I’d love to know competitive salaries for a senior designer in evening wear
What city/state? How many years experience do you have?
In New York, I have 8 years of experience
Usually between $75K and $90K.
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It depends on the type of companies though. I’ve had senior designers report to me and earn 100-120K with 7-10 years experience.
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I am VP - COO level and I have had senior designers earn up to $150k under me in both tech and fashion. These designers have ranged from 8-15 years in their respective industries and either did not want to transition to Director role, or were not able to. When I was a senior designer I made ~$130k base salary in NYC and Los Angeles.
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Sr. Designers in my experience have made 100-115K for evening wear. Roughly 5-8 yrs experience.
have 15yrs of experience, recent 8yrs in dresses, NY.
All depends company size, brand name, company environment seems to be.
Including peeps in the neighbors not just dresses, 80K-130K range I’ve known/made.
For the Senior Designers who did NOT want to transition to a Director role, as a Senior Designer level, do they still need to know how to manage a team or an assistant, to earn over $100K?
Yes, I would say that to get over 100k management is necessary. Even if it’s just one or two Assistants that you train in order to allow the director to focus on their job.
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Thank you for replying. I do appreciate your honest feedback. 
I work contemporary brands and always $100-$120k.
not sure about evening wear, but in sportswear and athletic sector I know sr designers making 120-160K. (without any management aspect to the job)
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As a senior designer in NYC I made $138k if that helps provide an idea. 8-10 yrs experience $75k seems very low.
Welp, looks like I was severely underpaid!
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At my last Senior Designer job in LA (with 15 years of design experience) I was making $115k. This was in the private label sector leading a design team on TARGET product.
I believe Contemporary/higher end labels will pay more.
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In LA 90k-120k for Senior Designers is what I’ve seen
Oh my gosh I’m so sorry for the delayed response. The answer is no, not in my experience, that skill set is not relevant to every environment. That said, good idea to try to learn mentorship in some form if not to further your career then to contribute to your professional community. You’ll be surprised how many people will be in your corner if times get hard knowing that you’re in theirs. Good luck!
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