BUILD AN INDUSTRY RELEVANT PORTFOLIO AND SHOWCASE THE BEST OF YOUR WORK
RECRUITMENT
Digital portfolios in pdf format or personal websites are very much the norm across the industry. Wix and Square Space are just two platforms with great options and easy-to-follow tutorials.
Curate your portfolio through the eyes of the viewer. It is important to scale and space your work out effectively and to label each section by employer, project and season for context and easy viewing. Make sure the images are not too small and the detail is clear to see.
Since you may also need to share easily or send specific edits, having a pdf compilation showcasing the highlights of your work for each job, project or season is also a necessity.
PORTFOLIO PRESENTATION
WHERE TO BEGIN
As a designer your portfolio is an essential tool in your armoury.
Work smart by collating your work throughout the season or by dedicating a weekend or two, so that you don’t have a mountain to climb when you are looking to move on.
CHRONOLOGY
Here’s a myth killer… your work does not need to be confined to a narrowed-down edit! And no one will be bored looking through your work. If your career is established and your visual history is relevant, people will be inspired by your ability to accurately reflect the vision and DNA of different brands or projects through a curated visual showcase in physical format, pdf and a well-executed website presentation.
We regularly recruit for luxury brands and the designers in this sector often have a website documenting the visual journey of their career and/or a pdf per job providing a great insight into their work, skills and achievements.
It needs to be chronological, start with your most recent work and go backwards. Each season and trend should begin with a mood board and fabric & colour palette followed by your designs in either CAD or illustration format depending on how you work, supported by flat drawings and enhanced with fabric swatches.
Mood boards, fabric and colour palettes can be across one or two pages with a clear theme. It is important to show key inspiration, colour and texture to demonstrate your eye for what’s relevant.
Write the season against each page for context and include relevant text on your mood boards to highlight the theme. This demonstrates attention to detail and connects seasonal key information in the mind of the viewer.
Aim to show a comprehensive representation from the most recent two seasons (spring/summer and fall/winter), including any best sellers and work that was on target, but maybe didn’t get selected. For previous seasons, pull together your best work along with any past best sellers.
MOOD, FABRIC, COLOUR
SKETCHES, IMAGERY
Feel free to include any look book or editorial images to support your design work keeping in mind it’s your actual drawings, whether hand sketched or created by CAD, that people want to see and which enable you to be competitive.
Your portfolio provides an opportunity to curate your work as a well constructed personal showcase. Outfitting is a great way to convey seasonal looks through the use of illustrations or CAD's.
Add fabric swatches and trims where appropriate, so that your book isn’t totally flat. A swatch next to a design brings it to life! For knitwear, include yarns and for print include any strike-offs.
Keep backgrounds plain white and your style of presentation simple and understated.
Your CV can be added to a CV tab on your website and you can attach a copy to your pdf.
Keep to hand a couple of tech packs if relevant to demonstrate your awareness of garment construction and skills in designing commercially viable garments which is applicable to all levels of the market.
PRESENTATION
If you have been collecting ideas in sketch books, people always love to flick through random inspiration, fabric/print/texture ideas and doodles that showcase your ability to think on your feet and capture a vision. This is a powerful tool that can be collated on your website, as a pdf or shown in a physical format.