Education for a Career in Fashion?

[emilia/]

I find it very difficult to find out what people who work in the fashion business actually have studied and done to get where they are.

I'm in my last year of high school, and I'm interested in carreers such as fashion stylist, or something in that direction. Maybe work for a magazine, or for fashionshows.. But I am not sure of anything yet!

What I do know, is that I don't want to be a designer, and I have trouble finding schools/universities etc, that might help me in entering the world of fashion, without focusing on designing itself.

Therefor I ask:
What exactly is your job, if you work in the fashionbusiness?
and more importantly:
What did you do after highschool?
What did you do to get where you are now?

 

[karmacoma]

If you are wanting to work for a fashion magazine, maybe some form of journalism course would suit you? the actual stylist I believe you might need to have some form of design qualification.

 

[fashionfille]

i'm also finishing high school this year. i want to go into something in the fashion industry, and the advice i have gotten from people is to major in something i love, get a great education, and try to find a job that interests you. whatever you need to learn about that job, you will learn it ON the job! it's more important to be well-rounded than uber prepared for just one career. i plan on majoring in marketing, minoring in psych and some sort of design. do you know where you are going to school yet (if you are)?

 

[fashion.fashoff]

i am toying with the idea of going back to school to get a second degree in a design field...fashion design is one of the ones i am thinking of. while i think i have a good aesthetic for designs and interesting ideas, i lack technical experience (i.e. sewing skills). going into a career in fashion design would be a major shift of focus and i have little technical experience beyond the rudimentary techniques i have taught myself on my sewing machine so far.

my question is to what degree do admissions offices weigh design skills vs. technical skills? to me it seems if an applicant can communicate original design ideas, the school should be able to teach the technical skills to bring those designs to life. on the other hand maybe they want candidates who are well rounded and can do both well. any thoughts or advice from current or past fashion design students?

also have a similar question about graphic design, but i am proficient with graphic applications e.g. adobe programs.

 

[gius]

i think they would expect that you wouldn't have technical skills up to par --that's why you are applying to the school.. If you check the specific school threads (Parson's, FIT) in this forum, you can get a general sense of what kind of work you need to submit to be accepted in. So far it seems to be they like students who can show their creativity in various media, like photography and drawing.

To be honest technical skill might not be so difficult, speaking from my own experience
There were only one or two students who seem to be close to hopeless in classes I've taken. i think perhaps they just had a different learning style...
Originality and conceptualizing is super valuable
but showing garments you made only shows you were willing/ambitious enough to try it on your own.

--

emilia there are a lot of threads you might find info in here
Here are a few.
Searching for perfect fashion career
Breaking into the industry

 

[getpalmd]

Fashion education - share experiences!

I assume I am not the only one wondering over these things. So I'm in the situation that I'll finish my (adult) high school in 2010 and then I have to decide what to do, because in my life it's not an option to take a year off, haha. I'm currently a small business owner in the web- and graphic design area, but gosh, don't know if I want to do it the rest of my life. For the past few years I've been so convinced that university is the next step and I haven't changed my mind about that, BUT..

I happened to read about fashion education and got interested. I'm not necessary interested in fashion designing, my sewing and drawing skills are so limited. I'd more be interested in the area of fashion business: how to run a fashion company, marketing skills, how to arrange fashion shows etc. If I'd go to university, I'd choose a business line, so also the reason why fashion business is of interest. I could see myself working in the (international) business area of fashion in future (= running a company).

In Spain I found a school called IED, anyone here have personal experience of it? Not cheap, but like a relative said, when you do something you love it's worth the money. They do for example have a 3 year program "Fashion marketing and communication". As well as master courses. It's not an university degree as it's a private school, but they answered me that they work closely together with the local university if you'd like to combine studies (= in my case, study business in the university and then on top of that fashion in the private school). Has anyone here done both at the same time somewhere? Too time-consuming?

All experiences from fashion schools are so welcome, my information is limited to the mails I've received and the information I've found on the websites. Was it worth the money? What happened when you graduated?

Would love to hear everything, thought this was a good place to ask, must be someone out there who have personal experiences!

 

[ankunda]

fashion education

I think some universities in the uk have a good combination of fashion and business, i particulary remeber the university where christopher bailey went. can't remember the name, but u can always google it.

