[YoninahAliza]

^Thats another school that I've been thinking about. I visited the campus a few years when my cousin was at school and it's one of the prettiest I've ever seen. Also, family connections always help, right? And they have a creative writing degree and film too. So I wouldn't feel the pressure to choose completely right away. Another school I've been looking at is NYU. They have journalism/writing as well. And it's quite liberal arts based.

And I think if I don't get into any schools in New York then Boston is okay as well. So Emerson college is another possibility.

[engelauren]

I really love business and fashion so it just seems to be great if I could combine these as a career! I'm really academic, good grades etc. So I will be applying to tier 1 schools like upenn, dartmouth, georgetown etc. But my dream would be to say work in finance in Prada like calculating budgets. How could I get there? I hope I don't have to go to fashion school for that AND what is the starting salary? And the salary for like a CFO? Because if it isn't that high, I will probably work in wall street or consulting and do something fun in fashion

[BetteT]

Absolutely no idea about salaries ... but I would think they are probably similar to other industries, based on your experience and the specific job. And no ... you don't need to study fashion to work in their corporate offices in finance or accounting. No fashion skills needed.

You get there by moving to the city where the most fashion companies are headquartered and apply for entry level jobs at every fashion company that you can find to build your resume (CV). That would be New York or Milan (if you speak Italian) ... and possibly Paris, if you are extremely fluent in French. Other cities to consider would be London and Antwerp ... they both have a thiving fashion scene.

[Zucchelli]

I mean college wise. How can I get into Fashion without having a fashion degree? I know it would be easier, but there's not a broad choice where I live and most of them are useless from what I've heard of people. I'll be going to college next year, so I need to decide what i want to study. I'm interested in doing Languages, Computer science and maybe psychology. I've considered Business, but.. no. Going abroad to study at other colleges isn't an option unfortunately. Like many I would love to be a designer, but that usually requires a degree if you want to get employed. Are there any other courses you would recommend? Perhaps from personal experience?

[BetteT]

So ... what are you saying when you say you want to get into "Fashion" ... do you mean you want to be a fashion designer? Or just anything in fashion?

Languages, computer science and psychology won't help you much ... in Fashion. Well, being fluent in French could help if you ever move to Paris to work for a fashion house ... they would expect you to be fluent.


To be a designer and actually work for a fashion company you most likely need a degree or a lot of experience working with and selling your own line. Some have made it without the degree ... but you have to have the passion and the skills ... and you would have to proove yourself before they would consider hiring you.

Do you sew? Can you draw ... fashion illustrations in particular? These are the two skills you need most to start to learn to become a designer, so I suggest you start there and learn these first, then decide if you still want to be a designer.

But there are dozens and dozens of careers open to college grads in the Fashion Biz ... Just like any buisiness, they need accountants, graphic artists, printers, IT people, lawyers, everything .... so you can always approach it that way. There's Public Relations, Advertising, Journalism ... all within the fashion industry. Study whatever you want, get you degree and then use it to just get a job at a fashion company and then make your move to whatever departments. It will eventually require a move to a fashion city.

Do a search of this forum (Careers, Education ...) for some theads about each of these ... or there are also threads that sort of list some of the various careers in fashion, use keywords like education, career, careers, magazines and you should find them.

[nikita27]

Hi Guys,

I thought this was the right forum to ask this question based on the fashion experience residing here in abundance.

I am going for a career shift and want to design my own label one day. However, I am only getting admission in the Fashion Management courses in the major Fashion schools because of my extensive 9 years experience in Management (not necessarily in Fashion). If I accept the admission in Fashion Management (Masters), is there a route from Management to Fashion design? or would it be a wrong step?

Thanks,
Nikita

[BetteT]

I think that Fashion Management will teach you a lot of the skills needed fo run a fashion business ... and that is really important if you want to run your own company. But it won't teach you anything about sewing, drawing, cutting, fabrics ... nor give you any practice. Usually young designers right out of school will work for some other designer doing simple stuff ... and don't work for themselves for a long time.


