The article deals with issues related to the basic concepts of competence and competence approach. The notion of “professional competence” is considered as a set of knowledge and skills that determine the effectiveness of work; the scope of skills in the task; a combination of personal qualities and properties; a complex of knowledge and professionally significant personal knowledge; vector of professionalization; unity of theoretical and practical readiness for work. The purpose of the article is to reveal the levels of competence of students on the criteria for assessing the competence of the future designer of garments. In the process of the pedagogical experiment, we determined the levels of professional preparedness of students in the specialty “Design of garments”. In the course of the experiment, competency assessment criteria were used that formed professional competence in the design of garments, personal and basic components were identified, forming the professional competencies of future designers. The experiment demonstrated that the majority of students (60,6 %) have average knowledge, skills and abilities, and this is a kind of signal for continuing work on forming the professional competence of students – future designers of garments. The main shortcomings are the lack of design thinking in the field of design, low artistic preparation and imagination. In conclusion, conclusions are drawn that the criteria for assessing the professional competencies of the future designer of garments are made up of a set of requirements for special disciplines, humanitarian, artistic and creative practices, professionally significant qualities and personal abilities.