How to put Together a Fashion Design Portfolio

Keep your portfolio updated.

Consider your fashion design portfolio to be your visual resume. The collection of all of your current work and ideas should show your past accomplishments as well as your potential for being fashion-forward and marketable. It should also reflect who you are as a fashion designer and display a distinct point of view and vision. Include a statement about yourself as a fashion designer, similar to an artist's statement. Print a quote from your statement on the back of a postcard with one of your designs to leave with an employer or a school as your calling card.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Leather-bound portfolio carrying case
• Full-color copies of fashion designs
• High-quality color printer
• Photo paper

1. Purchase a leather-bound portfolio case that can fit over sized pieces of paper. A standard portfolio is boring and understated and the over-sized one will make a bold statement. Investing in a quality material like leather will show potential employers and clients that you take your work seriously.

2. Customize your portfolio for each school interview, client interview or job interview. For a more conservative job, organize your portfolio accordingly. For a client seeing original designs, showcase your most creative designs in the front of the book.

3. Keep the fashion design portfolio current and updated. People want to see your current and upcoming design work, not hear about it. They also want to see that you are organized and pay attention to details. if you cannot keep your own fashion design portfolio updated, how will you meet any client deadlines or work deadlines?

4. Diversify the pages in your portfolio by highlighting all of your design abilities. Include sketches to show your sketching skills. Include your signature color combinations and pieces to show your technical skills.

5. Sharpen your fashion sketching skills by continuing to take figure drawing classes. Include these sketches in your portfolio when designing swimwear or any tight-fitting clothing. They will show that you understand how the body moves.

6. Include fashion design sketches for all types of bodies, in all shapes, ages and sizes. Show that you can design for children or for average sized women or for big and tall men, if you can. Being able to design for more than one group of people will increase your chances of employment.

7. Create a free, online portfolio to accompany your physical portfolio at Alphaomegadigital.com or Carbomade.com (see Resources). Scan in and upload any paper-based fashion designs and organize them into an online portfolio. Include your portfolio website address in your email signature and on your resume.

Tips & Warnings

• Edit out pieces which are not your best work.

• Buy a portfolio carrying case which has pages that are easy to remove and reorganize.

• Do not include original copies of any sketches or drawings in the portfolio, in case it gets lost.

• Unless you are a student, do not organize the book chronologically, since the viewer may not be impressed enough by early work to look at the entire portfolio.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Alpha Omega Digital Portfolios
• Carbon Made