Fashion Industry Careers - Options (See individual threads for specific careers.)

[Qtinez7]

well, im from scotland ... and I have always been intrested in fashion. I enjoy fashion design, and spend time customising some of my clothes, but I am also interested in buying and selling and also stylist's. I have always wanted to study in america, but I dont know of any fashion schools there. can someone help me please?

there are many threads on here that have many fashion schools in america. but to name the top ones from my head some are :

Parsons School OF Design (Ny,Ny)
Fashion Institute of Technology (Ny, Ny)
Pratt (Rhode island i think....)
Otis School of Design (L.A. CA)
Academy Of Arts (San Francisco, Ca)


those are the ones i can think of....i am sure someone will read my list and have a few to add or to comment on them. good luck

 

[xLeoniex]

Hey..I see there are a lot of great places to go to start in the fashion industry in America, and although i would love to study over there it is just a bit too far! I was wondering if anyone knows of any good colleges or fashion courses in Scotland that would be good to go to. It looks like I may be moving up there just after my GCSE's and a good college would be great! I have heard that Edinburgh colege is good Anyone have any ideas?
Thank you!

 

[stylewhore]

how can i go about getting a showroom assistant job?

 

[Erin]

Large companies generally have more structured hiring processes but I was wondering how people find jobs in smaller and more intimate design companies? Is it really all through networking and word of mouth?

Connections, connections, connections. Get your name out, get to know people in the industry... that's your best bet...

 

[INKO]

Fashion Industry careers

Hi Everyone.

I am looking for some advice.
I am a 32 year old woman, who at present has an IT career,
I find it very unrewarding and the more difficult my jobs becomes the more I realise that I am in the wrong career.

I have wanted to work in the fashion industry for as long as I can remember, but have made a few questionable decisions in my life.

When I was 16 I got into 2 fashion foundation. But decided not to follow it through in preference to doing A levels

I then did a one year art foundation instead and then did a degree in Ceramics.
I tried to change again after one year – but it was too late and I decided to stick with my degree.

I came out of college with debt and decided to just get a job – hence my current career.

I training in millinery and regularly still draw.

I was wondering how possible it is for someone like me to break into the Fashion industry and what kind of work is available to someone who does not have a degree in Fashion.

I have read here that a few people who have become stylists later on in life.

I would appreciate any advice at all – careers that are not obvious but possible…how people got to where they are today etc etc.

Thanks very much in advance.

 

[Lena]

its never too late..
you may not become Philip Tracey but at least you can make your dream come true.

either start by doing hats or accessories for friends and show them around to the local boutiques, or start a commercial website since you come from IT, you could use yur site as a 'showroom' network with your city fashion scene and work from there.

alternatively look out for assisting positions in local accessories labels -if any.
learning the proceedure will prove helpful
good luck and welcome on board

 

[Besame]

hmm well im a junior in high school now and i need to start thinking about WAT EXACTLY I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE.. and ever since freshman year, i've been confident and passionate about becoming a fashion designer...

but lately i've been getting second thoughts after doing a lot of researching (i mean A LOT. like everyday i would surf on google about just fashoin design, which is wat i did today and found this site). i mean, im just nervous that i might not make it in the industry seeing how... hard it is to find a good-paying (and enjoying at the same time) after graduating.

and i've also wanted to become a writer/journalist ever since middle school (i've always been a bit career-oriented. lol) and would LOVE to work for a magazine (i subscribe to over like 10 magazines cuz im a bit obssessed with them) as a fashion editor (styling clothes seems fun!) or fashion journalist (attend tons of fashion shows! nuff said!)

basically, i just want to noe if 1) getting into fashion design is a really good idea because i dont want to end up working off a low salary and living in a crappy apartment. 2) if the academy of arts is a good school (i have a high chance of getting into fidm because i was offered to apply early in my junior year but i dont really like fidm after my tour). 3) if san fran and los angeles are good places to find jobs relating to fashion design. 4) if its a good idea to go into a university to get a bachelor degree in journalism and THEN study fashion design in a fashion/art school.

haha i wrote too much. sorry, i just had to clear my head. its in a bit of a jumble right now, and senior year is coming up in only a few months and im as confused and lost as heck!


SO WHOEVER CAN HELP ME WITH MY NEAR-END-OF-JUNIOR-YEAR-CRISIS, I THANK U SOOO SOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!

wow, you sound just like me.

 

[young_princess]

what does it take to work in the fashion industry?

i'm a business student but i love fashion and i wanna work in the fashion industry after i graduate. although i dont wanna be a designer, i was thinking along the lines of fashion management. do u need to get a degree in fashion management or will a management degree be okay? and is anyone here already working in the fashion industry? if so, what do u think bout the luxury goods management MBA grads? does the company u work in prefer them? looking forward to your replies. thanks~

 

[Erikpironman]

Im in a similar position and would love some feeback as well, woohoo.

 

[infamousJA]

I don't know if this has been talked about because I haven't read EVERY page of this thread but I was just wondering... is it a good idea for someone who is majoring in fashion marketing to go on to get their masters in business? i really want to go into PR and promotions but i'm also interested in buying so I don't know if a masters would be beneficial to me or not.

