Qualifications
Can you sew? No? Then go home.
If you want to be a fashion designer, then you need to know how to make things, be it a scarf, jacket, or pair of pumps. It's great if you have artistic vision and an eye for spotting fashion trends—you need both as a fashion designer—but if you can't physically create the look that exists only in your head, then no one is going to hire you.
Not all fashion designers learn how to stitch at Grandmama's knee. An associate's or bachelor's degree in fashion design can provide you with the technical skills you need to get from a sketch to a completed item of clothing. In this major, you'll take courses in textile design, draping, pattern drafting, clothing construction, the history of fashion, and consumer behavior.
If you're smart (and we know you are), you'll supplement your design classes with coursework in business or marketing, because knowing how to sell your designs to people is as important in the fashion industry as creating those designs in the first place.
An internship will be an absolute "must" for you. Most students will be gunning for unpaid work with Condé Nast (which publishes Vogue) as well as big-name fashion labels. However, you could also find a design internship with any apparel or accessories manufacturer (Nike? Just do it.) or a local designer in your area. You could also work as a freelance fashion designer and round up a clientele base of your own.
Besides knowing how to stitch and rip out a seam, you'll need to be able to prove to potential employers that you can work well with others; that you can handle criticism and alterations by others to your artistic vision; and that you are an excellent communicator.
You'll have to show that you're creative and detail-oriented. You'll also need to be skilled with a computer, as many elements of the design process are completed via software.
And above all else, if things aren't working, you'll have to be able to make it work. Right Tim?