Pay for fashion design work can vary greatly, depending on your industry of preference and your level of experience. It is estimated that fashion designers earn a median annual wage of more than $75,000. Designers who work in the motion picture industry might earn upwards of $80,000 annually, while designers who work for wholesalers might earn about $71,000 per year. Fashion designers working in apparel manufacturing earn an estimated $75,000 per year.
Designers who bill by the hour are said to earn an average of $35 to $40 per hour. But what about designers who bill by the project? Let’s say you’re looking to bill a client for collection development, which includes but is not limited to researching the client’s style, trends in fabric, clothing comps, color trends, price points, and competition. On average, collection development for 10 styles might cost a minimum of $400 and upwards of $1,000.
You might have a client who wants you to create a 10-piece collection of idea sketches. These types of sketches can include fabric swatches and a development report among other items. If you’re billing by the project, you might charge any amount from $400 to more than $7,500 per collection.
If you have been trained to work with CAD technology and are skilled at transforming pencil sketches into CAD flats that include a front and back view, your price for 10 pieces might range from $400 to $800. Some freelance fashion designers work with overseas clients. In this case, you will need to produce tech flats, which include the CAD flat, trims, fabrics to use, sewing instructions, measurements, and color-ways. Since tech packs require greater effort, they are often billed from $100 to $500 for one style or between $1,000 and $5,000 for 10 styles.
Let’s say your client has hired a sewer but doesn’t have time to manage the process of sewing a sample, which could take several days. You might elect to take on this responsibility, for a fee, of course. Managing the sample sewing stage can require delivering linings, fabrics, trims, labels, and other important items to the sewer. You might even take responsibility for finding an experienced sewer to create the samples. The rate for taking on this responsibility might run from $100 to $500 depending on how extensive a role you claim.
The amount you bill for your fashion design work will likely differ from project to project. It will also reflect your level and years of experience, educational and technical background, portfolio, and ability to produce quality references. But whether you decide to charge by the hour or per project, you want to make sure that you value your time and effort. If you charge by the hour, consider adding a monetary cushion for yourself. This way, if you finish your projects sooner than expected, you won’t be paid less than your desired rate. And if you are paid per project, consider adding a monetary cushion in case it takes you longer than originally estimated for completion.