How To Become A Costume Designer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a costume designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Shelbi Wilkin

The average costume designer salary is $54,229. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an graphic design major. It usually takes 4-6 years of experience to become a costume designer. Costume designers with a Certified Interior Designer (NCIDQ) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a costume designer?

Shelbi Wilkin

Adjunct Assistant Professor Costume Design, Beloit College

Day to day work can vary when working as a designer for theatre. When not researching and analyzing plays, designers work on rendering designs, budgets, and sourcing materials. Designers can expect regular meetings with a production team and shop supervisors for their discipline. As a costume designer my role would be to meet with costume shop managers and drapers to ensure designs are realized per my vision, attend fittings for actors, tech rehearsals, photo calls, and strike for a performance. How much the costume designer engages with a shop or builds costumes themselves depends on the institution hiring.

ScoreCostume DesignerUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $54,229

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.2

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 11.65%

Black or African American 7.34%

Hispanic or Latino 11.90%

Unknown 5.57%

White 63.04%

Gender

female 80.71%

male 19.29%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.9

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a costume designer

Explore costume designer education requirements

Most common costume designer degrees

Bachelor's

71.7 %

Associate

13.8 %

Master's

7.7 %

Start to develop specific costume designer skills

Skills	Percentages
Costumes	27.19%
Make-Up	9.30%
Costume Shop	8.12%
Design Concepts	7.57%
Character Development	6.82%

Complete relevant costume designer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New costume designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a costume designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real costume designer resumes.

Research costume designer duties and responsibilities

Manage all daily costume distributions and collection, laundering and maintenance/repair of costumes.
Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
Design and sew children's Halloween costumes.
Contribute in production and on set as an assistant dressing the actors, maintaining the costumes, and setting up/organizing wardrobe.

Prepare your costume designer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your costume designer resume.

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