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Fashion internship vs fashion designer

The differences between fashion interns and fashion designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a fashion internship and a fashion designer. Additionally, a fashion designer has an average salary of $54,265, which is higher than the $49,534 average annual salary of a fashion internship.

The top three skills for a fashion internship include adobe photoshop, editorial photo shoots and fashion shows. The most important skills for a fashion designer are fashion design, sketch, and apparel.

Fashion internship vs fashion designer overview

Fashion InternshipFashion Designer
Yearly salary$49,534$54,265
Hourly rate$23.81$26.09
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs49,15149,476
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age3737
Years of experience66

What does a fashion internship do?

A fashion intern helps designers create garment layouts, prepare and cut tickets, and draping garments. Besides providing help during photo shoots and researching trends, fashion interns also assist the design team in their day-to-day projects and tasks. They assist design associates in their daily responsibilities and create samples for merchandising presentations, fittings, and meetings. To qualify for a fashion internship, you should prepare your mind to learn new skills.

What does a fashion designer do?

Fashion designers design and assist with the making of shoes, accessories, and clothing. They identify trends and styles, colors, and trims of a clothing collection. The designers keep an eye on travel shows and read fashion magazines to spot trends and interpret specific patterns, color palettes, and prints for each season. They sketch designs by hand, address buyers as a seasoned marketer, and create technical production drawings. It is part of their responsibilities to collaborate with team members to make edits to lines, select seasonal themes, and create new concepts.

Fashion internship vs fashion designer salary

Fashion interns and fashion designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Fashion InternshipFashion Designer
Average salary$49,534$54,265
Salary rangeBetween $36,000 And $66,000Between $37,000 And $78,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Nevada
Best paying company-Ralph Lauren
Best paying industry-Retail

Differences between fashion internship and fashion designer education

There are a few differences between a fashion internship and a fashion designer in terms of educational background:

Fashion InternshipFashion Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 76%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorSpecialized Sales And MerchandisingGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaCornell University

Fashion internship vs fashion designer demographics

Here are the differences between fashion interns' and fashion designers' demographics:

Fashion InternshipFashion Designer
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 13.9% Female, 86.1%Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 11.6% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 11.6% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage18%18%

Differences between fashion internship and fashion designer duties and responsibilities

Fashion internship example responsibilities.

  • Manage the fashion closet (including rtw, accessories, fine jewelry, and watches).
  • Manage and facilitate fittings and quick changes, organizing wardrobe, transferring and directing costumes to desire locations.
  • Employ successful SEO practices and perform regular content management.
  • Follow directive from the UK fashion department for shoot theme.
  • Assist in maintaining a strong Instagram presence by taking brand loyal photos.
  • Received/delivered samples to public relations agencies, designers, and showrooms around NYC.
  • Show more

Fashion designer example responsibilities.

  • Customize technical packages with POM specifications, manage grading standards, assisting in costing the BOM, etc.
  • Manage and facilitate fittings and quick changes, organizing wardrobe, transferring and directing costumes to desire locations.
  • Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
  • Create packages containing new design ideas, swatches of fabrics and embroideries, pictures, cad and presentations.
  • Key player in implementation of PLM system.
  • Design and develop a variety of apparel, including menswear and women's clothing, for various purposes and client types.
  • Show more

Fashion internship vs fashion designer skills

Common fashion internship skills
  • Adobe Photoshop, 27%
  • Editorial Photo Shoots, 15%
  • Fashion Shows, 7%
  • Instagram, 3%
  • Administrative Tasks, 3%
  • Mood Boards, 3%
Common fashion designer skills
  • Fashion Design, 14%
  • Sketch, 12%
  • Apparel, 6%
  • Design Concepts, 5%
  • Adobe Illustrator, 5%
  • CAD, 4%

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