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Fashion design internship skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Gina Pisut Ph.D.,

Elaine Grullón

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical fashion design internship skills. We ranked the top skills for fashion design interns based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 8.9% of fashion design internship resumes contained adobe illustrator as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a fashion design internship needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 fashion design internship skills for your resume and career

1. Adobe Illustrator

Here's how fashion design interns use adobe illustrator:

Prepared line sheets & tech packs in Adobe Illustrator.
Create textiles on Adobe Illustrator for Fall 2011 line.

2. Sketch

Here's how fashion design interns use sketch:

Assisted in daily duties - creating & updating flat sketches, and making a complete sketch using Illustrator
Assisted market researching and collection processAssisted prototype sketch and drawings for 2016 Pre-Fall CollectionDying and manipulating trims

3. Adobe Photoshop

Here's how fashion design interns use adobe photoshop:

Rendered in Adobe Photoshop such as fabrics, solids, prints & embellishments.
Developed prints, graphics and technical flats in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.

4. Fashion Design

Here's how fashion design interns use fashion design:

Provided support to Fashion Designers by organizing wholesale show room and photographing clothing and accessories for website display
Entered referrals for clients who inquired information on fashion design and illustrator programming.

5. Trend Research

A trend is presumed future development that may have a long-term effect. Trend analysis is the practice of collecting data and attempting to spot a recurrence, or non-recurrence, pattern. This field revolves around predicting the future of a market based on data from past sales, client preferences, and demand.

Here's how fashion design interns use trend research:

Traveled overseas for international trend research and theme inspiration for upcoming seasons.
Created technical flats on Illustrator Conducted trend research and created trend boards Merchandised jewelry display

6. Mood Boards

Here's how fashion design interns use mood boards:

Researched current trends for inspiration and developed mood boards.
Created mood boards for upcoming seasons.

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7. 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 fashion design interns use tech packs:

Utilized skills in print design for fabric production, draped mock-ups, and drew flats for tech packs.
Assisted knit & woven designers in designs layout, line sheets, boards, fabric/trims sourcing & tech packs

8. Design Development

Design development is used to refer to a number of positions and skills in a number of different industries. In the architectural world, Design Development is used to refer to an architectural plan that is already halfway or more done but needs further development, alteration, and testing. In the automotive industry, it refers to the skills necessary to create and develop new car, engine, and other designs, as well as to ensure that all designs are safe and effective.

Here's how fashion design interns use design development:

Organized image research for mood and trend analysis boards used for concept and design development.
Created vintage archive look books used during the design development process.

9. Fabric Swatches

Here's how fashion design interns use fabric swatches:

Assisted senior students in deciding the fabric swatches and color palette for the students upcoming fashion shows.
Swathed fabric swatches and trims in the garment district.

10. Embroidery

Here's how fashion design interns use embroidery:

Specialized in hand embroidery and fabrication technique.
Developed prints and design, Assisted draping and design board, Made samples and patterns for beading and embroidery

11. 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 fashion design interns use photo shoots:

Give opinion for catalogs, Photo shoots and designs and helped to style the models for look-book and runaway
Messaged merchandise to and from photo shoots, creating shoot list for in-house photo studio using excel.

12. CAD

Here's how fashion design interns use cad:

Worked with the graphic design division and received all printed files and CAD art.
Collaborated and facilitated head designer in pattern making, fabric sourcing and CAD developing.

13. Fashion Shows

Here's how fashion design interns use fashion shows:

Participated in 2 professional Fashion shows with Wilhelmina Agency models.
Participated in helping prepare and dressing models backstage for the Spring 2013, Fall 2013, and Spring 2014 Fashion shows.

14. Line Sheets

A line sheet is a sales tool for product marketing and sales to display important information about a product to potential buyers and retailer partners. It is commonly used by manufacturers, wholesalers, brands, and designers in the fashion industry.

Here's how fashion design interns use line sheets:

Created swatch cards and line sheets for the SS 2013 collection, and maintained presentable sample racks for buyers and clients.
Designed and sketched custom made designs for clients, updated price sheet and managed line sheets.

15. Textile

Here's how fashion design interns use textile:

Prepared garments for Bryant Park fashion show, researched reference for textile designers.
Assisted the Textile Researcher in management and archiving of fabric samples.

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What skills help Fashion Design Interns find jobs?

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

What fashion design internship 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.

What technical skills for a fashion design internship stand out to employers?

Elaine Grullón

Lecturer, University of Rhode Island

Some technical skills that stand out to employers is the ability to combine the manual with the technology, in other words combining the old and new media. The rise of new media has caused a need to understand social media but not just the practical but the functional side which includes data analysis. You have to be able to answer questions related to why this trend or if not favorable how we can make improvements. It is all about adaptability and responding to a change in need or even want. Also having knowledge on using computer aided programs such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or even InDesign, it is important to be able to perform technical writing. Marketing is all about catching the consumers attention in that first moment. Without an understanding of design, and the principles and elements that go alongside the purpose of great marketing will be defeated.

What soft skills should all fashion design internships possess?

Eric Sung

Associate Professor, Providence College

Hard assets may assist job seekers to get one hired but soft skills are immensely critical for one to excel after once hired. Multiple studies confirm that higher ranking positions require increased portion of soft skills compared to hard or technical skills.
Considering the market trend change during and past COVID, where more jobs will require specialized skills with less human interaction, the needs of having someone with communication skills, conflict resolution and mediation skills, negotiation skills would be far more preferred. Knowing that large part of what some of the current jobs require us to do eventually will be assisted or entirely replaced by AI, the skills that may be unique to humans will gradually became more important. Other critical soft skills would be adaptability, foundational problem-solving skills with diversified perspective on matters. and relatability to the other thoughts.

Do you want to know more?

List of fashion design internship skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a fashion design internship resume and required skills for a fashion design internship to have include:

Adobe Illustrator
Sketch
Adobe Photoshop
Fashion Design
Trend Research
Mood Boards
Tech Packs
Design Development
Fabric Swatches
Embroidery
Photo Shoots
CAD
Fashion Shows
Line Sheets
Textile

Design Studio
Spring
Summer
Design Process
Inspiration Boards
Concept Boards
Market Research
Winter
Presentation Boards
Design Ideas
Patternmaking
Design Research
NYC
PowerPoint
Fabric Library

Fashion Trends
Design Meetings
Stitching
Production Process
Product Development
Cost Sheets
Trade Shows
Trend Forecasting
Sample Room
Mass Production
Color Cards
Technical Drawings
RTW
Pinterest
Trend Boards

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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Fashion Design Internship Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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