 

[Tierney]

What about Texas Woman's University... That is where I attend. The actual reason why I do go there is because of their fashion department. I heard it is among one of the best in the country. Is that true? I am studying fashion merchandising! Hopefully to be a buyer someday...

 

[LAMALONE]

Lena or anyone -I'm in the real estate business and its ok, but my heart is really for fashion its my 1st love and i lovvvveeeeee to shop.And i would love to get paid to shop because its something i love to do so why not get paid to do it.How can i get started?I sketch clothes a little here and there but i would love to be a buyer or even a stylist and I want to go to a fashion school to get a degree for it but im a single parent and working full time so its kinda hard to do that. Help! because i love,love fashion i want to do this soooooo bad. My Passion is Fashion! And i want to do this because im 25 and i would like to get into this by the time im 30.

 

[MarryMeTomFord]

I work in an e-learning IT company here in India. Started out as a writer, but now am doing some meaningless admin/HR work.
People say find out what your passions are and go follow those. But truth be told, i have never had any "passions"... If i were reall;y passionate about something, shouldnt i have to be involved in it or atleast do somethng? my two great loves, lets call it that, are fashion and animals.
i have always bought every single magazine there is out there about fashion - indian and international - all of them every single month. am a magazine wh*re really. But i havent done anything about my interest in fashion. Just recently i started scrapbooking - making a collage of all the clothes i ike in these magazines and also adding my own theme/colors/designs to the scrapbook.
i own tons more clothes than any one person should own.
what kind of career can there be for me? i have no formal training in fashion.
where do i start?

thx
zenobia

 

[DJCNOR]

Is it worth a try in the UK or not? I'm 56 and moved here, to Norwich, almost two years ago. I had gone back to school in 2001-2002 (intensive program for folks who already had a degree) in Surface Design/Textile Design at FIT and then worked a variety of freelance assignments and then a full time job in CAD design of prints. But, obviously, I have no network here at all yet. Should I just go with another line of work for the years that are left?

 

[DernierCri]

I just finished reading through this thread and it was definitely an interesting read, thanks to everyone who contributed!

Now for my own dilemma.

I'm in my senior year in high school right now and fortunately, I feel as if I've found my direction/passion, but I'm not sure which careers would be right for me. I have always been interested in graphic design, but with a fashionable twist (ie. screenprinting t-shirts, creating school production posters, graphics editor for the student paper, and most recently, styling the yearbook completely after Teen Vogue/Vogue.) I love layout design and ideally would love to end up working at a fashion magazine working on layout and graphics. However, I do realize that opportunities to work for media giants such as Hearst and Condé Nast are hard to come by at any point in time, so I'm not quite sure what other careers I could pursue with my interests (graphic design/fashion journalism).

So far, I've applied to FIT (Communication Design -- AAS) and Ryerson (Fashion Communications) and I'm really tempted to apply to Parsons and Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[DJCNOR]

To all who are considering FIT,
They could hire me to sell the school. This is the way I figure it. If I, at 50, after being a research scientist and editor/proofreader and a craftsperson on the side, could go into a one-year program that started 10 days before 9/11, come out in May to a horror of a market, and freelance my way to a full time job as a creator of fashion fabric prints in NYC's fashion district, they really do their job of making it possible for someone to really earn a living in the field.
I never worked harder in my life than I did that year, and I never enjoyed myself more.

 

[fla355]

wow so this could actually help me a lot. I'm looking into fashion journalism and im a junior in high school, im on the school paper and im also trying to get an internship at the local paper for next year. fashion disighn is offered at my school but i dont take it becuase i can't sew. i was wondering if anyone could help me out an answer some of my questions. Should I go to journalism school or fashion merchandising school? if i do pick one or the other am I shutting any doors? the london academy of the arts has a fashion department that offers an MA in fashion journalism, should I apply there and take that and marketing? or should i go to london and study journalism at another school (if i can find one) and then take the fashion journalism class? or should i stay in the US? wow thats a ton of questions (sorry) but if anyone could help me or point me in the right direction i would really appreciate it (also feel free to privatly contact me if you want to)
thanks

 

[criticsdarling]

fla355 ~ I think either route you take can lead to your dream job of being a fashion journalist, but if you really love fashion I'd go that way. The background in fashion teaches you the whole picture which is very important if you are going to write about it. Perhaps take a degree that's fashion related and on the side keep a really fantastic style blog and writing samples to show at an interview someday. Plus internships and jobs you get on the way will help! And don't be afraid of sewing, it's not that hard once you learn the basics! Then you can design your own clothing!! Good luck

 

[cierrughhh]

Does anyone know any way to become a scout/booker for a large modeling agency, cuz damn if I cant be a model, I sure as hell still want to be a part of this industry.

 

[igotgoodjeans]

is anyone a lawyer in the fashion industry? this is something i've been thinking about on and off...i know it'll prob deal with a lot of contracts and rather unglamorous stuff but im also interested in the intellectual property aspect of it.