The word portfolio has different meanings. It can be a large, thin, flat object for loose sheets of paper, such as drawing paper or maps. It can also mean a set of funding made by a person or an organization. A fashion portfolio is a kind of design portfolio.
A fashion modeling portfolio is a collection of samples, images, fabric samples, etc. collected by a fashion designer to demonstrate their skills to a future employer. It is also used by students to show when applying for college admission. They are also used when applying for apparel job opportunities. Portfolios are part of a fashion designers resume.
There are two types of portfolios and it is important that you know the difference between them. There is a personal portfolio that shows your complete experience as a fashion designer and includes all the collections that you are prominent of. The second type is a specific portfolio that you make ready when applying for a role. This portfolio is designed to your role and will be shared with the recruiter to see if you are a good candidate for a referral for an interview.
Here are more details about the two types of portfolios:
Table of Contents
1- Personal Portfolio
Your personal portfolio is what you take for the interview. This includes collections that you have created during your design and show the skills you have acquired. You may specialize in one category, for example, knitwear, which means that your personal collection expresses this. Or if you have design and experience in different fields, it should be displayed throughout.
2- Specific Portfolio
A specific portfolio is something an employer or company might ask you to share after an initial discussion of a role. This portfolio is what you create to help you in the interview. This is not what you are interviewing. You have to show your best sets that show the type of role you want.
Now you know what kind of portfolio design you want to create for your next job.
Both types of portfolios must follow the same format:
- Brief introduction
- Conceptual mood board
- your designs
Now that you are familiar with the concept of portfolio and its types, here are some tips about fashion modeling portfolio:
Fashion Modeling Portfolio Tips
1. Read the materials needed for the portfolio
Everywhere you look today, the tide of protectionist sentiment is flowing. This may sound silly, but I have seen many people use the same set of exact portfolios for ten different programs, even if it means they have been interviewed with the wrong content.
So if they want 3 design projects, a sketchbook and a fabric, bring them. If you have something interesting that does not fit the need, bring it separately and tell them how many other things you want to show them. Maybe they look, maybe not. (With that in mind, be sure to read the description course as well. I can’t tell you how many students were interviewed for fashion management and marketing course and said how they hoped to be designers.
2. Start with a short introduction
Do not make your introduction too long, it should be up to seven lines. It should explain the reason, goal and motivation behind your collections and what your portfolio reader can find inside. If you are writing an introduction to your personal portfolio, it may be a little more about you as a designer – but avoid writing too much. Keep it short.
3. Be flexible and ready for any situation
Because different jobs and courses will have different needs, make sure you prepare your fashion portfolio according to the condition you are applying for (just like a resume, right?) So if you have five considerable projects, you may need to take only three of them for one interview, and four portfolios for another, because there were components that were not applicable to a specifically school or job. It also means you need a portfolio that can delete content. This is a very important issue.• Fashion portfolio should include mood concept boards
Fashion boards are important to explain the inspiration of your model collection. This helps employers and companies to see how you work and how clever you are. Your fashion modeling portfolio should include images, fabric samples, paintings, color and fabric palettes. One or two pages dedicated to your concepts will be enough, more than this your portfolio amount will be at risk of being too long.
4. Share technical drawings
Technical drawings do not need to be included in your portfolio, but if you are applying for a quick fashion role, it is highly recommended that you be ahead of the competition. Technical drawings can be drawn by hand, but it is better to present drawings created in Illustrator or InDesign. This is because fashion jobs require designers to provide highly detailed designs to suppliers so that they can prepare prototypes. It is useless to provide a simple technical design; Demonstrate your best skills by showing that you can draw harder features such as coats, pants, bags or shoes.
5. Edit your fashion modeling portfolio
When people look at portfolios, they are usually in some sort of hiring process. That’s why you need to create a short and eloquent portfolio. Do not make people bored, do not start with good deeds and save the best for the end. Editing seems to be more than just challenging content, so take the time to carefully edit your portfolio so it doesn’t get too long and tedious.
6. Include portfolios in 10 pages
The length of a fashion designer’s portfolio for a job is a frequently asked question. There are no specific rules, but it is important to not insert too much. Your portfolio can be any length you like, but make sure you only include your latest and greatest works. An employer will not be interested in what you did more than a year ago. The fashion portfolio should not be more than 10-13 pages. It has to be very much in line with the role you want and you have to choose your best work.
7. Always put in your recent work
Employers don’t care knowing what you created 10 years ago, they like to know what you can do now. Show your experience from the last two years, anything older than this should be eliminated unless it is really applicable.
Don’t forget to submit only one sample photo of your fashion modeling portfolio first – do not disclose your entire work immediately. Send a shorter version of the portfolio first, after that if you are asked for an interview, you can get everything done. It is good to keep something away because it surprises and attracts the interviewer.
8. Realize your strengths.
This life lesson is for everyone and applies to all jobs, programs and points of life. If you are not doing well at something, try not to include it in your collection. For example, if you enjoy illustration, do not include any of them in your fashion modeling portfolio.
During the MA course in St. Martinez, the course manager thought that all the pictures were “worthless”, and only one of us was allowed to put the right fashion pictures in our portfolio. The rest of us created a beautiful portfolio without them. No one is ideal , so do not attempt to be and do not try to do everything yourself, sometimes ask others for help. Don’t forget that you are as good as your worst image/ design/ illustration / article, so assure that there are no weak links.