Fashion designers
SOC Code: 27-1022
Fashion designers carries a 39% AI exposure score (Medium automation risk), with a median annual wage of $80,690 and +2.0% projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034 (BLS), affecting approximately 25,700 workers. Full task breakdown, skills, and employer data are below.
Proportion of tasks susceptible to AI automation (O*NET analysis)
At 39% AI exposure, Fashion designers sits 2 points above the 37.2% average across 832 U.S. occupations - more exposed than 65% of them. Most of its core tasks still require human judgment.
Career outlook score
53/100
Fashion designers, weighted across 3 of 3 tracked dimensions
A weighted composite of median wage, projected growth, and AI-automation security (inverted exposure), each benchmarked against every other tracked occupation. It describes this occupation's standing across those three dimensions, not a guarantee of future outcomes.
- Median wage B+ $80,690
Annual median wage, percentile rank vs all tracked occupations
- Projected growth D +2.0%
Projected employment change, 2024-2034, BLS Employment Projections
- AI exposure (inverted) F 39% exposure
Lower O*NET task-automability scores lower risk; this dimension scores security, not exposure
Home health and personal care aides is #1 of 832 occupations by employment (4.3M, AI exposure rank #392 at 35%) vs. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks #1 by AI task exposure (95%, employment rank #17 at 1.6M).
Automation-risk inventory
Exclusive cut of 832 occupations by PlainWorkforce automation-risk band. Orthogonal to the continuous AI-exposure distribution chart below and to this occupation's single risk badge, this is the corpus band mix, with Fashion designers in the Medium band.
Credential × growth standing
Bachelor's band with mid-pack BLS pace
Fashion designers shares the Bachelor's gate with 178 peer occupations and lands in Average (378 of 832). Neither the rarest nor the most crowded growth shelf - use wage and AI desks on this page for the differentiator.
Where Fashion designers sits among all occupations
AI-exposure score distribution across 832 U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis). This occupation is marked in rose.
Where Fashion designers sits by AI exposure
AI-exposure score distribution across U.S. occupations (O*NET task analysis)
39% Around the middle lower than 35% of 832 occupations
Occupations, banded by AI-exposure score
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more occupations. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor) · BLS 2024–2034
Source: O*NET task data (U.S. Department of Labor); AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis. As of BLS 2024–2034.
Fashion designers vs. its occupational neighbors
AI exposure (horizontal) vs projected 2024–2034 growth (vertical) for occupations in the same SOC group. Fashion designers is marked in rose; the top-left corner is the most future-proof.
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 (growth) and O*NET (AI-exposure analysis by PlainWorkforce).
Employment Projections
Where This Score Comes From
Fashion designers's Medium automation-risk tier is computed from O*NET Database 30.0 task-level analysis, where each documented task the occupation performs is evaluated against current generative AI, robotic process automation, and machine-learning capabilities. A score below 40% reflects tasks anchored in physical dexterity, unstructured environments, or high-touch human interaction that current AI cannot reliably replicate.
The employment, wage, and education figures above come from a second, separate federal source: BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034, matched to the O*NET task data by Standard Occupational Classification (SOC 27-1022) code, with the wage figure cross-validated against the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 survey. BLS figures are presented exactly as published, with no adjustment on our part; the SOC-code match is what lets Fashion designers be compared directly against every other tracked occupation on the same basis, not just roles that happen to share a job title.
For career planners, this profile should be read alongside the task, skill, and knowledge breakdowns below and the list of employers whose workforce composition includes Fashion designers. Adjacent occupations shown further down offer lateral moves that preserve industry knowledge while potentially reducing exposure.
Education & Entry Requirements
Top Tasks (O*NET)
- 1. Sketch rough and detailed drawings of apparel or accessories, and write specifications such as color schemes, construction, material types, and accessory requirements.
- 2. Examine sample garments on and off models, modifying designs to achieve desired effects.
