The word Fashion Designer itself stands for a person who designs and innovates clothing pieces that are in trend with the current fashion styles for another person from casual wear to formal wear with accessories.
Choosing Fashion Designing as a career is itself a decision made by a person who is creative and confident, whose mind constantly wonders about innovations. Miuccia Prada once said,
“What you wear is how you present yourself in the world, especially today when human contacts are so quick. Fashion is an instant language.”
Getting a job at your favorite Fashion Institute is indeed a dream come true. Almost all the institutes conduct interviews nowadays and hence it is not a piece of cake to get qualified in those interviews. These interviews are the chance to show how passionate you are to be a part of the fashion industry and the questions asked in those interviews can sometimes be tricky as to test your knowledge and skills in the field.
These questions are like takeaways for your entire career in fashion because as you will prepare yourself with the questions and answers which most probably will be a part of the interview, your chances to excel in these interviews increase, which brings you a step closer to your dreams.
Trending Fashion Interview Questions
1) Tell us something about yourself
No matter what kind of interview you are a part of, the interviewer is always going to ask you to express yourself or to introduce yourself. Most people get completely blank when they are asked to speak something about them and how they are as a person as it is a crucial point solely based upon which there is a chance for you to get hired for the job. When an interviewer asks you this question, he wants you to answer it in a way that includes:
- Your name and educational qualifications.
- How you got an interest in the fashion field and what are the other fields you have your interests in?
- What makes you think about it as a career option, Answer to this question could be, say for example, “When I was a kid, I always used to take my mom’s clothes and turn them into something extremely new and wear it around me. I used to cut out my favorite outfits from fashion magazines and newspapers and stick them into my diary. I knew I had those skills and I just needed the craft.”
- What you’re like outside of your work life?
- As you answer this question, the interviewer should know who you are and how you are as a person clearly. So, try to be real while you answer this question so that you don’t sound vague and the listener gets satisfied with your answer.
2) Why do you want to work here?
When an interviewer asks you this question, he wants to know that why do you choose to work as an employee rather than working for yourself and being your boss. Answer it by saying that the company has better opportunities for you to grow.
3) Do you have any work experience in this field?
To answer this question, I would suggest that before applying for the job, take part in some internship programs as previous work experience is a plus point to the employer.
4) What excites you most about being a fashion designer?
In this question, an interviewer wants to know that what according to you is the best thing about being a fashion designer, is it being a creative individual, is it about turning your innovations into reality. In short, what is your favorite part of being a fashion designer?
Answer this question by showing your passion for the field. You should try and align your answer with you being the best suited for the organization and for this job and how you enjoy being in this being.
5) What according to you are work ethics?
This question should be answered like, “I believe that work ethics are something which differentiates your professional life from your personal life.”
6) Whom do you take inspiration from?
Irrespective of the field you are in, this is the question which is most commonly asked in the interviews where the interviewer wants to know who or what are your inspirations, which celebrities’ style themselves the best and by whom are you influenced to create new designs every day. Name your favorite designers, fashion bloggers, fashion writers, and stylists. This will give the interviewer knowledge about your fashion sense, who you look up to tells a lot about how you create designs and what is the fashion styles that you prefer.
In short answer this question by talking about your fashion gurus and how and why they inspire you.
7) What changes do you want to make in the fashion industry?
The Interviewer here tests your leadership skills and how can you bring revolution. Suggest how can make consumers buy better and spend less, how you can support artisans and small businesses.
8) Tell us about your favorite fashion trends so far?
When the interviewer asks this question, he wants to know how updated you are with the trends and styles in the present world and on the web. Make the interviewer believe how closely you follow the fashion and what ideas do you have in your mind concerning the trend that is currently going on. You can also answer this question by showing your previous work that aligned with the trends in the past which will add a plus point.
9) How do you stay updated with these trends?
Tell employer the name of magazines, shows, and bloggers that you follow. Answer it by mentioning that you are active on social media sites like Instagram and how it helps you.
10) In how many ways can a designer work?
The answer to this question should be that a designer can either set up his/her boutique and company or work as a freelancer for someone else or work as a full-time employee in a company.
11) Name some areas that Fashion Designing covers
Answer this question by giving a brief about certain areas like women’s wear, kids’ wear, men’s wear, and their segregation under various areas like sportswear, knitwear, etc.
12) Why do you want to work with us?
An interviewer asks you this question to know how you will help the brand to grow and while answering this question you have to make sure that you prove to the interviewer that you are going to be an asset to the brand. Show that you are passionate about the brand.
13) How do you deal with work stress?
An interviewer looks for a candidate who can work effectively and efficiently even under pressure and stress. Tell them that you remain calm and that you have your mind open in such situations.
14) What are the must-have skills in a designer?
This question should be answered creatively by mentioning important industrial skills like innovativeness, marketing skills, artistic vision, etc.
15) Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Nobody wants to hire an employee who doesn’t see himself grow in future years. Answer this question by being confident about your future goals.
16) What is Fashion according to you?
Describe Fashion from your perspective. Make your answer more informative and insightful.
17) What is your Fashion Mantra?
Come up with some creative tools and taglines to answer this question like, ‘I aim at bringing the old-school fashion back’, ‘I want to promote sustainable fashion.’
18) Define your fashion style in one word?
As a designer, you should sound confident enough in your answer without a flaw. Say what best defines your style type, ‘Comfortable’, ‘Elegant’ etc.
19) Why you should be hired?
Attempt to answer this question with what are your strengths and how experienced you are in this field.
20) One design of yours that you are proud of?
Showcase your best design and talk about its success to the employer.
21) What are your weaknesses?
An interviewer may test your presence of mind by asking this question, choose not to answer this question, or answer smartly by saying that, “I prefer not to tell my weaknesses which add ups to my strengths.”
Download the list of questions in .PDF format, to practice with them later, or to use them on your interview template (if you want to crack Interview):
Conclusion
These are examples of some questions that could be asked to you in the interview. The list is going to help you to prepare better for your interview round and also helps you enhance your communication skills and help you make a better impression in front of your employer. Tell us in the comment section, how this article turned out to be helpful for you. Share this article with your fellow fashion-mates.
References
- https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09590551011076533/full/html
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03601277.2019.1675938
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Sandeep Bhandari is the founder of PrepMyCareer.com website.
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