How do you select fashion design projects for your portfolio?

If you are a fashion designer, you know how important your portfolio is to showcase your skills, creativity, and style. But how do you select the best projects to include in your portfolio that will impress potential employers, clients, or collaborators? Here are some tips to help you choose and present your fashion design projects in a professional and appealing way.

1 Know your audience

Before you decide what projects to include in your portfolio, you need to know who you are targeting and what they are looking for. Do some research on the industry, the company, or the individual you want to work with and find out what kind of fashion design they value, what their aesthetic is, and what their challenges are. Then, select the projects that demonstrate your ability to meet their needs, fit their style, and solve their problems.

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2 Showcase your range

While you want to show that you have a consistent and distinctive voice as a fashion designer, you also want to show that you can work with different materials, techniques, and genres. For example, if you are applying for a job as a womenswear designer, you might want to include projects that feature different types of garments, such as dresses, jackets, pants, and accessories. You might also want to show your versatility in working with different fabrics, colors, and patterns. This way, you can show that you are not limited to one style or category, but that you can adapt to different situations and preferences.

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3 Highlight your process

One of the most important aspects of your portfolio is to show how you develop your ideas, from concept to completion. You want to show your creative thinking, your research, your sketches, your prototypes, your samples, and your final products. You also want to show how you communicate your vision, your inspiration, and your rationale behind your design choices. By showing your process, you can demonstrate your skills, your passion, and your professionalism as a fashion designer.

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colleen Bezich

Coach of overcoming tragedy, and having PTSD is very difficult. I am an advocate for the underdog. I ALWAYS try to pay it forward everyday. l am a self proclaimed coffee lover. l could live on coffee ☕
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For my personal experience, I’ve always gone classic. Trends come and go but classic styles never fade. I picked my favorite designs and work my way down to my least favorite designs. I can honestly say that there are no designs that I absolutely did not like where I wouldn’t use them, but I definitely had my favorites. Classic styling is the path to fashion success because you can’t go wrong never goes out of style. I haven’t designed clothing primarily kids clothing in a really long time but when I did, I was very proud of my finished products. I believe a person designs should reflect their personality and not be something that they are not part of. All my designs were a reflection of me. It was part of who I was not who I am.

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4 Choose quality over quantity

When it comes to selecting fashion design projects for your portfolio, less is more. You don't want to overwhelm your audience with too many projects that are not relevant, not impressive, or not finished. Instead, you want to focus on a few projects that are of high quality, that showcase your best work, and that reflect your current skills and goals. You can always update your portfolio as you gain more experience and create more projects, but you should always aim to present only your finest work.

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5 Get feedback

Before you finalize your portfolio, it is always a good idea to get feedback from others who can offer you constructive criticism and advice. You can ask your peers, mentors, teachers, or professionals in the field to review your portfolio and give you their honest opinions. They can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, suggest improvements, and point out any errors or inconsistencies. Getting feedback can help you polish your portfolio and make it more effective and appealing.

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6 Format your portfolio

Finally, you need to format your portfolio in a way that is easy to access, view, and share. Depending on your purpose and preference, you can create a physical portfolio, a digital portfolio, or both. A physical portfolio is a printed or bound collection of your projects that you can bring to interviews, meetings, or events. A digital portfolio is an online or electronic collection of your projects that you can upload to a website, a blog, or a platform. You can also create a PDF or a slideshow of your portfolio that you can email or attach to your applications. Whatever format you choose, make sure that your portfolio is clear, organized, and professional.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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Shefali Dehl

Design Consultant, Founder of Ombre Craft, and ADI mentor. Passionate about serving the Apparel Industry with original thinking and making Earth a better place.
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One thing I have found helpful is to have an idea of your charges, a lot of times, people would like to know upfront if you will charge on an hourly basis or per project basis. Secondly, keeping a tab on trends is necessary but one should not follow them blindly instead one can try finding a unique style.

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How do you select fashion design projects for your portfolio?

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1 Know your audience

2 Showcase your range

3 Highlight your process

4 Choose quality over quantity

5 Get feedback

6 Format your portfolio

7 Here’s what else to consider

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