- 3. Determine prices for styles.
- 4. Confer with sales and management executives or with clients to discuss design ideas.
- 5. Select materials and production techniques to be used for products.
- 6. Provide sample garments to agents and sales representatives, and arrange for showings of sample garments at sales meetings or fashion shows.
- 7. Direct and coordinate workers involved in drawing and cutting patterns and constructing samples or finished garments.
- 8. Develop a group of products or accessories, and market them through venues such as boutiques or mail-order catalogs.
- 9. Identify target markets for designs, looking at factors such as age, gender, and socioeconomic status.
- 10. Draw patterns for articles designed, cut patterns, and cut material according to patterns, using measuring instruments and scissors.
Key Skills Required
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Social Perceptiveness
- Coordination
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Time Management
- Reading Comprehension
- Persuasion
Knowledge Areas
- Design
- Computers and Electronics
- Production and Processing
- Sales and Marketing
- English Language
- Fine Arts
- Administration and Management
- Personnel and Human Resources
- Mathematics
- Education and Training
Frequently Asked Questions
Will AI replace Fashion designers?
Fashion designers has an AI exposure score of 39%, indicating a medium level of automation risk. The majority of tasks in this role require human judgment, creativity, or physical presence that AI cannot easily replicate.
What is the job outlook for Fashion designers?
According to BLS Employment Projections 2024-2034, Fashion designers is projected to grow by 2.0% over the decade. Current employment stands at approximately 25,700 workers.
What skills are needed for Fashion designers?
Key skills for Fashion designers include Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking, and others. Typical entry-level education is Bachelor's degree.
How much do Fashion designers earn?
The median annual wage for Fashion designers is $80,690, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024). Actual earnings vary by location, experience, industry, and employer. The BLS publishes detailed wage percentiles by region in its Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program.
What education is required for Fashion designers?
The typical entry-level education for Fashion designers is Bachelor's degree. Employers generally expect None of related work experience. On-the-job training typically involves None. Requirements can vary by employer and specialization.
Which companies employ Fashion designers?
Fashion designers roles exist across many industries and employers. Workforce composition is estimated from BLS industry-occupation employment distributions matched to SEC-registered public companies.
AI Exposure Rating
Medium automation risk based on 10 analyzed tasks. Most tasks require human judgment and are resistant to automation.
Nationwide occupations with similar workforce profiles
Two data-derived peer sets for Fashion designers: AI-exposure neighbors and BLS 2034 growth neighbors (distinct comparison neighborhoods, cross-occupation).
Similar AI exposure score
Nearest O*NET task-automability scores nationwide (39% here).
- Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes · AI exposure 39%
- Art directors · AI exposure 39%
- Camera operators, television, video, and film · AI exposure 39%
- Chefs and head cooks · AI exposure 39%
Similar projected growth (2024–2034)
Nearest BLS employment change rates nationwide (+2.0% here).
- Architecture teachers, postsecondary · growth +2.0%
- Cooks, institution and cafeteria · growth +2.0%
- Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers, postsecondary · growth +2.0%
- Designers, all other · growth +2.0%
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published BLS + O*NET metrics among occupations with ≥10,000 workers in 2024; corpus ranks above sort the full tracked set.
Related Occupations
Showing 6 of 26 occupations with a comparable automation-risk profile.
What to do with this
Use Fashion designers' numbers above to compare, not just read in isolation.
- Compare Fashion designers side by side against another occupation on wage, growth, and AI exposure. Workforce comparison tool
- Understand how the AI exposure score above is actually calculated before treating it as a verdict. Reading AI exposure scores
- See the full ranked list of occupations with the lowest automation exposure nationwide. Safest occupations from AI
AI exposure scores estimate task automatability from O*NET data; they are not a certainty of job loss, and BLS growth projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Data sources: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2024–2034 and O*NET Database 30.0. Employment figures are rounded. Wage data from BLS Occupational Employment Statistics (OES).