How to be More Creative as a Fashion Designer

Wanna know six easy ways to boost your creativity?! We are going to talk about how to be more creative and the 7 ways to detox your mind. 

Most of you are probably very creative. If you’re a designer or in fashion you’re probably a very creative person. I know for me, if I’m not doing something creative I can get really depressed. It’s part of who I am. Luckily there are lots of things and different ways to be creative. You can be creative with your designs but you can also be creative in other ways. You can be creative with your writing, your Instagram layout, your video content, etc. There are so many outlets for creativity. 

Sometimes though, you might start to feel like you are not as creative as you would like or maybe you’re hitting a wall and that’s okay, that happens sometimes. I find that often a lot of times when designers are sketching they have a hard time. They kind of hit a wall and can’t think of any more designs.  

Keep in mind that creativity is a muscle. And just like every other muscle in your body, it needs to be constantly fed and strengthened. That’s going to help you be the most successful at it. With that in mind, make sure that you are doing these six things all the time, then you’ll learn how to be more creative. 

How to be More Creative in Six Steps

#1: Clear Your Mind

Number one in how to be more creative is to detox or clear your mind. Certain things like stress, worries, and negative thoughts are all really toxic to our mind. They interfere with the creative functioning of your mind. It’s important to let go of all these things. Let go of the things that are not in your control and just relax. Let your mind become free of all stress and all worry. 

Easier said than done right? If you’re a little lost, there are actually seven ways that you can clear your head. 

How to Clear Your Mind

Prayer

First, I’ll talk about the most powerful way to clear your head for me. The first way is through prayer. One of the best ways, if you are a believer like I am, is to pray to God. It is so super powerful. Peter 5:7 says “cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Timothy 1:7 “for God does not bring a spirit of fear but a powerful love and a sound mind.” That sound mind is really important and God can give you peace. Meditation is also another great way to detox your mind.  

Play Music

Number two is to play music to boost your mood. Certain kinds of music can get you going and serve as an instant pick-me-up. When I’m at the gym I listen to really fast upbeat music to workout. That music gets me in the mood to workout and gets me going. Maybe there are music genres that help you be more creative. It could be Mozart, or maybe it’s techno. Whatever it is, worship music, and play whatever works for you. 

Exercise 

Another way you can improve creativity is working out. Exercise, believe it or not, can lead to success in your fashion business. 

I love working out. I love to run, especially outside on the beach. And I love to play music while I am running, so those two things kind of go hand-in-hand. When I have a hard time focusing or if it’s one of those days, I just drop everything, put on my sneakers and go for a run. Then after that, my brain is magically so much clearer. It’s because of the oxygen getting into your body and pumping the blood for more circulation. So that’s going to help you get more creative.

Journaling

Journaling is another fantastic way to open up your mind and get the creative juices flowing. I’m a big fan of journaling. I don’t do it as often as I would like to anymore. But I find that when I write something down it clears my mind. When I write it down, I feel like I no longer have to remember it. And that clears up more space in my brain for other things like creativity. My brain only has so much space to hold things, so I don’t like to take up that space with pointless thoughts. It’s like important real estate that needs to be used for only the really important things that I need at that very moment in time.

So try writing everything down to get it out of your head and onto paper. Then you won’t have to worry about it anymore! 

Quiet Time 

It’s a really good idea to take some time during your day to yourself. Be alone with you and your thoughts. Maybe for you it’s quiet time. Maybe you just need to block out 30 minutes every single day for pure silence. It’s a time to reflect, think, concentrate, and focus on what’s really important to you. 

Get Rid of the Stress

Remove the stressful things from your life. This is oftentimes easier said than done. And it’s not always possible to remove stress from your life. Like if it’s a person and maybe you live with that person thats hard to remove. I get it. So you can’t always remove everything but try as best as you can.  

I am a very much no-drama person. I hate drama. If you try to start drama, I will totally walk away from you. I don’t even like watching reality TV shows because of all the drama. But if you are into drama, that’s not going to help you detox your mind. Really try to remove stressful things from your life and be as drama free as you can be. 

Take Care of You

It’s crucial to take care of yourself. Make sure that you are taking care of your body. It’s so important to get enough sleep and eat well.

What you eat directly affects your mood, and I can prove it. People are actually using food to cure depression. God created everything in our universe and he created it for a reason. I truly believe that for every ailment and disease, that there is a natural cure for all of those things in this world.  

There are a lot of different foods that you can actually eat to boost your mood and your creativity. Some include dark chocolate, berries and fruit. Blueberries are known to boost your mood, improve brain function, memory, and all of that great stuff. Another one is salmon. Anyone that likes fish, this is a great one. I personally love fish and Salmon is actually my favorite. Avocado is another one. A different food that helps to boost your creativity, boost your mood, or even cure depression are carrots. Carrots are very good. And the last food I’ll recommend are nuts, specifically walnuts.

All of those are great foods if you are feeling like your creativity is a little low. So go grab a snack–a healthy one–eat one of those things, and see if it really improves your mood. It works for me!

