep your work. If they do, tell them you'll send a digital version over that includes highlights of your full fashion designer portfolio.

Good way portfolio examples

Nosotros at Across Talent encounter manner designer portfolios every 24-hour interval, even so equally they're the holding of our candidates we unfortunately tin't evidence you lot their work to inspire your own.

Worry not, nosotros've done some behind the scenes inquiry and institute some good fashion portfolio examples online. Below you'll find an explanation about why these portfolios volition stand out to recruiters and employers.

An middle-catching fashion mood board

Nosotros similar this mood board as information technology includes a mixture of hand-fatigued inspiration concepts aslope computer generated images. The designer's included a color palette and clearly explained her vision for her designs.

A well-thought out mood board that'due south artful to await at that includes colour palettes and hand-drawing.

A fashion drove that includes texture

Including colour palettes and fabrics in your final collections is a great way to bear witness how your garments will look. Hither's an case of a designer who is showing off their trend enquiry using colour to bring their drove to life.

A final collection that demonstrates called colour palette and fabrics.

Impressive technical drawings

Fast-manner companies volition be interested to see your technical drawings. Prove off your expertise by including a complexed technical specification in your portfolio. Here's an example of a very impressive technical drawing that demonstrates a lot of item and skill.

An impressive technical specification showing high-quality drawing skills

Skilful luck with creating your mode designer portfolio for your next job. If you lot want farther back up get in bear on, or you might be interested to read our other task-hunting tips here:

Way job CV tips
Fashion job interview tips