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Clothes designer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted experts

Lorrie Ivas,

Lorrie Ivas

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical clothes designer skills. We ranked the top skills for clothes designers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 42.0% of clothes designer resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a clothes designer needs to be successful in the workplace.

9 clothes designer skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how clothes designers use customer service:

Cash handling, provided customer service, stocked and cleaned and to change the clothing area for the new designs every season
Design clothing for individuals and companies, advertising, manage financial accounts, customer service- Interview workers and interns- Licensed barber

2. Process Payments

Here's how clothes designers use process payments:

Receive and process payments from customers, using electronic transaction services.

3. Sketch

Here's how clothes designers use sketch:

develop advertisement sketch designs create clothing logos and company name
Initiated and oversaw development from initial concept sketch to final production, working closely with Chinese engineering and manufacturing vendors.

4. Embroidery

Here's how clothes designers use embroidery:

Developed new thread combinations, embroidery and embellishment designs, fabric combinations and innovative construction details.
Researched appropriate fabrications/weights for dress styles and worked with Mr. Mendel on attribution and embroidery integration.

5. Photo Shoots

A photoshoot is a series of photographs that a photographer takes of someone, usually of a model or a famous person, to be used in a newspaper or a magazine. The goal of a photoshoot is to achieve a predetermined visual objective. Later, these images can be used for editing or post-production..

Here's how clothes designers use photo shoots:

Coordinate photo shoots, models, MUA, Stylist, etc.
Collaborated closely with various photographers to produce and finish photo shoots.

6. Tech Packs

A tech pack is an informative sheet that designers create to communicate with a manufacturer all the details and components necessary to turn a product into a finished product. It also serves as a "product contract" between a person and the manufacturer throughout the sampling and production process. Typically, designers include dimensions, materials, sketches, size specifications, colors, illustrations, hardware, grading, labels/tags, construction information, and legends. The tech pack is essential for quality control and also ensures that the submitted samples meet ones specifications exactly and that one does not waste time and money reproducing them if they are incorrect.

Here's how clothes designers use tech packs:

Managed tech packs and spec sheets; communicated designs and exact specifications to specialty manufacturing teams and oversaw development of product.
Create tech packs and communicated directly with vendors domestically/ internationally regarding development.

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7. Facebook

Here's how clothes designers use facebook:

Utilized Facebook and Google Adwords to drive traffic and designed corresponding print materials to promote boutique location.
Maintain social media marketing including Facebook and Twitter accounts.

8. T-Shirts

Here's how clothes designers use t-shirts:

Helped design shirts for a local T-Shirt company Distributed/Sells T-Shirts

9. Coats

Here's how clothes designers use coats:

Pattern alterations, specs, cloth alteration, sample maker making coats for men and women
Created collections of garments: evening and casual outfits (dresses, costumes, coats, trouser suits, etc.)

What skills help Clothes Designers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on clothes designer resumes?

Lorrie Ivas

Full-time Faculty, Santa Monica College

Knowledge of the "entire" design process - from hand sketch to drape, draft, construction, digital skills in pattern drafting and design (i.e., Tukatech, Clo or similar), Adobe Creative Suite - Photoshop/Illustrator for presentation (look books, colorways, etc.) - is a standout, even though the actual position applying for may not require seasoned skills in every single step. The employer likes to know that the designer "gets" the process.

Companies like to see versatility... so even if a designer shows amazing swimwear in their portfolio, it is always important to show versatility in other design categories (and obviously whatever category the hiring company sells). Companies like to see what you can do for them and what they didn't realize you can do for them - i.e., new ideas in product collaborations, your genuine sustainability commitment, social media skills, etc.

What soft skills should all clothes designers possess?

Lorrie Ivas

Full-time Faculty, Santa Monica College

Love the actual definition of "soft skills": personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people.

What is often overlooked is communicating professionally via email, text, phone, and/or personal interactions. Basic business etiquette is very important. Fashion is a creative field, yet it is also a business ... and professionalism always stands out... Attention to detail will set one apart from the others. So many resumes come in with spelling errors! It is often just one page! Not proofing once - and then proofing again, and then having someone else's fresh eyes proof it one more time - shows a lack of attention to detail.

Design is a collaborative proposition, so the ability to share ideas with a team is vital.

And again, knowledge of social media platforms, where professional and creative communication/writing skills are as important as the photographs, represents someone who will be a valuable addition to a design firm.

What hard/technical skills are most important for clothes designers?

Lorrie Ivas

Full-time Faculty, Santa Monica College

The ability to communicate your design concepts to the team (or future boss/interviewer) is vital. Hand and digital fashion sketching and illustration skills are necessary at every step. Scholarships, competitions, or internships often request a sample portfolio, so it doesn't go any further if the illustrations don't "wow" the judging viewer. One can sew/tailor beautifully, but knowing how to "show" that skillset to the judge or employer is vital - i.e., photographing the step-by-step process with close-up details of tailoring skills and presenting it digitally... will win. One may not show actual garments... so knowing how to "sell" your skills is crucial.

What clothes designer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Gina Pisut Ph.D.

Chair, Department of Human Sciences

In addition to being well versed in computer design software for Apparel Design and Fashion Merchandising graduates, students need to truly be open to learning, have strong communication skills, and be able to work well in a team. The most common feedback we get from fashion and retail companies is students must be willing to do the work, be open to learning and doing different aspects of the business, and be adaptable and able to pivot when changes come within this fast-paced industry.

Do you want to know more?

List of clothes designer skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a clothes designer resume and required skills for a clothes designer to have include:

Customer Service
Process Payments
Sketch

Embroidery
Photo Shoots
Tech Packs

Facebook
T-Shirts
Coats

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Updated January 8, 2025

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