Misconception number 1; Fashion professionals go to lots of fashion shows

Let's think about this one logically. If you have a fashion brand, would you invite your competitors to your show, so they can see what you're doing? Of course not! As a fashion designer or business owner, it's very unlikely you'll be going to any fashion shows. They're invite only + places are limited, so brands only ask the media, buyers + essentially anyone who is likely to put money in their pocket, or direct others with money to them. Fashion shows, sadly, aren't a spectator sport. In recent years there has been a rise in ticketed fashion shows, these are fun to go to if you fancy it, but are by no means an industry event. In my 13 year career in the fashion industry, I've worked over 50 fashion shows, but have attended only 2 as a guest. Both of which were a kind twist of fate; the first was a chance meeting of a member of the Alex Perry team in Australia, the second with Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey, who visited the same University I attended (he's from the area originally). Aside from those 2 experiences, my view of fashion shows has been the stressful backstage area, doing damage control which has included sewing garments onto models, gluing them into shoes + many, many staples. 

Misconception 2; When I've 'made it' I can design whatever I want

That would be nice, but sadly no. Sure, you could start designing whatever you'd like, if you wanted to, but the chances are that this wouldn't be good for business. For example, let's look at a large retailer I worked for. In the design team, we loved coming up with exciting new concepts and trying new things. We always made an effort to show some new + exciting styles in the collection. The press generally loved them, but the customer response was often lukewarm. Our bestsellers were the basics, classic styles that we had made for years. This is often the case - people have limited funds + often choose the practical items over the extravagant 'will be worn once' items. Not very exciting for the designer, but we have to work towards a profitable range.  You may have also read in Wednesdays post about things that we have to consider as designers (if you missed that post you can read it here). These considerations of commercial viability, how the garment will be made + sold will always have to be followed if we want to have a profitable business.