So, to my mind, getting the Fashion Design degree under your belt first, so you can actually get paid for designing would be the most helpful ... if you really, really want to be a desginer. Unless you have a financial benefactor/investor ... you won't be doing your own line and making any money from it until you get a lot of experience under your belt, anyway. So Design can come first, and then you can learn about how find ivestors and run a profitable business ... by a combination of experience and schooling.

[nikita27]

Thanks Bette. The issue is that I am 29 and most of the top fashion schools (European) have an age limit. Moreover, I was hoping for something less than 3 years tenure design degree from a top fashion school as I am already late in the game.People have told me that if I start in Fashion Designing now, I would start from bottom with people who might be 21-23 yrs of age and the obvious choice for an employer would be a younger blood. How do people chnge their career to Fashion Designing at a later age?

[BetteT]

Who says "younger" is better as far as being and employee? Isn't there something to be said for maturity and therefore, being more responsible, having a better work ethic?


If you want to design ... you must have the technical skills .... so if you don't go to school, how do you learn the skills? Most likely, on your own ... just by doing it. Maybe, even if you are in Fashion Management, you can get find an internship with a smaller designer who likes you well enough to mentor you and teach you as you work for them. But I would think that you would still have to have the sewing, drawing, draping and pattern making skills down, before anyone would let you get your hands on their designs.

[Jeannieoct]

hey all i'm still a newbie here. i am really interested in fashion industry since i was a kid (and my parents currently working in fashion industry) i like sketching some ready to wear clothes. so i guess i wanna be the one working for a world-wide retail shop like Zara, H&M, Urban Outfitters, Bershka, Topshop, etc as the designer behind that label.

then who should i contact in addition to get that opportunities? do i have to take fashion school? (yes i'm planning to get course & diploma in fashion) do i have to work with the company first start from the very low position?

anyway, i have some experiences in fashion industry. i have worked in Jakarta Fashion Week (i come from Jakarta, Indonesia) lately. and i'm still seeking opportunities to work in fashion industry.

thanks for ur advices.
**

[kimair]

hi and welcome to tFS...
what exactly do you want to do for these companies?
you can always go in and apply for a sales job (many stores are hiring extra help because of the holiday season), and work your way up to being a manager, etc. or possibly do visual merchandising (dressing the mannequins in the windows and do styling around the store)...
i know people that have started out working at a store and worked their way up to working at the corporate headquarters of a major retailer...
it just takes time and patience, and in many cases it requires moving around a bit...

if you want to design the clothing, then yes, you need to go to design school and apply after you graduate...
some companies have programs where you can intern while you're in school and be hired after you graduate...
hope that helps...

[carsonpr]

Hi,

I'm currently studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Fashion Marketing with hopes of working in the fashion industry with advertising or marketing. It's only my first year at this school and i'm realizing how difficult it is to get an internship in a non-fashion city. However, because of scholarships I am able to study at this school for a very reasonable amount.

I'm thinking about transferring to FIT since it's obviously the best for fashion business and in NYC. If I go to FIT though I will have to take out loans and go into debt. I continually hear people say that you don't necessarily need to go to a fashion school to get in the industry, but at the same time you need to be in a fashion capital.

I'm really unsure if I should just stick it out here down south in the middle of nowhere or live with the debt and move to NYC. I guess it could be seen as an investment into a hopefully one day awesome career in the fashion industry.

If anyone can give me advice I would really appreciate it

[YoninahAliza]

^Well, first off you should ask yourself, do you love the school you are at? Think about what you love about SCAD. Then think about what you'd like about FIT, don't just think about the internship aspect. Make a pro/con list. Don't switch right away just because SCAD doesn't have the same opportunities as living in NYC. You are going to a pretty prestigious art college and that does help a bit. But also, if you are concerned about doing internships it's always possible to get internships in NYC during the summer. That way you can still go to SCAD and intern. And during the school year you could always just intern with a smaller company in Savannah, it may not always be your ideal internship but as long as you are learning from the job then that's whats important. You can always apply what you learned at these internships to your summer internships and later on to your job.

