I want to sell my fashion sketches

Making money from your fashion sketches is such a tempting idea. If you are wondering how and where to sell your fashion sketches, this article is where you should start.

Before even starting to think about selling your fashion designs, I want you to answer these 4 questions below to make sure you are truly ready to be on the market. Answering these questions will allow you to look at yourself objectively and decide whether or not your work is worth buying.

Q1. What’s your background?

You can not expect a million dollars company (or any company in fact) to buy fashion sketches from someone with little or no experience, right? Serious business works with serious professionals and you need to have proof that you know what you’re doing other than your words. Drawing pretty fashion sketches is not enough. If you want to be paid for your designs, you need to do and to know more.

  • What can you do?

Educate yourself.

Get a fashion design diploma. If you can’t afford a university, take an online fashion designing courseYou need to make sure your skills match the industry standards. You should not have any flaws in the figure drawing – the hands, face, hair, the pose – everything matters to make your design look its best and if you have difficulties with drawing any body part, you should address this problem immediately.

Start reading fashion designing books now. I wrote an article about my TOP 3 fashion books, that I recommend you buy. Watch Youtube videos, read blogs, join Facebook groups, talk to people from the industry. You need that experience!

A key point of drawing professional fashion sketches is understanding garments and their structure. To learn how clothes are constructed you can apply for an internship with a local designer or find someone who knows how to sew and ask them to teach you.

Q2. How do you present your work?

The way you present your artwork is beyond important, it is everything! Low-quality pictures of your fashion design sketches that are dark and blurry won’t get you any sales, believe me. In order to sell any product, it needs to look like it’s worth it.

  • What you can do?

Forget about cell phone pictures of your artwork and build a professional-looking portfolio. My article 10 steps on how to create a fashion portfolio will give you an idea of how to do it.

Make sure your portfolio shows the diversity of your talent. Show that you know how to create not only model illustration, but also design flats. See what’s the difference here.

Bonus idea: work on your online portfolio. Nowadays you don’t need to create a handcrafted book to serve you as a portfolio. A professional looking Facebook page or Instagram profile can do the job.

Q3. Where do your ideas come from?

The fashion industry doesn’t care about how creative and original your ideas are. They don’t care about the pretty dress you drew. The industry cares about profit. And if their collection is not up with the latest trends they will have fewer sales.

Your designs need to be current all the time.

  • What you can do?

Research the fashion forecast for next seasons and the  Pantone Fashion colors report. The time spent in research is what sets apart professional designing from hobby drawing. An amateur just starts drawing ideas from their heads. Professionals start drawing after hours of research!

Q4. Who is your ideal client?

Each brand has its ideal customer. The ideal customer is an imaginary persona that has a certain age, profession, interests, and lifestyle.
Not designing for an ideal customer will lead to random designs with too little in common. This is a huge mistake and I see it all the time.

  • What to do?

Build your ideal customer and design for her! Give her a name, character, and interests. When you design always ask yourself if SHE would wear this, and whether it fits with the rest of her wardrobe.

Find a company with the same vibe as your ideal customer and sell your designs to them or research a company’s ideal customer and design with her in mind. The latter is what happens more often in the industry and what professionals are expected to do.
Stop drawing random designs!

Companies don’t buy fashion sketches from just about anyone. Based on your experience and portfolio they could hire you to design for them though. The catch here is that you will need to design new designs based on the fashion forecast that was made especially for the brand’s ideal customer.

After you make sure you understand and meet the requirements above, I recommend you reading 9 ideas for selling your fashion sketches. and article 5 Places to sell your fashion designs.


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38 Comments

  1. I’m a 17 years old girl and i would like to bring my designs to live and to be seen, i do not have any experience but I have brains and I’m a hard worker. I am passionate about this and I have always loved designing.

  2. I am not a professional and I don’t have any degree or diploma but I draw designs for dresses specifically elegant ones my designs come from how I feel through love I would create through any situations I would create a design I would love to work or sell my designs please

  3. Hi dear,

    Please check https://www.idrawfashion.com/blog/ where you will find a couple of articles that will help you start.

    Companies won’t work with someone who doesn’t have a degree, because being a fashion designer is so much more than just drawing pretty clothes.
    What you could do without a diploma in Fashion Design is start a career as a freelance fashion illustrator. You need to have excellent anatomy drawing skills and excellent knowledge in fabric rendering.
    As for improving the faces, hair and hands I would suggest taking my Masterclass which is an intense course helping you perfect every aspect of figure drawing. You will find it at https://academy.idrawfashion.com/
    Love,
    Teya

  4. Hi Teya!I came across this blog and found it awesome!
    I draw ma designs also from ideas,some I get from references too.I am also good at flat illustrations.I love my designs cause I find them unique,calm and simple though,and I would love for them not to end up been just pictures..
    I don’t have a diploma in fashion designing,but I have some ideas in tailoring.And also so many ideas on designs and just can’t seem to put most down.
    I would really love to sell out my designs or meet one willing to work with me.
    I would also love to improve in sketching the faces,hands,hair and some other poses I find hard to do.
    I want to improve so well so they don’t look just like pictures anymore.
    Will be waiting on your blog soon!
    Thank you!

