NOC 53123: Theatre, fashion, exhibit and other creative designers

Theatre, fashion, exhibit and other creative designers conceptualize and produce designs for film, television, theatre and video productions, garments and textiles, displays and exhibits, and for other creative items such as jewellery and trophies. Theatre designers are employed by performing arts and broadcasting companies and by festivals; fashion designers are employed by clothing and textile companies or may be self-employed; and exhibit designers are employed by museums. Other creative designers in this unit group are employed by manufacturing establishments or may be self-employed.

Express Entry eligibility

• Skilled work (TEER 0 to 3): yes, TEER 3.
• Canadian Experience Class: counts as skilled Canadian work (1 year in the last 3 years).
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: counts as skilled work (1 year of continuous work in the last 10 years).
• Federal Skilled Trades Program: not one of the eligible trades.
• High-wage occupation (from November 3, 2026): no. No high-wage add-on, and a job offer in it earns no CRS points.

TEER 3: Occupations that usually need a college diploma, an apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than 6 months of on-the-job training. Every program has other requirements too, such as language test results and, for FSW, a points test.

Category-based draws

NOC 53123 is not on any of IRCC’s occupation category lists. You can still be invited in general, Canadian Experience Class or other program draws.

Category lists checked on canada.ca on 2026-10-17. IRCC category-based selection

CRS points for work in NOC 53123

Skilled Canadian work in this occupation earns the standard points, the same before and after November 3, 2026, with no high-wage add-on:

See Canadian work points and the median-wage rule.

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

• Theatre designers
• Design and create settings, scenic environments, properties, costumes and lighting for theatre, film and video productions, operas and ballets.
• Fashion designers
• Design and create clothing and accessories for men, women and children.
• Exhibit designers
• Plan and develop permanent and temporary or moveable exhibits and displays for museum exhibitions, trade shows, conventions and other exhibitions.
• Theatre designers may specialize in costume, lighting or set design; fashion designers may specialize in men's, women's or children's apparel or in different lines such as sportswear, footwear or formal wear.

For Express Entry your duties must match the lead statement and most of the main duties above.

Example job titles

• clothing designer
• costume designer
• couturier - haute couture
• fabric designer
• fashion designer
• fur designer
• jewellery designer
• lighting designer
• museum exhibit designer
• shoe designer
• trophy designer

Employment requirements

• A university degree in fine arts or visual arts with specialization in theatre design, clothing design or exhibit design or completion of a college or art school program in theatre design, clothing design or exhibit design is required.
• Creative ability, as demonstrated by a portfolio of work, is required.
• Use of computer-aided design (CAD) software may be required.

Similar jobs with a different code

• 53100Diorama maker - museums and art galleries
• 52120Graphic designers and illustrators
• 22211Industrial designers
• 52121Interior designers and interior decorators
• 53125Patternmakers - textile, leather and fur products
• 64200Tailors, dressmakers, furriers and milliners