What strikes your mind first whenever you are asked to imagine your favourite superhero, say Spiderman? Does your mind not go straight to the character’s outfit, such as the red web-patterned dress? This is precisely the magic that costume designers bring into their characters. If you’re curious about combining fashion, storytelling, and creativity, a job in costume design may be the perfect fit for you. Read on to learn more about a career in costume design and whether it is a right fit for you.

Keep reading to explore the various career opportunities available in costume design and discover how you can become a professional costume designer.

Journey through Time: Touring the History of Costume Design

Costume designing is the art of creating unique costumes for on-screen or theatre characters. In the 5th century BC, Greek playwright Aeschylus was renowned for creating character-specific costumes to help illustrate a mood and entertain audiences. A critical accessory included the Mask, which was significant for providing a specific look to the character. Much later, Shakespeare’s own theatre company was also known to provide costumes to its performers.

Whatever the origin of costume designing, this art has captivated people since time immemorial. Whether it be street performers, travelling theatre artists, TV actors, or the ones on bigger screens, audiences closely relate the character to the costume. It’s no surprise that even today, a character is very much loved or criticised depending on the design of the outfit.

Before you start wondering, it’s important to understand that fashion and costume design are two separate professions. Let’s explore how!

Costume Designer vs Fashion Designer

We must first recognise their similarities to comprehend the difference between a fashion designer and a costume designer.

Fashion designing and costume designing involve creativity and an excellent sense of colours, fabrics and textures. Both professions require a complete understanding of the clients and creating the perfect garments. Now let’s jump into the differences.

Fashion design involves creating designs and attire that cater to and appeal to the general market. It consists of understanding market trends and the clothing that will sell or set a new trend among the public.

To begin your career, it is advised to enrol in a course at a specialised university because both professions demand a great deal of dedication.

Speaking about costume designing, one can work and build an illustrious career in several industries. Read on to find out some.

Exploring the Versatility of Costume Design Careers

As a costume designer, you can take up work in several areas, including but not limited to:

• Theme Parks: These attractions often require skilled costume designers who can design outfits that appeal to visitors.
• Gaming Industry: Video game characters are no different in needing flawless costumes, as a great outfit can make or break a game’s success.
• Theatre Industry: It goes without saying that theatres and costume designers cannot be separated from each other.
• TV and Film Industry: With different characters depicting distinguished emotions, the costumes must also match the scene’s mood.
• Advertising Industry: Advertising is a highly competitive industry, and unique costumes can help your clients make more impact on their viewers.
• Music Industry: Musicians often prefer costumes that strike a chord with their audience during different events.

With diverse industries to work in, you might wonder what is the average salary for a costume designer in the present times. There often needs to be more clarity among people about costume designer vs fashion designer. Fashion designers entail a whole look, while costume designers are more of a practical application of one’s fashion abilities. Also, if you are curious to know how to become costume designer, let’s jump right into the answer to your questions.

The Road to Costume Designing: Necessary Skills and Earnings Estimates

As an aspiring professional, you might ponder what qualifications do you need to be a costume designer. Enrolling in a costume designer course is an ideal way to begin your career journey. By understanding a character’s emotional needs and scene-specific requirements, you can improve your creative and analytical abilities in this course.

Additionally, becoming a costume designer also requires having a knowledge of the best places to obtain the costumes. Subsequently, you will also learn to explore the answers to questions like where do costume designers get clothes that are perfect for the character. Remember, there is a major difference between fashion designer and costume designer. You must know what you align with the most.

As a professional costume designer, AmbitionBox states that you can go on to make anywhere between INR 3 LPA to INR 9 LPA. Besides, how much costume designers get paid also depends significantly on their experience. Once you gain experience and a stronghold in your industry, you can go on to charge a higher amount from clients.

Final Words

If you consider yourself to be an individual with an appreciation for aesthetics and creativity, a career in costume design is perfect for you. Additionally, if you are a movie buff, there couldn’t be a more exciting career option. You can go on and find out how to become a costume designer in Bollywood and start a career there. What qualifications do you need to be a costume designer? You may start with a basic course in the same field.

This is why JD School of Design offers a BSc in Fashion and Apparel Design to get your career journey started on the right note. Besides providing you with knowledge of designs, clothing lines and visual communications, the course also focused on hands-on training. Further, as a JDSD student, you will be encouraged to take hands-on training and undergo industry training to enhance your competence.

So if you are looking for an exciting career in costume designing, enrol today to get started.