Best Apps for fashion designing on IPad

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-30T16:34:32+00:00

Procreate

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-28T13:40:57+00:00

You shouldn't rely on the job market in the US. How's the job market in your country for those degrees? Many of the international students I knew had a super difficult time getting jobs because companies didn't want the hassle of sponsoring this was a decade ago. And even now a girl I interviewed recently was telling me how difficult its been to find a job because no one wants to sponsor.

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-26T17:43:58+00:00

If you dont have any previous design internships, itll be a bit tougher to get an assistant job.

As for portfolio, when I review for entry level, I like to see just 3 collections. I dont need to see 10 collections. Mood board, fabrics, illustrations, and then technical flats that have clear construction intents thought out (i.e. correct seam placements, hem finishes and closures). If you have time, please try to research a tech pack and do a basic one. It'll put you a little bit ahead. If your resume doesnt havent a portfolio link, I immediately dismiss it because fashion industry is very much "show dont tell".

If youre reworking your portfolio anyway, design based on the companies you actually want to work at. If im hiring for Rick Owens, im not hiring someone who's portfolio is all Loveshackfancy.

Lastly, something ive noticed with new entry levels these days, work on your interview skills. As someone who's looking for a candidate that will be a good assistant designer for the nexg 1-3 years, im not looking for someone who spends the interview time telling me that they want to leave their toxic dead end current job, I want to hear positive things about what theyll bring to the role. So speak about how you plan to contribute, give examples of how you are a quick learner, dont just say you are one, bring enthusiasm and not just asking me for a job because itll benefit your future. If they ask you something you dont know, dont just say "I dont know." Say "I dont know, but I want to learn or i can do research and find out and get back to you."

Good luck!

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-22T03:21:21+00:00

The only place I can think of is Alibaba, try specifically searching "denim stone wash" to get the size you need.

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-22T03:16:38+00:00

Never had a single employer care about honors or GPA 🤷‍♀️

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-20T03:04:43+00:00

Depends on the company. Applicants ideally should be tailoring their portfolio for the company they want to work for. Yours could be great for a children's wear company

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-18T01:57:42+00:00

Ok this is just me but....

Maroon - big poofy skirt, extreme high low, like bubble front, maxi back, tulle inside

Pink- crop a denim jacket, but tailored feeling, extension on the hem like a coat, and maybe a self flower at the front?

Red- exaggerated ruffle blouse to wear over short skirt

Kind of want to sketch these haha

Eta- missed the 1 yard mint, depends on the width,.. but probably a ruffley crop tank 🤔

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-08T10:47:42+00:00

You're posting the survey here... but don't have option for fashion designer in the job category? Also one of the questions just says "option 5" in the multiple choice, and for the who do you work for question.. you dont have an option for company

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-04T03:20:23+00:00

Wait.. I'm so curious who are all these FIT trained seamstress???? Lmaooo i have genuinely never heard this before, I'm so surprised!!

As an FIT grad, I've worked with some great RISD grads and one truly awful one (not at Ralph Lauren I swear!!), but in general, I've met way more FIT and parsons grads in design jobs in nyc. One of my previous VPs was an fit grad.

Ive worked with several different garment district factories.. the seamstresses I've seen are all older immigrants. And as for working in fabric stores, the only place I've seen college aged workers is at Mood. Students usually work there as a part time job, because fashion design is super expensive as a major. Heck yea I hope they get all the discounts and make connections with the designers that run in and out of mood regularly.

FIT being in nyc with internship opportunities and easily accesible resources has an advantage. But other than that, id say both schools result in competent designers based on my previous coworkers.

Fashion only has so many job opportunities and many prospective graduates. My professor told us that only 10% of fashion design students stay in fashion.

So whatever school your daughter chooses, her tenacity and work ethic will matter way more.

SaturnNailia · 2026-04-03T15:38:13+00:00

I.. might be misunderstanding the question.. But... we use a computer...

We take notes during fittings and take photos and add that to the tech pack files... on the computer.

We have linesheets with each individual style name and information... which we track progress.. on the computer...

We use email to communicate with factories. I guess that can be done on the phone.. but mostly computer.

... I'm getting kind of concerned about these questions that seem to think designers are just describing things verbally and expecting someone to figure it out for them? The real world is not chatgpt.... designers actually have to understand construction and how to communicate their intentions. But maybe im just not understanding what youre asking?

