How To Become A Dress Designer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a dress designer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted Expert

Lisa TenHulzen

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a dress designer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $30.73 an hour? That's $63,912 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 3% and produce 600 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Dress Designer?

Lisa TenHulzen

Assistant Professor of Scenic Design, Albion College

Work hard. I don't have to tell you that being successful in the theatre business is extremely difficult, even at the best of times. Post-pandemic, I believe this will be even harder. You have to be able to push yourself to become stronger, more professional and more driven than you ever anticipated. Being in the theatre professionally is not easy, and if you expect it to be, you are in the wrong field. Even the most talented among us have to work their tails off to be successful. Pursue anything and everything that comes your way, be kind to your colleagues, and be collaborative. Understand that there are 100 more artists waiting to take your place, so treat each position with the respect it deserves. One thing that will not change post-pandemic is how small the theatre world is and how much that can help or hinder you based on the relationships you build.

ScoreDress DesignerUS Average

Salary

5.0

Avg. Salary $63,912

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

6.2

Growth Rate 3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 11.65%

Black or African American 7.34%

Hispanic or Latino 11.90%

Unknown 5.57%

White 63.04%

Gender

female 83.74%

male 16.26%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress Level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.9

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.1

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a dress designer

Explore dress designer education requirements

Most common dress designer degrees

Bachelor's

60.6 %

Associate

28.8 %

Master's

6.7 %

Start to develop specific dress designer skills

Skills	Percentages
Sketch	21.74%
Apparel	16.07%
Product Development	10.30%
CAD	9.28%
Embroidery	7.52%

Complete relevant dress designer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New dress designers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a dress designer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real dress designer resumes.

Research dress designer duties and responsibilities

Customize technical packages with POM specifications, manage grading standards, assisting in costing the BOM, etc.
Follow product from sketch, to development, to production and in-store, to ensure the intended aesthetic remains.
Sourced/developed fabric, beading, and embroidery designs overseas.
Research appropriate fabrications/weights for dress styles and work with Mr. Mendel on attribution and embroidery integration.

Prepare your dress designer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your dress designer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a dress designer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Dress Designer Resume templates

Build a professional Dress Designer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Dress Designer resume.

Apply for dress designer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a dress designer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do dress designers rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Dress Designer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2020

Pros

Making people look sweet and smart

A zippia user wrote a review on Dec 2019

Cons

That I don’t get to do it more often