 

[lemon.mermaid]

my degree program is BS Clothing Technology. it's a 4-year course and we study everything about fashion. the up side is, it's flexible. i could work as a designer, merchandiser, etc. but the down side is, we can't have a 'major' if we want to just focus on just one aspect.

we have 1-2 subjects per field. i have 2 design subjects, 2 history of fashion, 1 accessories, 2 patternmaking subjects for women's, men's and children's wear, a draping class, 2 sewing subjects, 2 merchandising, 1 quality control, 2 managment in the garment industry, 2 textile subjects, a business subject where we have to do everything from market research to producing a prototype of the product, then we also have on the job trainings where we would work for a manufacturing company and a merchandising as well.

it's hard work especially if you're more inclined in one field and would like to focus on that but at least you'll know the basics of everything that goes around the business.

 

[BetteT]

I assume I am not the only one wondering over these things. So I'm in the situation that I'll finish my (adult) high school in 2010 and then I have to decide what to do, because in my life it's not an option to take a year off, haha. I'm currently a small business owner in the web- and graphic design area, but gosh, don't know if I want to do it the rest of my life. For the past few years I've been so convinced that university is the next step and I haven't changed my mind about that, BUT..

I happened to read about fashion education and got interested. I'm not necessary interested in fashion designing, my sewing and drawing skills are so limited. I'd more be interested in the area of fashion business: how to run a fashion company, marketing skills, how to arrange fashion shows etc. If I'd go to university, I'd choose a business line, so also the reason why fashion business is of interest. I could see myself working in the (international) business area of fashion in future (= running a company).

In Spain I found a school called IED, anyone here have personal experience of it? Not cheap, but like a relative said, when you do something you love it's worth the money. They do for example have a 3 year program "Fashion marketing and communication". As well as master courses. It's not an university degree as it's a private school, but they answered me that they work closely together with the local university if you'd like to combine studies (= in my case, study business in the university and then on top of that fashion in the private school). Has anyone here done both at the same time somewhere? Too time-consuming?

All experiences from fashion schools are so welcome, my information is limited to the mails I've received and the information I've found on the websites. Was it worth the money? What happened when you graduated?

Would love to hear everything, thought this was a good place to ask, must be someone out there who have personal experiences!

This is an extemely complicated question with a wide variety threads here that will better answer your questions .. than this general thread.

I think you will find out what you are looking for in these threads that already have a lot of information. I've picked topics that relate to you what you said in your post:

Instituto Europeo di Design (IED)

European Fashion Schools

London & UK Schools ... for Fashion

If it is a major school in Europe like ESMOD, Central St. Maritins, London College of Fashion, etc. , you may do a search by thread titles and it's also likely that there is a thread about that particular school. We also have various threads about American, Canadian, Austrailian. Mexican and Asian schools too (and probably more places).

Help! Fashion or Business in university?

Business Graduates in the Fashion Industry?

Anyone went to a normal college but now work in fashion industry?

What Career for Me ... if I Can'tSew/ Make Patterns/Draw, Etc.?

Searching for My Perfect Fashion Career - HELP!!
If you find something that interests you in this thread that I have not listed below (these, below, are all business careers in fashion), do a search by thread titles ... we probably have a thread on it. In these threads theres' information about what you need to have under your belt to get into the feild.

A Career in Fashion Forecasting

Fashion Marketing Masters Program in London

Fashion Marketing

MBA in Luxury Brand Management.

Fashion Merchandising

Becoming a Buyer?

All about PR = Public Relations


Don't forget about fashion magazines ... there are lot's of avenues open there, too.

Careers / Jobs / Positions in Magazine Publishing

What education you need to do to get into magazines??

How to Get Work at a Fashion Magazine & Get to the Top

 

[emilia/]

thank you all
@karmacoma: do you really think you have to have designexperience to be a stylist?

I'm now thinking of taking a course which in my language is called 'art-science'.
It's a general course including arthistory and some sociology/psychology/antopologie concerning art, etcetera.

Does this at all seem a good idea if I'd like to do something in the fashionbizz later??

The thing is, I think for lots of jobs in fashion it might not be necessary to have a universitydiploma, but it's more important to network and get experience while doing (free) internships etcetera. (or am I wrong?)
But I would like to have some kind of diploma first, as a safety net, in case I can't make things work in fashion..

 

[BetteT]

You are right, emilia ... many jobs in the fashion industry do not need a college education ... but many do.

And yes ... networking and internships are essential in most creative careers in fashion. Internships are hard to find unless you are in college ... most of them require that you are doing it for credit. Here's a thread about finding and doing internships:
All About Internships and Work Experience Placements

First and foremost (this is for everyone who is interested ... you seem to have started to hone in on what you want), you must narrow down your focus before you can decide about your education. Here are some ideas about how to narrow that down:

Do you want to be creative? Considier fashion design, styling, photography, graphic arts (magazines), makeup artist, hair artist, art director (for a magazine or a company).

Do you want to work in the business end of fashion? Consider production, merchandising, buying, accounting, brand management, marketing, public relations.

