Designing Professional Identity: A Design-Driven Framework for Portfolio and Digital Branding in Fashion Design Education

The transition from higher education to professional practice represents a critical phase for fashion design students, especially in the construction and communication of their professional identity. Portfolios and digital branding are often treated as final outputs with little attention to their educational value. This paper proposes a design-driven and competency-based educational framework developed in a third-year Bachelor's in Fashion Design course aimed at supporting the conscious construction of a professional profile. The framework is divided into four phases (Look In, Look Out, Synthesis, Application) integrating reflection, contextual analysis and design translation. Observations of the outputs reveal greater awareness, narrative coherence and selection skills offering a methodological approach transferable to design education.