5 things to look for when hiring a fashion design freelancer

How to choose the best fashion freelancer for your clothing brand

Do any of these sound like you?

“I want to hire an in-house designer eventually, but I’m not ready yet.”

“I don’t know anything about this industry”

“I’m in this business, but I’m not a designer.”

Most freelance clients I work with are in a similar position.  They’re a newer brand and they’re doing great.  Their business is growing quickly, but things are starting to feel messy and unsustainable. They need to make some changes to how they work so they can scale. 

Maybe you’re in this (great) position of needing some freelance help as your brand grows. 

Or maybe, like some of my other clients, you’re just starting out, but you want to do it right.  You have big plans, and you want a solid foundation to build on.

But where do you start?  If you’re new to the apparel industry, finding a freelancer to help you can feel daunting. 

There are so many options.  Independent freelancer, UpWork, Fiverr, your friend’s friend who’s an industrial designer and says they can do apparel. 

How do you decide who to hire? 

If you’re new to the industry, how will you even know if they did your project right?

Luckily, there are some basic things you can look for to make sure you’re hiring the right person for your clothing brand.

Here are the five most important things to look for when hiring a freelance designer:

Niche:

You know who I don’t want to cut my long hair? 

Someone who specializes in short hair. 

First, they’re less likely to do a good job.  Second, they’re less likely to LIKE cutting my hair. 

Hire someone who specializes in what you do. 

If they’ve committed to working only in your product category, it means they LIKE your product category, and it means they KNOW your product category. 

They’re up on the current trends and the technical aspects.  They know what’s new and they know what’s possible.

If you need help with tech packs and fittings, make sure to hire someone who has that technical experience. 

I hear from brands all the time that the designer they hired to take their collection all the way through to production lost interest after the designs were finished. 

A designer who regularly works on both the design and technical side of things is much more likely to finish your project and really care about how it turns out.

Experience:

You want to hire someone with years of apparel industry experience. 

An experienced freelancer knows what the manufacturer can and cannot do, what techniques and constructions cost more, and how to communicate with the manufacturer in a way they understand.  All this is going to save you time.

Cost:

It’s important to stick to your budget, but keep in mind that pricing can send a signal about the quality of work you’re going to get.  Experienced and in demand freelancers often cost more.

Follow through:

Hire the freelancer who is organized and cares enough to stay in contact with you. 

Hire someone who follows up if you haven’t replied to their email after a week or two. 

The person who sends an email on Monday to confirm your call on Tuesday.

The person who actually stays in touch when you ask them to.

Someone who is genuinely interested in you and your brand is much less likely to lose interest in your project halfway through.

Knowledge:

You want a designer who knows the end-to-end process of design to production. 

Even if your freelancer is just doing design and you’re handling it from there, a designer who understands the full process is going to design something for you that your manufacturer can make, and they’ll know the cost implications of their design decisions. 

This can save you weeks of going back and forth with your manufacturer on construction and pricing questions.

Fashion schools are notorious for not teaching the technical side of the job.  Whenever possible, hire a freelancer with real world knowledge from experience on the job.

Need freelance help?

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