Jobs/By role/Fashion Designer
Fashion Designer jobs
A Fashion Designer creates the concepts, sketches and technical specifications that turn ideas into wearable collections, from initial silhouette to final fit. Labels ranging from streetwear names like Daily Paper to established womenswear and lingerie houses such as Hunkemöller hire for this role at every level, from design internships to senior positions. This page lists current openings for fashion designers, apparel designers and modeontwerpers across Europe.
Also hired as: designer · apparel designer · modeontwerper
Open Fashion Designer roles
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Salary guide
What does a Fashion Designer earn?
Ranges come from our Fashion Designer salary guide, maintained per level for the European market. Individual listings state their own range when the company shares one.
Full Fashion Designer salary guide →The role, in practice
Working as a Fashion Designer
What the role involves day to day
A fashion designer's week moves between research and production. You start with trend research, mood boards and sketches, then work with pattern cutters to check fit and construction. Closer to deadline, the focus shifts to fabric sourcing, fittings and correcting samples. Internship and assistant roles, such as those at By-Bar or Hunkemöller, cover the same ground at a smaller scale, supporting a senior designer through each stage.
What hiring managers look for
Hiring managers want a portfolio that shows creative range alongside technical understanding, not just attractive sketches. Fluency in Adobe Illustrator and increasingly CLO 3D is expected, plus working knowledge of pattern cutting and fabric behaviour. For roles inside larger groups, such as the senior designer position at Hunkemöller, you also need to work within an established brand identity and commercial margin rather than starting from a blank page.
How the career progresses
Careers usually start as a design intern or assistant, similar to the openings at Daily Paper or Asda, then move to designer and senior designer once you can run a category unsupervised. From there, the path leads to head of design or creative direction, built on several seasons of balancing creative direction with commercial results.
Common questions
Becoming a Fashion Designer
What qualifications do you need to become a fashion designer?
Most employers look for a degree in fashion design or a related discipline, though a strong portfolio can sometimes outweigh formal qualifications. You will need solid sketching and CAD skills, an understanding of pattern cutting and garment construction, and a portfolio that shows finished, wearable pieces. Internships, like those advertised at Hunkemöller or By-Bar, are a common route in for people building that portfolio.
What is the difference between a fashion designer and a pattern cutter?
A fashion designer creates the concept, silhouette and overall look of a garment, while a pattern cutter translates that vision into the technical pieces that make it fit and function. In smaller teams the two roles sometimes overlap, but in larger design departments they are separate, with the designer briefing the pattern cutter and reviewing fit on the finished sample.
How do you progress from junior to senior fashion designer?
Progression generally comes from taking ownership of a category or collection without close supervision, then proving you can hit commercial and creative targets consistently. Moving between assistant, designer and senior designer titles, as seen across listings from Daily Paper to Open32, usually takes several seasons and a portfolio that shows growing responsibility. From senior designer, the next steps are typically head of design or creative direction.
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