Also, you mention that you would have to take out loans, which might not be the greatest thing. But if you do like FIT more then SCAD and whatnot then, I'd go for it. Just make sure you know what you want and that you have a plan to pay back loans.

[CaoticaClaudia]

At the moment I am in my second year of uni in UK, studying Film and French, which are more of a passion for me, but fashion is my main interest. I'm trying to improve my editing, styling and generally my fashion knowledge all the time, I read tons of blogs and magazines, I try to get in touch with people who know more than me, so generally I'm doing my best, taking in consideration the fact that Aberdeen, where I live, is the oil capital of Europe=not a very fashionable place(though amazing education!).
I am already starting to think about my future, especially masters and where I want to go after, and I was thinking that London and Paris would be the best choices, with either Fashion Journalism or Styling. Any suggestions?

For now I have to chance to go back for next summer to Romania, my country of origin, and have an internship in a fashion magazine (maybe Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, I'm not sure yet). I was wondering if doing this there may help me if I want to get another internship after at the same magazine, in London let's say, or generally in Europe, or it just doesn't count.
Also, I've been trying to look for a thread which talks about fashion editor as a career and all I could find was Anna Wintour or other editors, but nothing in the career section. Could anyone please point me in the right direction, please? Maybe I'm blind Or at least, what advice would you give me about my desire of being a fashion editor, taking in consideration the fact that I will be living for 2 more years in Scotland. Maybe something online? I don't know, I'm quite confused, but I feel like it's the moment to jump into it, not just admire other people for doing it

[BetteT]

London or Paris .... or Milan, Antwerp and of course, New York are all fashion cities ... so evenually you will need to end up on one of them, if you want a career in fashion that is more than just small local stuff. Not sure where the best schools are ... but I think LCF is one of the best ones. We have a thread for that ... London College of Fashion.


Fashion journalism ... is still just journalism .... writing and reporting .... so any good Jounalism school will help ... you don't have to specialize in fashion while in school. In fact, I don't think there are really any really good "fashion jounralism" schools ... it's a bit of a farce, IMHO. First you become a journalist, then specialize in whatever interests you ... at least that is what I beleive is the best course.

Here are a few threads about "fashion" journalism:
Fashion Journalism
Freelance Fashion Journalism
So You Wanna Work in Fashion Editorial /Journalism? Article.
MA Fashion Journalism @ London College of Fashion
Fashion Design Colleges /Schools with Journalism programs /courses?

A "fashion editor" is actually a stylist who works for a magazine, as opposed to being a freelance stylist. Ana Wintour is a Managing Editor of a fashion magazine ... a different job altogether ... it's management at the executive level. The only thing they have in common is the need to have a good eye for fashion.

Getting a job as a fashion editor is not a straight forward career path. It's almost always who you know at the magazine and of course the talent and drive to do the hard work it takes. Many fashion editors have no formal "fashion" education ... they come from a liberal arts background. Fashion Editors are not journalists ... they don't write ... so that's not necessary either.

But, anything you can learn about fashion, art and even social science can help, because fashion editors need to know trends and societal influences. I beleive that any education you get can be helpful ... at least liberal arts stuff. Therefore, your French and your Film classes can help build your store of knowledge needed in this job.

There are threads about this ... but it's more about getting a job at a fashion magazine so you can get your foot in the door.

Careers / Jobs / Positions in Magazine Publishing
What Education is Needed to get into Magazines / Publishing?
How to Get Work in Fashion Magazine Publishing (see Post #1 for related threads)
Shooting Stories for a Stylist's /Fashion Editor's Portfolio

And this one ... which is helpful if you are going to assist either via an internship or get hired to assist a fashion editor:
Working as an Assistant (for a Magazine, Publicist, Photographer, Stylist, etc.)