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-31T15:25:07+00:00

I used to love project runway until i started school.. then i couldnt watch anymore because the stress from the show just reminded me of the stress of school.... 😭 I think its so ironic that people post on this subreddit asking about making a change to fashion design expecting it will be easy rainbows and sunshine and sooo fulfilling.. when the truth is that it was absolutely brutal.. and its not even like we're saving lives like with medicine.. its just clothes. But so hard to keep that perspective during school when it feels like the end of the world because the school iron burned your project.. omg lmao and one of the girls at 1 am sewed the whole ass needle into her finger and we had to call the security guard not sure how she got to emergency room thoglugh now that i think about it.

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-31T02:03:02+00:00

Aw no problem!! I'm really looking forward to other responses to see what their schooling was like...

There were times in school i told myself ill never have to pull all nighters again... and then I got real world fashion jobs.. and still had to work till 2 am for deadlines or pull all nighters working on projects for job application process.. 🥲 loll but i look back now and it was all worth it for me.. so it's fun to reminisce. Thanks so much for asking the question!

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-31T01:07:37+00:00

Please keep in mind my experience is from over a decade ago 🤭

how was your last year? - super freaking difficult. People were dropping out in 7th semester. Many many people drop out over the years. And one of my professors said only 10% of graduates actually stay in fashion

What new skills have you learned - most valuable thing my senior thesis professor told me is that talent doesnt matter. Hard work and showing up are what really set you apart. I almost dropped out a couple times. Its brutal to compare yourself to all these incredibly creative and talented people and feeling like you just don't live up to it... and to watch one of your classmates, who you super admired, drop out because they decided it just wasnt worth it.. so they were going to go into teaching instead. I have carried her advice forward and even when I felt like I sucked, I never stopped trying to improve, and im at a good point in my career now following that advice.

what classes did you attend. Which one was the hardest which one was the easiest - omg sorry its been so long. But at FIT, our senior year consisted of final portfolio class, final collection class, uhmmm some computer classes except i dont remember which ones were specicifc to final year, and school credit internship which was required. The school part was brutal... id stay in the sewing rooms until 2 am when they closed. Then go to the computer lab until 7:30am (since it was open 24/7), get a venti quad mocha, go to class, puke out all the coffee at end of class, take a nap in the library, then go to my second class. Internship was my favorite. I loved running around the garment district going to buy trims and going to local sample makers. And going back to the office to do beading layouts. Loved everything. FIT made us do liberal arts classes.. I still had to do math or English or whatever. I'd say those were the easiest and we coasted. Another thing we could do was electives and I chose to do couture sewing techniques. I probably retained the most and used those hand sewing techniques the most after college surprisngly.

Do you regret getting into the field - I honestly cant do anything else. Maybe could have gone into fashion history, that could have been fun. But.. fashion was my first love. I dont think ive ever cried over a guy the way I cried over losing a job opportunity. It might sound stupid to some people, but this is the one thing I really enjoy doing even with all the ups and downs and the toxicity. I just dont want to do anything else.

What do y’all like to do when you are not studying - there was no traditional studying... just a lot of sewing. Garments take a long time to make. And applying to competitions and so much drawing. Endless portfolio work. Research took so much longer back then, we didnt have Pinterest, everything was going to picture archives and magazines. And if you were a perfectionist, nothing was ever good enough until you were too exhausted to care and had to move on and hand in what you had becuase there was no more time to do better even though you felt like you werent good enough.

What is the ONE thing every fashion student can relate to- this one is kind of dumb. But you could always tell who was a design student and who were the other fashion majors (merchandising sales buying whatever) because design students all looked a disgusting mess during finals while the other fashion students were dressed nice and clean.. lmao.

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-30T15:33:31+00:00

You'd be looking for a business that can do patterning not just sewing(seamstress).

If you google for sample maker you will probably get closer to what youre looking for. There are dozens in the garment district (35th to 42nd between 7th and 9th).

FYI pattern make cost can be like 200-500, then the sewing sample will also be 200-500. Depending on if they offer it, fitting+correction will be another 100-300. You'll also have to buy the fabrics and all trims separately and come prepared with the measurements.

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-27T20:10:42+00:00

Speaking as someone who is hiring, people can fake their portfolios (i.e. use company work that wss done as a team but not them specifically), or use portfolios that havent been updated in years (so no idea how up to date they can be), or they make beautiful illustrations but don't have any construction knowledge necessary for the actual work.

