Careers Spotlight ~ Textile Design - UniHub - Middlesex University

Careers Spotlight ~ Textile Design
Overview of Sector
o There are around 12,000 textile designers in paid employment in the UK and there is intense
competition for vacancies
o People looking for work usually need to undertake relevant paid or unpaid work experience
and build up a list of contacts in the industry.
o Many textile designers work on a freelance basis, and at first may need to supplement
income with other work.
o Impact of globalisation, competition, effect of large chain fashion companies
o Manufacture separated from design, distribution, marketing; change from production to
supply/sourcing
o Rise in importance of marketing, distribution, design, product development, sourcing, supply
chain
o Except for large retailers, there are few large companies in the UK fashion and textiles
industry. The sector is instead made up of small niche and local retailers.
o Companies employing textile designers are found all over the UK, although there is a higher
concentration in London, the North West, the East Midlands and Scotland.
Specialisations
o Textile Designers work in knit, weave and print, creating designs that may be used in the
production of fabrics, printed textiles, paper based products.
o Designers may specialise in soft furnishings, fashion fabrics, accessories.
o They may also work in related fields, especially those where a design repeat is part of the
process of production, for example wrapping paper, packaging, greetings cards, ceramics or
floor or wall coverings.
o Print – creating surface pattern and designs on fabric with manual and digital printing
techniques
o Weave – working with colour, texture and structure to create fabrics from yarns by using a
hand loom or digital jacquard loom
o Embroidery and mixed media – using stitch, mixed media and embellishment to adorn
fabrics
o Knit – using yarns with knitting machines to design and construct fabrics.
Typical employers
o Manufacturing and processing companies that produce clothing, soft furnishings and other
textiles-based products
o Large fashion and clothing retailers
o Design studios, consultancies, specialist design companies
o Interior design/architectural/decoration services
o Samples studios
Job titles and related options
o Fashion, Accessories, Interior, Architecture, Fine Art, Printmaking, Surface Decoration,
o Product Development/Research
o Buying & merchandising
o Supply chain & logistics
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o Fabric sourcing
o Fabric technician
o Production technologist/technical assistant
o Specialist retail/showroom ~ fashion accessories & interiors
o Sales & marketing, brand marketing
o Visual merchandising/display
o Costume/wardrobe ~ theatres, etc.
o Stylist
o Colourist
o Trend forecasting/fashion predictor
o Journalism/media
o Press & PR
o Brand manager/account executive
o Art/Design/Technology Teacher
o Primary Teacher
o Technician in educational setting
o Research/museum/library
o Textile Agent ~ sourcing, supply
Ways In
o Assistant level roles
o Work experience, internships
o Own business
o Freelance ~ for designers, retailers
o Selling work through agent/agency to fashion designers, retailers, on-line galleries, etc.
www.lucywoodhouse.com; www.gibsonholt.co.uk;
www.vickithomasassociates.com/team.htm; Indesign www.indesignrecruitment.co.uk
http://www.amsterstampa.com; Suzsi Corio Designs ~ LinkedIn
Skills you may gain from your degree and work experience
o Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Draw
o Samples, patterns, prototypes
o Cutting, hand sewing & finishing, stitching, embroidery, hand knitting, crochet, ironing &
steaming
o Machine knitting & sewing, dubied machine knitting, yarn winding, weaving, dyeing
o Stencils design & construction, heat transfer printing, screen printing
o Proportion, line, balance
o Colour, texture, yarns, trims, swing tags
o Production techniques, garment construction
o Sourcing, costing, dealing with suppliers, sampling
o CAD, quality testing
o Research
o Client liaison, press and pr, branding and marketing
Who do Textile Designers work for? (examples from Middlesex & other university graduates)
WGSN; H&M; Julian MacDonald; Liberty; Stella McCartney; Amanda Kelly; Donna Karan; Anna Sui;
Chloe; Hallmark; George; Jack Jones Studio; Lucy Woodhouse Studio; Gilbey and Cheyne; Tiger Print;
Warner Fabrics; Osborne & Little; Taylor and McArdle; Mulberry; Alexander McQueen; Burberry;
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Peter Jensen; Rachel Rowberry; Kath Kidston; Cole & Sons; Idaho Design; Mud Pie; Erdem; ID
magazine; Griffin Clothing; Arcadia Group; Lucienne Day, Zandra Rhodes, Sue Timney Paul Symonds
of Timorous Beasties, Orla Keily, Niesha Crossland, Alice Temperley; Habitat, Calvin Klein, Paul Smith
Richard Sloan, Richard Gray, Laura Ashley,
Vacancy, work experience & internship examples
o www.thetextiledirectory.com/work_experience
o Companies such as Sanderson, William Morris, Coloroll, Osborne & Little, Oliver Burns,
Henry Bertrand, Hallmark
o BHS Graduate Design Assistant ~ creating design packs to give to buyers; mood boards;
organising design area; photoshoots, competitor shopping
o National Theatre ~ Textile Buyer
o Trend Forecaster ~ Stylesight online trend forecasting and product
development tool for the style industries.
