What Is the Average Salary of a Fashion Designer?

Elmira | 06 - 12 - 2021
Fashion Designer

The average salary for a fashion designer is $15.98 per hour and the annual income is $74,410 per year or $6,200 per month. The medium wage for a fashion designer is $5,355 per month and $64,260 per year.

These annual salaries of fashion designers may vary from country to country. We have rounded up some fashion designers’ wages based on their job roles, industries and locations.

The average salary of a fashion designer is $31.33 per hour or $65,170, as per the Bureau of labor statistics. 

Who Is the Highest-Paid Fashion Designer?
  • A. Miuccia Prada
  • B. Marc Jacobs
  • C. Vivienne Westwood
  • D. Isabel Marant

Fashion Designer Salaries by Industry

A fashion designer’s income may vary because of their experience, location, industry and qualifications.

How much do fashion designers make? The median annual salary for a fashion designer is $73,790. The highest 10% earned over $149,010 and the lowest 10% earned less than $37,260. 

We have put together a list of medium annual wages based on the top industries in which fashion designers work.

Management of companies and enterprises $79,420
Motion picture and video industries $80,140
Apparel, piece goods, and notions merchant wholesalers $73,060
Apparel manufacturing $73,600

Fashion Designer Salary by Job Roles

According to the BLS data, in May 2019, the average salary of clothing designers was $86,110​. The salary of the bottom 10% of clothing designers was less than ​$37,260​ a year. The average income of workers in the occupation was ​$41.40​ an hour. The top 10% of the fashion designers earned more than ​$149,010​. Half of the workers in the job got between ​$52,410​ and ​$100,830.

About Fashion Designers

 The fashion industry is considered one of the largest industries in the world. It provides a range of careers for those who are interested in fashion. It is most suitable for those who are creative and love design and style. Fashion designers utilize design principles to create clothing, accessories and footwear.

Fashion designers work in apparel companies, retailers, theatre or dance companies, wholesale or manufacturers companies and design firms. They work occasionally for several hours to meet deadlines or arrange fashion shows. Freelance designers often work under a contract and work longer hours and maintain their workday to their client’s deadlines and schedules.

Fashion designers are not only creative, determined and innovative, they are also well-versed about the fashion market requirements. They are always ready to learn new things and read fashion magazines, journals and books. They stay up-to-date about the fashion design history and new trends.

The career of a fashion designer is often described as fashion designing, which is the art of innovating, creating and adding beauty to clothing by adding some accessories. 

The Job of a Fashion Designer Includes:

  • Sketching fashion ideas
  • Sewing and cut out a clothing item
  • Utilizing their tailoring skills to get the perfect fit
  • Attending fashion shows
  • Drawing design to create garments
  • Choosing fabrics or any specific additions for the outfit
  • Reading fashion magazines to update their knowledge about the latest fashion

To become a successful fashion designer, they must have a better understanding of the audience’s lifestyle and meet consumer’s requirements.

Fashion Designer Salary by State

Fashion designers prefer to work in big cities including Los Angeles, and New York.

According to the BLS, around 71 percent of fashion designers received decent wages working in New York or California in May 2019. The salary of fashion designers in New York ​$92,860​ a year on average in May 2019 and they earned $93,870​ on average in California.

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