Fashion Designer interview questions and answers

My graduation collection was eight looks inspired by the old step-wells of Gujarat, aimed at women aged 25 to 35 buying festive-wear. I started with a mood board of stone textures and the geometry of the steps, then built a palette of five earthy colours. I sketched about forty ideas and edited down to eight. I chose handloom cotton-silk and developed a stepped pleat detail that I tested on muslin first. The first sample of the jacket was too stiff, so I switched to a lighter interfacing. Two looks were later picked up by a boutique in Ahmedabad.

A tech pack has front and back flat sketches with callouts for every detail, like pocket placement, stitch type and topstitching distance. It includes a measurement spec sheet with points of measure and tolerances for each size, a bill of materials listing fabric, lining, trims, buttons and labels with their codes and suppliers, and colourways with Pantone or lab dip references. I add construction notes, a label and packing guide, and a revision log with dates. Clear tech packs have saved me at least one sampling round per style, because the factory does not have to guess.

I would spend the first fifteen minutes on the brief: who the customer is, the season, the price point and which categories the brand sells. Then fifteen minutes on a quick mood board and a palette of four to five colours. I would plan the range as a mix, maybe two tops, two bottoms, one dress and one layering piece, so they can be worn together. I would sketch roughly for forty-five minutes, pick the best six, and use the last forty-five minutes on clean flats with fabric notes and a short explanation of how the pieces work as a story.

For Indian summers, the customer wants breathable, comfortable fabric that does not need much ironing. I would look at cotton cambric, cotton voile and cotton-linen blends, and rayon for drape where the budget is tighter. Rayon can shrink, so I would ask for pre-shrunk fabric and check the shrinkage test report. For a mid-market price, I would keep fabric cost to a set share of the target cost, so I might use a plain base fabric with a block or screen print instead of expensive yarn-dyed weaves. I would check colourfastness to washing and light before approving any bulk order.

I start with fabric consumption from the marker, for example 2.3 metres for a kurta at size M including wastage, multiplied by the fabric rate. Then I add trims and accessories like buttons, lace, labels and packing, then cut-make-trim charges from the factory, embroidery or printing costs, washing, and overheads like transport. That gives the manufacturing cost. The brand then applies its markup to reach the MRP, and I check the price is in line with competitors. If it is too high, I look at changing the fabric width, simplifying a detail or reducing the embroidery area, not just switching to cheaper fabric.

I have the sample tried on our fit model, not on a mannequin, and I note every issue with photos from front, side and back. I measure against the spec sheet to see whether the problem is the pattern or the sewing, because a sleeve that pulls could be a wrong armhole depth or a sewing error. I discuss it with the pattern master and mark corrections on the garment with pins and chalk. Then I update the spec sheet, write clear comments with measurements, and send them to the factory with photos. I track every revision so we do not repeat old mistakes.

I use trend research to understand direction, not to lift designs. I look at runway reports, street style, what customers wear in cities like Mumbai and Delhi, and bestsellers on our own site and in stores. I note trends as broad themes, such as relaxed silhouettes, earthy tones or a return of hand-embroidery. Then I translate them for our customer and price point using our own sources, like crafts, archives or architecture. My rule is that if someone can place a design next to a runway piece and see the same garment, I have gone too far.

I make flats and tech pack drawings in Adobe Illustrator, using a library of templates I built for kurtas, shirts and trousers so each flat takes about fifteen minutes. I design prints and repeats in Photoshop and Illustrator, and I can prepare a seamless repeat and colour separations for screen printing. For presentations and line sheets I use InDesign or Canva. I have also used CLO 3D in college for basic virtual fitting, though I would need practice to use it at a professional level. I sketch by hand first, then move to digital.

I start from the merchandiser’s plan: target revenue, number of options, price bands and the category mix from last season’s sales. For a festive capsule at my last brand, we planned forty options: sixty percent core styles that sold well before, thirty percent newness and ten percent statement pieces for visual impact. Each style had two or three colourways, with the strongest colour ordered deepest. Size ratios came from past sales data, heavier in M and L. I reviewed the whole range on a board to check colour balance and that no two styles competed at the same price.

I treat them as experts, because they often know construction better than I do. I explain the design with a sketch, a reference sample if I have one, and exact measurements, and I speak in Hindi or the language they are most comfortable with. For embroidery I give a full-size trace on butter paper with thread colours and stitch types marked. I ask for their suggestions before finalising, especially on whether a detail is practical at scale. I check work at the start, not only at the end, so mistakes are caught early. I also make sure they are credited when a piece does well.