#2: Sketch it Out

Another helpful creativity booster is what I like to call, ‘write it down’ or ‘sketch it out’. We think of so many creative things in our minds every day. So it’s crucial to get them down on paper. Get it down on paper whether you are writing your ideas down or you are literally sketching them. Whatever works for you. 

If you’re a designer, bring a little sketch notepad with you everywhere you go. Make sure you are sketching out your ideas. You could be going somewhere, or see someone wearing something and then draw it. Write it down and sketch it out and that’s going to help you stay creative.

Then when you are lacking creativity you can go back to those sketches. You can go back to your notes and see all of the things that you thought about. 

#3: Change your Perspective

The third way in how to be more creative is to get a new perspective. Sometimes we just get stuck. Whether we’re in our office all day long, or we’re home. You can easily get bored. So, it’s good to figure out what inspires you and try to do that. It could be going shopping, or traveling, anything you like.

I love to travel because you see new cultures, different types of food, and hear a different language. It’s very inspiring to me.  That’s why a lot of fashion designers use different parts of the world as inspiration for their collections.

Go to a museum if you like art. If you like to read magazines, maybe try sitting at the park, or people watching at a café. The only reason I used to love commuting into Manhattan was because of the people watching. As soon as I got to midtown and got off the subway, it was a fashion show every single day. Everyone was always decked up in the Garment Center. I loved to see it all. It was nice because it sparks creativity in your mind just seeing all these things. Your eyes are like a gate to creativity.

So you just want to do something that’s going to inspire you. Even if it’s just breaking out of your normal routine for the day. Maybe you take a different route home. If you usually take the bus, take the subway. If you usually walk on the left side of the street, walk on the right side of the street. You know? Try a different path. Do something different in your daily routine and that’s going to help you be inspired.  

Try a New Hobby

You can also try a different hobby. Fashion may be your favorite hobby, but you might like other things as well. I often find that when I am doing other things I love like painting or even baking, other ideas will come to me. Even if I am doing something totally unrelated to fashion. I will get ideas for my fashion sketching or line or business through those other hobbies.

Do something that you love. It could be playing an instrument. Or maybe it’s fitness. Maybe it’s hiking or dancing or even scrapbooking. Just do something that you love to do and you will see that the creativity will flow.

Even if you are just going for a walk outside, do it. Most of us sit for an average of 7 to 15 hours per day which is really bad for your body. Sometimes just a breath of fresh air and some movement will help you with your creativity.  

#4: Look to Other Industries

The fourth way to be more creative is to look to other industries. It’s really important that as a designer you are looking at your competition. Doing market research and looking at the category that you’re in is crucial. But sometimes you have to look to other industries to get ideas as well. 

I love looking at other successful businesses and figuring out why they are successful. What did they do that’s different than everyone else? Really, what they’re doing that’s making them so successful. If you can figure out a shift that’s happening, even if it’s not in fashion, you can capitalize on it. 

In 1995 Amazon and eBay realized that everything was going online. That’s when they started their business. They are two of the largest online retailers out there today. How? They figured out a shift before everyone else caught on. That’s why they are successful.

#5: Be Curious

The fifth way to boost your creativity is to be curious.

My husband calls me Curious George because I’m interested in everything. I just want to know about everything. I think personally that curiosity leads to creativity. So get curious about things. Start learning things. Read books. Take online classes. Speak to experts in your field to bounce ideas off of them. 

This is part of the reason that people hire us. I get pitched so many ideas all day long. I have seen businesses fail and businesses succeed so I understand why.

People want to work with us because they want to know the fastest way to reach success. You don’t want to have an idea and then realize five other people tried that and all failed. You want to save yourself time and money. So it’s really important to start learning. We have hours of useful information in our Fearless Fashionpreneur Facebook group. Over 100 hours of free information. 

Get Creative with your Surroundings

Try to surround yourself with creative people, and other business owners.

This is why we have our Facebook Group, The Fearless Fashionpreneurs. That way you guys can all collaborate and bounce ideas off each other. This is also why we offer a private Facebook Group, our Mastermind Group. All of our FSI students get really hands-on, detailed strategy and connect and collaborate with each other.

Don’t be that solo entrepreneur that’s stuck inside their basement sketching and sewing all day long. Not talking to anyone or on social media. It’s good to talk to people in person or on the phone even. That way you can constantly bounce ideas off each other and make sure that you’re both heading in the right direction.  

#6: Get Organized

The last step in how to be more creative is to get organized.

I am a big proponent of being organized. I am super stressed out if things are not organized in my life. It’s really important that I spend a time each day just cleaning out old files, my office, and trying to get as organized as possible. Because I know my brain does not function properly if I am not organized.  

I know some of us have a bad habit of having messy work areas and that sort of thing. But listen just take 30 minutes–even if it’s just once a week–to clean up. Clean up your desk. Organize your area. Make your bed. Do whatever it is you have to do to get organized. 

Those are the six ways that you can try to help boost your creativity. Now that you’ve learned how to be more creative, be sure to start right away! Start today! Open your mind, clear your head, and dive into all the different ways to be more creative.

If you want more FREE information on how to be more creative as a fashion designer, be sure to join our Fearless Fashionpreneur Facebook Group!