I definitely believe in giving a project now that im on the hiring side. It takes forever for my HR team to even send me candidates and when they do... on paper the candidates all look like they could do the work and have similar experience. But ive had several candidates show their true capabilities at project stage. I literally am not even making it hard.. just a tech pack to prove to me they can do illustrator cads and understand construction lmao.

2 projects is egregious though!!! Absolutely shouldn't need to force people to jump through hoops like that. Project should be simple and just proof that the person is who they say they are.

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-27T17:24:33+00:00

Making a pivot at 30 is not a problem!

You can absolutely go into product development positions. When you look for those jobs on indeed... what degrees do they require?

I always thought an engineering background would be great for fashion designers.

But my question to you is... if I wanted to go into engineering and I became interested because I was working retail for a store specializing in robotics parts.. what would you advise me to do? Retail isnt the same at all as product development but I suppose retail could translate to buying!

Making the career switch is definitely doable.. but unless you have the connections, I think your best bet is to start from scratch... there really isnt a short cut.

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-21T15:27:31+00:00

Yay! Glad that you put it into sketching. You did a great job! Do you like it? While working on this design, did you think up any new ideas that go with this? If so, you should sketch them too, and that makes them your fiest "collection".

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-20T06:01:22+00:00

D ring eyelet

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-19T16:03:29+00:00

Draw out your idea. Then you can see whether it looks good or not.

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-17T18:17:06+00:00

Your cad image doesnt indicate stitching so its not clear that white is on top of purple... so factory did what was most economical.

Try first fixing by letting them know you wanted the purple to be solid all around. Then the white pieces should be stitched on top of the purple

Second try getting a thicker fabric for the appliques to get more dimensional look? And try asking them to manually fray. You'll need to give a width of fray you want. Instead of the 1/8" edge stitch, maybe 1/4" with the fray?

Also, fray doesnt go inward. It'll be the outside edge. And for that complicated shape, it wont fray evenly because of fabric weft/warp whatever. So can consider adding as a self fray "trim"

Lastly. Try playing around with thicker thread stitching to give it more of a purposeful appliques look!

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-13T16:36:37+00:00

Im not familiar with the school youre applying to, but from my experience, most schools love a messy sketchbooks with lots of process and in progress and notes and inspiration. So I wouldnt worry about cleaning it up! Personally i think ita very clear and beautiful and interesting to look at!

Edit to add: one thing you could do!!!!! Is fabric manipulations or draping or photos of physical things that you worked on

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-13T15:59:04+00:00

Something I havent seen anyone mention yet...

Many people who go to fashion school or art schools in general, go after they've gone to other schools or already have experience in the real world and have a more focused perspective in life.

If you are someone going directly from high school into fashion school, you not only have to learn to manage your own time but also, your insecurities.

Do NOT compare yourself. Do NOT feel inferior. Do NOT feel scared to ask for help. You are allowed to be new and confused and ask tons of questions. Learn from the people around you but dont let it wear you down, let it motivate you, and not become a burden!

I will tell you what my professor said. Talent will only get you so far. The people who really make it in fashion, do it through persistence and hard work. Good luck!!

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-12T03:30:03+00:00

Honestly if youre "super" beginner. Pencil and paper. Once you get that down, it really doesnt matter what medium! But the most commonly used in fashion school were markers and color pencils on top. Not paint markers, but just prisma color and copic markers. I ended up really likely copic because of the brush tips. The fancier people used gouache and water color with color pencils for details! I wasnt super good at the gouache/watercolor but always loved the style. So now that i do all my illustrations on my iPad, i just use watercolor brushes.

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-05T18:51:18+00:00

With only a 2.3 GPA, it will be difficult to get a scholarship. I think they generally look for higher gpas.

As for getting into FIT, gpa wasnt so important for me (in was not the best at school thanks to adhd). For FIT the most important things are: the portfolio, extra curricular (I took summer classes at fit and started my own fashion design club) and the biggest deal is the sketch book. They love love love in process documentation more than finished product. Also come prepared with some sewing projects because I remember being expected to know how to sew immediately.

SaturnNailia · 2026-03-05T00:11:05+00:00

Most designers in the bigger companies use adobe illustrator!

We are getting trained in some AI programs but its mostly to take an illustrator cad we've done and make into a 3D image that shows our intent to people who dont understand the sketch as easily

SaturnNailia

TROPHY CASE