Marc Jacobs Shares 5 Tips for Aspiring Fashion Designers

Marc Jacobs is an American fashion designer from New York City. After graduating from the High School of Art and Design in 1981, Marc entered Parsons School of Design, where he stood out among his classmates by winning both the Perry Ellis Gold Thimble Award and Design Student of the Year in 1984. In 1997, Marc was appointed creative director of luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton, where he created the company’s first ready-to-wear clothing line. He is now the head designer for his own eponymous fashion label, Marc Jacobs. Marc is a five-time recipient of the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Womenswear Designer of the Year Award.

Fashion school is not a requirement for becoming a successful fashion designer. Whether your goal is to make T-shirts and hoodies or evening dresses with intricate embellishments, check out the following tips from successful fashion designer Marc Jacobs to take your design game to the next level:

1. 1. Learn the fundamentals. Marc encourages aspiring designers to develop an intimate knowledge of the craft involved in producing their own designs, like sewing patterns, DIY pattern making, and embroidery. Marc learned to sew his own clothes at an early age and used this skill to practice garment construction and identify the drape of different types of fabrics. As a clothing manufacturer, fostering this knowledge will help you better understand the designs that complement your style and those that don’t. “Run some fabric through a sewing machine. Change the stitch. Change the tension of the stitch, and see what it does,” Marc says. Experience is the best teacher.
2. 2. Learn from the greats. Learning the history of fashion and clothing design is beneficial for professional fashion designers to create fresh ideas and real innovation. Fashion industry trends revolve in cycles, and looks from the past inspire many of today’s hottest trends. There are many iconic designers in the world of fashion and haute couture. Marc recommends exploring the works of trailblazers like Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Halston, Rei Kawakubo, Vivienne Westwood, Martin Margiela, and Elsa Schiaparelli.
3. 3. Design for different markets. If you can’t decide which fashion market suits you, Marc recommends designing for different market sectors—like lingerie, sportswear, knitwear, leisure gear, or bridal wear—until you find one that resonates with you. By focusing on womenswear and building a name for his brand, Marc was able to break into menswear, childrenswear, and accessories. Starting your fashion career without a singular focus can be overwhelming, but this exploratory process will help you make the best choice for your future. “I think experiencing something and getting involved and giving it an effort to see how you feel within your choice is the best way to discover if it's the right one for you,” Marc says.
4. 4. Allow your “voice” to naturally manifest. While it is essential to have a unique voice throughout your career, determining it too early can leave you boxed in and uninspired. Young fashion designers can become frustrated trying to find the trends and themes that will remain consistent throughout their design career. “I'm still finding my voice,” Marc says. “When I look back, I realize that there are these recurring themes.”Marc didn’t start his own clothing line with those themes in mind. Instead, he allowed them to naturally manifest as he designed the clothing that spoke to him.
5. 5. Inspiration is everywhere. “I always think for fashion to have a life, it needs to come from life,” Marc explains. “I keep my eyes open when I'm on the street or when I'm in a car and looking out the window. I think life is inspiring.” Fashion is more than just the clothing you wear, but the way it is worn and the visual story it tells. If you want to become a good fashion designer, keep your sketchbook on hand in your daily life. Note the types of clothing that people are wearing. What can that tell you about their wants and needs as consumers? Document the observations that inspire you—take a photo, scribble in your sketchbook, or write a note. These observations can potentially evolve into great new design ideas for clothing items.

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