Do you want to write? Consider blogging, writing for a magazine, free lance writer, public relations.

Each of thes have different educational requirments ... so focus on your goals and go from there.




It sounds like you have your goal somewhat narrowed down. First you said stylist or fashion editor which are creative jobs and fashion shows, which can be creative or stictly business, depending on what role you have.


Stylist (freelance

You do not need to have any fashion design studies or design experience under your belt to be a stylist. Stylists get into it from all sorts of avenues and a lot of it is connections too. It begins with a natural talent to see color, proportion, texture, movement, etc. but any education you get in art or fashion can help you develop your stylist's "eye". But so can reading tons of fashion magazines, scoping out street style, hitting the retail stores to see what's out there and just looking at design in general.

I do think that your 'art-science class will be very helpful if you aspire to be a stylist ... because it will broaden your knowledge about what has gone before, why fashion changes and when we are ready for something new.
All About Becoming a Fashion / Wardrobe Stylist



Fashion Editor (stylist at a magazine

Just to get work at a fashion magazine you might be expected to have a college degree and an internship or two under your belt. You don't just walk into a Fashion Editor's job without experience at the magazine or some other type of transferable expeience and/or major connections.
What education you need to do to get into magazines??
How to Get Work at a Fashion Magazine & Get to the Top



Fashion shows:

You can be a stylist for them (see above) ... or you can produce them. Different skills ... different education. A producer is someone who can get things done, can hire and manage people, manage a budget, work with facts and figures ... so an education in business would be helpful here. Sometimes publicists run fashion shows ... so that's another way in ... so an education in Communications would be good for that route.
All About Producing Fashion Shows
All about PR = Public Relations

 

[sidewalks]

I wasn't really sure where to post this, but my question is about classes to take if I don't attend a fashion school.

I have a huge interest in styling and journalism, but i also want to learn about the design side of things. it's too late and too costly for me to transfer schools, but my school's theater department offers costume design classes. should i take a costume design class?

i plan to take a fashion/sewing class next summer at another school, but would a costume design class be enough for the time being?

 

[gius]

I know of a tailor here who works for his own business and also a high end department store. He only studied costume ^

I think you should call the school's theatre department to make sure you get what you want. I was interested in taking theatre before, but I found out at the college I went to then, they don't really teach you how to sew or draft patterns... It was mostly about editing ready made garments. Most of the costumes for the school plays were rented and edited. But once you transferred to university to finish the rest of the program (you had to travel to another city), you could study drafting and construction

And at another school I was at, I met some costume students and they said the drafting course was quite basic but still good, and sewing skills were already expected from students once the program started.

So, it really depends on the school and what they choose to teach.

 

[Anditgoeson]

A-Level Dilemma

I was thinking i wanted to look into Design as a career path, but more recently i'm thinking i'd like to get ehind the scenes, a magazine (editor in chief someday - a girl can dream) or styling or buying...

And currently (before the change of heart)
I'm taking :
French , Spanish , Art, And Textiles as my A-levels...
But i really think i will need a English a-level ?

I'm thinking of dropping spanish or textiles.. or maybe both and doing some form of journalism thing ?
Would this be a good direction ? ? ?

 

[yellowetpink]

I think that'd be a good idea dropping textiles for English. I've just decided on what I am taking for my Highers (scottish A-levels) and I want to go down the journalism route and I took History, Modern Studies, English, Art, Human Biology. Apparantly Modern Studies and History are really good for journalism as they are basically tests of your essay writing skills.

 

[Jamess]

Im studying design now and I soo wish I had done academic A-levels rather than creative subjects. I would definately drop textiles for English, or history. They will come in useful for anything you want to do later.

 

[rockxprincess]

I'm having this little dilemma about my education..
Like many others I want to work at a Fashion magazine, but I don't know which education I should do. It's not possible to start with journalism .. I'm considering: assistent styling (making patterns,drawing, working out concepts).. Would this be a decent starting point for a fashion career in magazines? I'm not really interested in making patterns etc, but the only other options are design, productioncoordinator & business stuff.

 

[BetteT]

There are 2 specific threads about magazine careers that might have some insight for you:

How to Get Work at a Fashion Magazine & Get to the Top

What education you need to do to get into magazines??

 

[STYLEOClDE]

If you wanted to be a stylist for a movie...what major would that qualify under?
& Do you take any art courses for this type of job...?
I'm taking Art History in college right now...and I honestly don't know
if I really need it or not.

 

[gius]

there are costume designers who study theatre/production design^ and there have also been fashion designers who've designed for movies. both will have taken some form of history studies

just an idea