I focus on steps that are practical. At the design stage, I work with the pattern maker to improve marker efficiency, and I sometimes adjust a panel shape by a few centimetres to fit the fabric width better. I use leftover fabric for facings, pocket bags, scrunchies or patchwork details. I try to keep trims simple and use fewer mixed materials, which makes garments easier to recycle. Where the budget allows, I choose certified organic cotton or low-impact dyes, and I plan quantities carefully with the merchandiser, because overproduction is the biggest waste of all.

Four days before a buyer meeting, our sample dresses came back with the print placed upside down on the skirt panels. I checked the tech pack and saw that my placement note was not clear enough. I called the factory, sent a marked-up photo and a new diagram with arrows, and asked if they could cut and stitch two new samples in forty-eight hours. I went to the unit in Tiruppur myself to check the cutting. The new samples reached the office a day before the meeting. Now I include a printed placement diagram on every tech pack.

I presented twelve designs for a workwear line, and the head designer rejected eight of them as too fussy for office buyers. I was disappointed, but I asked her which four worked and why. She said the ones with clean lines and one strong detail felt right for the price point. I went back, removed extra trims from the rejected designs and focused each on one feature, like a structured collar. In the second round, seven of the revised designs were approved. I learned that for commercial ranges, less detail often sells better, and I now edit harder before presenting.

For a festive launch, our supplier told us three weeks before cutting that the printed viscose would be two weeks late because of a problem at the dye house. I worked with the merchandiser to split the order: we cut the styles in stock fabric first to keep the factory busy, and I sourced a similar plain viscose from a second supplier for two styles, adding a block print to keep the look. We launched on time with thirty-two of thirty-five styles, and the last three followed ten days later. We now keep a backup supplier approved for every main fabric.

A client, a school uniform supplier, wanted new girls’ uniforms that looked modern but cost no more than the old ones. The old design used three fabrics. I reduced it to two and moved the design interest into the cut, with a princess seam and a contrast piping in the same fabric used for the collar. That removed a separate trim cost. I also changed the pleat style to use less fabric per skirt. The final cost came in slightly below the old uniform, and the school approved it on the first presentation. Parents liked that it was easier to wash.

In our third year, four of us had to create a capsule for a live brand project. Two members wanted a bold, printed direction and two wanted minimal whites, and we lost a week arguing. I suggested we each bring three references and let the brief decide, since the brand’s customer was a young working woman who wanted easy office wear. We agreed on a mostly minimal range with one print used in two styles. I then made a shared schedule so each of us owned specific pieces. We finished on time and our project was one of three chosen for the brand’s showcase.

Our online returns data showed that one of our bestselling co-ord sets had a high return rate, and most reasons said “tight at the hips”. I checked the spec sheet and compared it with two other bottoms that had fewer returns. The hip measurement was about two centimetres smaller. I worked with the pattern maker to grade the hip up and added a side zip for easier wear. We also updated the size chart on the website. In the next production run, the returns for that style dropped noticeably, and it stayed in the core range for another two seasons.

I have four years of experience as an assistant designer and then designer in women’s ethnic wear, handling a range of about forty styles a season from concept to production. My current CTC is ₹7.2 lakh. For this role, where I would lead the festive range, I am looking for ₹8.5 to ₹9.5 lakh a year. I have compared similar roles at mid-size brands in Gurugram and Mumbai. I am open to discussing a variable component linked to sell-through, and I would also value a budget for market visits and trade fairs as part of the package.

Yes, I see it as part of the job. Spending time at the unit is the fastest way to solve sampling issues, and I learn a lot from the pattern masters and supervisors. At my current brand I visit our Jaipur block printers and a Tiruppur knitwear unit about twice a month, usually for two or three days. I am comfortable with travel by train or road. I would only want travel and stay to be arranged by the company, and some planning so visits do not clash with key design deadlines.

I have followed your brand for two years and bought two of your kurtas myself. I like that you use traditional crafts like Ajrakh and Bagru prints in everyday shapes that a working woman can wear to office, at a price that is not only for luxury buyers. My graduation project focused on handblock prints, so I have worked directly with printers and understand the process and its limits. As a fresher, I want to learn how a real brand plans ranges and works with artisans at scale. Your design team does exactly that.