  5. Hi I’m Amilia I’m 15 of age and i sketch fation design and I really want to be a fation designer and in study in Christ International school and I really want to sell my sketching designing can u help me please

  6. Hi my name is Amilia and I’m 15 year old and I study in Christ International school and my aim is to be a fation designer I really like designing 👗 and heel shoes and I have some design in my design copy and if u like me to send them to u is not so creative with nature but I’m still learning it so…..nice to meet you

  7. Hi I’m Amilia I’m 15 of age and i sketch fation design and I really want to be a fation designer and I have some of my design can I send you please

  8. I am 19 and I really appreciate what I have as a talent I will really love to sell my fashion illustrations, it will really act as a motivator.

  9. IDrawFashion,

    I am Mary Anthonette Angeles, 16 years old.I am from Philippines.I would like to present my designs if you let me have the honor.My designs are all adapted from nature.

  10. Fashion designing is my passion and I do have a lot of sketches now…please let me have the honor to present it.

  11. Hi! I am Chloen from Philippines and I am currently 13 yrs. old. I have a passion in making fashion illustration and I do it as a hobby. I would really like to work with you.

  12. Hi Jess here I don’t have any diploma but I do have the Passion in creating my own clothes design. I’m not that professional however I believe my designs is acceptable. Also I believe my designs needs improvement and hoping someone out there to help me improve my skill. Hope someone contact me… I really want to sell my designs hopefully someone appreciate it …??

  13. Hello! I am Imane and I’m 19. I don’t have any diploma but I do have talent and draw very unique and creative illustrations. Let me know if you are interested in taking a look at my portfolio. Have a nice day!

  14. I am not professional but have talent but I’m wise enough to know that their is so much more I can learn thanks so much for taking the time out to share .

  15. Heeeey teya thank you for this gorgeous blog..it’s really helpful
    I wanna ask you about fashion design scholarships full funded.. I really can’t offer anything for courses or something like that
    Plz help me with tips

  16. I’m not a professional yet but at the age of 19 i am able to do professional fashion sketches with a variety of unique ideas …as young as i am I create a portfolio of fashion drawings to explore my talent …I would like to also further my studies as I am doing a clothing manufacturing processes course so it gives me a better platform of making my designs so it would be pleasure to send my designs

  17. I’m not a professional yet but at the age of 19 i am able to do professional fashion sketches with a variety of unique ideas …as young as i am I create a portfolio of fashion drawings to explore my talent it would be a pleasure to send my designs

  18. Hi, i m a merchant in export house and also m designing for development sample for our company. i want to sell my sketches pls tell me where can i submitted my design.

  19. hi I love what I have read so far and I have a lot of designs I created, but I don’t know where to start from due to financial inconvenience

  20. No designing qualifications but very much interested, where can I submit my design s

  21. Hi , I sketching fashion design well, I dont have any basic course in Fashion design.Can I send some sketches??please….

  22. I love sketching dressés and fashion cloths,but I’ve never study fashion before and i really dont no if i should be Worried.Everyone i show my sketches really love them though

  23. Hi.. I am 16 years old. I want to become a fashion designer. I have an account at instagram @illustration_adda. I have posted a lot of fashion sketches there. Can u tell me the ways through which I can spread my fashion sketches to famous fashion designers so that they would tell me my weak points.

  24. Hi
    I’m a fashion designer and lecturer in INIFD
    I really want to sale my designs
    I’m a illustration lecture and I’m well known about fashion illustration and designing
    Plz can you guide how to proceed

  25. I am a14 years old girl who live in Africa & who truly want to become a designer so could u do something for me please???!!

  26. Am doing Master Diploma Fashion Designing in Dream zone… Am have fashion Illustration Sketch skill… Can i send some drawings…

  27. I’m just a fourteen year old who wants to spend her holiday buy selling my designs I really want to sell them help me pls ??????????

  28. Hello Florence,

    Unfortunately nice drawings is never enough. The formal education is to confirm that you know and understand clothing design. If you are skilled at sewing and you know how and what is possible to execute, you will avoid your designs to look simply like pretty drawings. And even if the general public won’t be able to tell the difference, believe me, a professional CAN and WILL.

    A goof fashion illustration (especially if it’s design flats) shows illustrator’s knowledge not only of human anatomy, but also of clothing construction and textiles.

    I will soon launch online courses that will be super helpful for those that can’t go to universities and colleges and spend years to get educated.
    Maybe you keep an eye on the blog for when it happens and you can find something that might boost your skills to professional level.

    Wish you all the best!

  29. Hii
    I’m Florence Iam great at drawing fashion illustration I don’t have diploma in fashion design

  30. Hi , I do fashion sketches, I do not have a basic course or diploma in. Fashion design but I do want you to see my creativity,can I send you some of my design.plz

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