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Fashion stylist vs apparel designer

The differences between fashion stylists and apparel 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 stylist and an apparel designer. Additionally, an apparel designer has an average salary of $65,467, which is higher than the $45,524 average annual salary of a fashion stylist.

The top three skills for a fashion stylist include editorial photo shoots, product knowledge and customer service. The most important skills for an apparel designer are adobe illustrator, tech packs, and sketch.

Fashion stylist vs apparel designer overview

Fashion StylistApparel Designer
Yearly salary$45,524$65,467
Hourly rate$21.89$31.47
Growth rate3%3%
Number of jobs13,03146,436
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age3737
Years of experience66

What does a fashion stylist do?

Fashion is an integral part of society classified as a multi-billion dollar industry. The fashion stylist is an expert in the fashion industry and can advise the perfect attire to wear in any given situation. Someone's fashion can sometimes determine how society views that person. Industries that heavily rely on a fashion stylist's talents are in the media industry, filmmaking, advertising, and customer relations concerns. Fashion stylists must have a good grasp of trends and fads, mix and match different styles, and have an overall sense of taste and fashion.

What does an apparel designer do?

Apparel designers, also known as clothing or fashion designers, conceptualize and produce items of clothing. They frequently specialize in one type of design, like active, casual, or evening wear. Typical duties include monitoring current fashion trends and forecast future ones, sketching new designs, choosing patterns and fabrics to utilize in garments, and supervising production. They may present items to creative directors, clients, or retailers to determine if the garments are to be conventionally designed or mass-produced.

Fashion stylist vs apparel designer salary

Fashion stylists and apparel designers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Fashion StylistApparel Designer
Average salary$45,524$65,467
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $65,000Between $40,000 And $105,000
Highest paying City-Richmond, CA
Highest paying state-Nevada
Best paying company-Fanatics
Best paying industry-Manufacturing

Differences between fashion stylist and apparel designer education

There are a few differences between a fashion stylist and an apparel designer in terms of educational background:

Fashion StylistApparel Designer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common majorGraphic DesignGraphic Design
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaCornell University

Fashion stylist vs apparel designer demographics

Here are the differences between fashion stylists' and apparel designers' demographics:

Fashion StylistApparel Designer
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 20.8% Female, 79.2%Male, 32.8% Female, 67.2%
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 stylist and apparel designer duties and responsibilities

Fashion stylist example responsibilities.

  • Manage cleaning up activities after hair care appointments by ensuring appropriate cleanliness and sterilization of cutting and trimming equipment.
  • Design the window display for spring & summer seasons.
  • Create inspiration boards and key stories for sketch reviews & new seasons.
  • Research trends for spring/ summer collection.
  • Create DJ playlist, slideshows & playbills.
  • Market brand through social media such as Instagram and Facebook
  • Show more

Apparel designer example responsibilities.

  • Develop marketing and brand awareness initiatives through social media outlets; create and manage company Facebook and Houzz profiles.
  • Create detailed conceptual and sketch presentations for senior management seasonally.
  • Prepare PowerPoint documents for client presentation that include furniture and material selections.
  • Select NYC print studios to handle outsource design projects and monitor progress to ensure work are completed on deadline.
  • Design Missy sweater line for domestic sweater manufacturer.

Fashion stylist vs apparel designer skills

Common fashion stylist skills
  • Editorial Photo Shoots, 15%
  • Product Knowledge, 14%
  • Customer Service, 13%
  • Sales Floor, 12%
  • E-Commerce, 6%
  • Editorials, 5%
Common apparel designer skills
  • Adobe Illustrator, 10%
  • Tech Packs, 8%
  • Sketch, 6%
  • Apparel Design, 6%
  • Technical Design, 5%
  • PLM, 5%

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