o US Sales Represenative ~ Mirjam Rouden
o Garment Technology Assistant ~ Agent Provocateur
o Production, Design & Admin Assistant ~ My Tuxedo
o Design Assistant ~ Anonymous (luxury retail brand specializing in women's knitwear
and wovens)
o Design Assistant ~ Men's Knitwear and Jersey, Alfred Dunhill
o Design and product development assistant ~ Luxury Goods retailer
o WGSN Creative Intelligence ~ spotting fashion trends: leading global service
providing online research, trend analysis and news to the fashion, design and style industries.
o Next ~ Head Office Trainee Scheme: Buying, Merchandising, Designer & Technologist +
placements
o Arcadia ~ entry level roles buying, merchandising, distribution
o Monsoon Accessorize Head Office ~ buying, merchandising, design, technical services &
sourcing; marketing & press; visual merchandising & display
o Accessorize Junior Designer ~ designing prints to be used across categories including lingerie,
nightwear, umbrellas, beach and seasonal gifting.
o Marks & Spencer Head Office ~ graduate roles: buying, merchandising, assistant technologist,
graduate designer (lingerie; ladies wear)
o Habitat ~ Support Office: Design, Buying & Merchandising
o Ben Sherman ~ Design Support Assistants
o House of Fraser ~ Design, Buying, Merchandising, Visual
o Mothercare ~ children’s bedding
o Laura Ashley ~ print design assistant
o Sample Room/Technical Assistant
o Helena Gavshon ~ highly creative textile design company, supplying clients worldwide,
looking for experienced full or part-time freelance designers
o Romo is looking for an enthusiastic Sample Room Assistant to work in busy showroom at
Design Centre Chelsea Harbour
o Hallmark Cards ~ Product manager & Assistant Studio Manager
o Tesco ~ Design Assistant & Product Technology Graduate Scheme
o H&M ~ Design Assistant (Sweden) + internships
o Printfresh: Textile Design Internship, Philadelphia
o Women's Wear Garment Technologist ~ ASOS
o Embroidery Dept Placement; Fashion Print Intern ~ Alexander McQueen
o Heals ~ buying; visual display
o People Tree Design internships
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o Nitin Goyal’s design studio, East London
o BBC Design ~ costume
o Fig Leaves Lingerie Welwyn Garden City www.figleaves.com ~ occasional
placements in Marketing and Buying and Merchandising
o CWE Design Lab ~ international activewear design studio textiles internship (Germany)
o Assistant Fabric Sourcer ~ high street retailer
o Samples Assistant ~ interior design studio
Vacancy sources
Some design jobs are advertised formally, but many jobs, internships and work experience
opportunities are found more informally through networking or sending out speculative CVs. There
are a few specialist recruitment agencies.
o Careers Service ‘JobsPlus’ at http://uhihub.mdx.ac.uk/careers > Vacancies and Job search
Vacancies
o Creative Opportunities, University of the Arts London
www.arts.ac.uk/student/careers/creative-opportunities.htm
o UCA Careers http://community.ucreative.ac.uk/index.cfm?articleid=8552
o Denza www.denza.co.uk
o Drapers Jobs www.drapersonline.com/nav?page=drapersjobs.jobs
o Smith & Pye Consultancy www.smithandpye.com www.fashionpersonnel.co.uk
o www.inretail.co.uk > Design
o www.retailchoice.com
o www.fashionunited.co.uk
o Textile Institute http://recruit.interactiveti.org
o Design Jobs www.designjobs.co.uk
o Design Week jobs www.mad.co.uk/Main/Jobs/Default.html
o In Design www.indesignrecruitment.co.uk
o Arts Hub jobs database www.artshub.co.uk/uk/listJobs.asp
o Guardian Jobs > Arts & Heritage http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/jobs/arts-and-heritage
o Fashion Capital Jobs www.fashioncapital.co.uk/Community/Jobs.html
o Fashion Net (US website)www.fashion.net
Further Sources of Information
Job Profiles
Books
o Graduate Prospects Textile Designer
www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/textile_designer_job_description.jsp
o Fashion & Textiles: The Essential Careers Guide, Carol Brown. ISBN 9781856696173
Professional Organisations & Employer Directories
o Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) www.csd.org.uk
o Crafts Council www.craftscouncil.org.uk > Directory & Professional Development
o British Interiors Textile Associationwww.interiortextiles.co.uk
o Textiles Institute www.texi.org
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o Hothive Textiles Guide to Careers in the Textile Industry
www.thetextiledirectory.com > Work Experience & Education
o Fashion Industry Guide www.bl.uk/bipc/pdfs/fashion_industry_guide.pdf
o EMTEX Designer Forum www.emtex.org.uk/df/designerforum.asp
o UKFT Fashion & Textiles Association www.ukft.org
o Apparel Search www.apparelsearch.com
o Directory of Design Consultants www.designdirectory.co.uk
o Craft Central http://craftcentral.org.uk
o Textile Arts www.textilearts.net
o Arts Thread www.artsthread.com
o 62 Group artist led organisation www.62group.org
o Textiles, fashion & fibre: useful websites
www.southampton.ac.uk/library/subjects/artdesign/fashionwebsites.html
Journals/trade publications
o Textiles
o Selvedge
o Crafts
o Textile Forum
o www.textilearts.net/directory/publications/magazines_and_journals
Prizes & Awards
o Jerwood Prize
o Isabella Blow Memorial Prize
o Arts Foundation Fellowship
Exhibitions & Trade Fairs
o 100% Design
o New Designers
o British Craft Trade Fair
o Origin Contemporary Crafts Fair
CV & job search advice
o Careers Service website http://uhihub.mdx.ac.uk/careers > Job seeking skills and techniques
link to highlight sheets on CVs, interviews, etc.
o Graduate Prospects www.prospects.ac.uk > Careers Advice > Applications, CVs & Interviews
o University of the Arts London Creative Careers http://www.arts.ac.uk/jobs-careers/ >
Careers Information Guides > Self Marketing > Writing an Effective CV
o University of the Arts London Creative Living www.careers-creative-living.co.uk > Moving
On > CV Creative
o Creative CV Guide ISBN 9780950568065
o ArtQuest www.artquest.org.uk/building-a-career/how-to-create-a-cv.htm
Business Start Up/Enterprise advice and support
© Employability and Careers Service http://unihub.mdx.ac.uk/employability

o Artquest www.artquest.org.uk Exhibiting & Selling, Venues; Studios & Residencies;
Business Start Up; Artist self promotion
o Enterprise Centre For The Creative Arts www.ecca-london.org
o Crafts Council www.craftscouncil.org.uk > Next Move; National Register of Makers;
Opportunities
o Crafts Council Hothouse
o Cockpit Arts
o Craft Central http://craftcentral.org.uk
o NESTA Creative Enterprise Toolkit
www.nesta.org.uk/areas_of_work/creative_economy/creative_enterprise_toolkit_startups
Postgraduate study ~ options to Experiment, Diversify, Specialise; some examples:
o MA Textiles
o MA Textiles Design
o MA Fashion, Textiles, & Surface Decoration
o MSC Fashion & textiles Management
o MA Textiles Conservation
o MA Textile Design & Innovation
o MA Contemporary Textiles
o MA Contemporary Crafts
Other creative sectors to explore?
o Arts management, TV, film, media, communications & creative media agencies, advertising,
marketing, journalism, publishing, teaching,
Further resources such as hardcopy literature and DVDs are available in the Employability and Careers Centre
and electronically on our website.
Disclaimer: Middlesex University Employability and Careers Service has taken standard measures to ensure the
accuracy of the information contained in this publication at the time of updating. However, this information
may be subject to change. (Updated September 2012).
Accessibility: This document can be accessed in a different format from the careers library.
© Employability and Careers Service http://unihub.mdx.ac.uk/employability