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

[homeboy]

Thanks. I can't wait until I get back to europe to presue my career. At the moment I live in Socal, which isn't the ideal place in the US to presue a career in fashion.

 

[prosperk]

If you are reading the thread about Fashion Journalism you will see that prosperk, who is actually a fashion journalist, says that education is not a prime factor in getting a job as a journalist ... he feels very stongly about that. And I'm a stylist and I feel the same way about what I do.

A half-decent education is obviously an important component of any writer's profile but journalism and media studies degrees are about as useful as t*ts on bulls in the real world.

Bette is spot on with this advice to you:

You learn by doing and find gigs/jobs by making connections along the way. Now becoming a fashion editor, which is sort of a cross of both seems to also require getting in at the bottom, working really hard, moving up the ranks and showing some real talent to the right people, too.

PK

 

[whatever2]

As i have previously stated, I'm thinking about a career in Accessories/shoe design. And I'm now pretty sure that is the right choice for me! The thing is, the only place to get a bachelor in this is FIT, and everything I've read in this forum kind of scares me... Is FIT really that bad? I understand that it's not as good as Parsons, but I haven't got the money to go there, and I REALLY want this education.
But I can't even really afford FIT, if I decide to go there I'm facing years of paying back my loans... Since I'm a international student... So is if worth it?

I'm not looking to be the next jimmy choo or anything, but my dream is to open my own little store and design and create shoes and accessories... If I work hard, will I be able to do that after FIT?

 

[young_princess]

anyone here in the fashion industry who holds a business degree?

 

[SomethingElse]

Global marketing seems to be in high demand. This article deals with the issue in India, but it is relevant in a lot of other regions, I think.

The Indian fashion industry has huge potential but international buyers feel designers are unable to capture a bigger pie in the global market as they lack marketing skills.

"Indian designers are not famous abroad and global customers mainly want to buy branded stuff," Kichiro Motoyama, president of Japanese fashion store Sun Motoyama Co Ltd, told IANS.

But Motoyama said he was planning to buy silhouettes for up to $60,000, which would include nearly 500 outfits of Tarun Tahiliani, Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna.

"Designers are very localised in their approach. They must do the promotion and marketing more aggressively to compete with other internationally renowned names. It is very difficult to convince customers to buy Indian designer clothes as the labels are not famous," said Mohammed Salah of designer store Moda In of Kuwait.

The Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) has completed two days, but not many buyers can be spotted. Though 63 international buyers have registered, only a couple of them have turned up till now.

Designers like Tarun Tahiliani have received orders for over 400 silhouettes, Rina Dhaka over 100, Anjana Bhargava and Varun Bahl about 50. Puja Arya, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Vikram Phadnis are expecting good business in the coming days.

Buyers felt that there was a lack of individuality and perfection in the collection of Indian designers to attract global customers, especially when the on-going New York Fashion Week and upcoming Paris Fashion Week run parallel to the WIFW.

"Don't forget that competition is tough and Indian designers have to give buyers an extremely strong reason to come here rather than going for other shows," remarked Armand Hadida, founder of French fashion store L'Eclaireur.

"There are two major problem with designers here. Firstly they are not perfect, I mean some are good with fabric and techniques while others are good with design and cuts. They also lack the personal touch in their collections.

"Secondly they are not sure about their target audience. They must decide whether they want to sell in the Indian market or Middle East or Europe and work accordingly," he said.

Buyers also said that there wasn't enough international media coverage for the fashion extravaganza.

"Every year we bring some fashion journalists along with us on our own expense, so that the Indian fashion week can be written about and customers become aware about the labels. Unfortunately this year we couldn't work out the same so there will be no coverage of the fashion week in our country," said Motoyama, a regular buyer at the WIFW.

hindustantimes.com . published 7 September 2007

 

[declan_steed]

anyone here in the fashion industry who holds a business degree?

*raises hand*

Though, I'm not in "fashion" as in magazine editors & photo shots. That's a world I don't know much about.

I'm in the glamorous <sarcasm> world of apparel manufacturing, product development, etc. - the operational and logistics stuff.

'scuse me... I have to go adjust the buttonhole machine, again

 

[BetteT]

Glad to have you here at tFS, declan steed!

 

[bluespring]

*raises hand*

Though, I'm not in "fashion" as in magazine editors & photo shots. That's a world I don't know much about.

I'm in the glamorous <sarcasm> world of apparel manufacturing, product development, etc. - the operational and logistics stuff.

'scuse me... I have to go adjust the buttonhole machine, again

we have the same situation again declan, we both have the same profession and education background. i bet your planning on starting your own line? womens? mens?

 

[Cicciolina]

*raises hand*

Though, I'm not in "fashion" as in magazine editors & photo shots. That's a world I don't know much about.

I'm in the glamorous <sarcasm> world of apparel manufacturing, product development, etc. - the operational and logistics stuff.

'scuse me... I have to go adjust the buttonhole machine, again

I'm a lot more interesting in the business of fashion anyway Hope to hear more from you!

 

[Fashiongirl1]

Hello everyone. Obviously I am extremely confused on what to pursue in the fashion industry... I just know I want to be in it like many others because I love fashion... What is a fashion director, or a fashion executive?

 

[BetteT]

http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f90/fashion-director-47818.html

I found this doing an advanced search using the words "director" and "executive" ... just so you know. Here's information about how to do a better search (in the Member Support Forum) so you can find things easier by thread title ... just in case you have other careers you are considering ... chances are there's a specific thread on it already.

 

[BetteT]

I just found this recent article posted right here on tFS, and I thought it would be good information for this thread:

7 Unique Fashion Careers You May Not Know About

Beth Stebner October 7th, 2015



In the fashion world, the only constant is that everything is subject to change. What’s in one year (flatforms and ponchos) is (thankfully!) out the next. The same can be said about fashion careers — sure, you’ve got your staples like designing, modeling, marketing and the like, but there’s much more to working in fashion than just pretty clothes and the models who wear them. The apparel market is worth an astounding $225 billion in the U.S. alone, according to statistics site Statista, meaning that there are a lot of jobs out there that need to be filled in the fields of logistics, technology, creative and more. So we’ve rounded up seven such jobs as a reminder that in fashion, it’s always good to think outside the box.

Fashion Trend Forecaster

No, this is not a position where you predict it’ll be cloudy with a chance of trenchcoats. But you will predict whether or not trenchcoats will be part of the must-have fashions for the next season. Whether you’re an independent tour de force like Lidewij Edelkoort (and her company Trend Union) or work for a forecasting brand like WGSN, the end goal is the same — being able to predict what colors and styles will be in up to two years before the season hits the runway.

Sound impossible? It’s not. It involves, as one former WGSN worker calls it, a certain amount of “hunting and gathering” socioeconomic data and trends, but if you’re a forecaster, you can get it down to some science and a lot of intuition.

Olfactive Brander

As the saying goes, the nose knows and now, retailers know it, too. “Smell can entice consumers to stay longer, shop longer and purchase more,” Elizabeth Musmanno, president of The Fragrance Foundation, told The Business of Fashion in 2013. Olfactive branding (really just a fancy word for someone who creates scent campaigns for a client or company) has taken off in the last few years with boutique firms like 12.29 creating scents for the runway shows of Jason Wu (fruity rose), Prabal Gurung (Bulgarian rose, peony, amber) and Opening Ceremony (chocolate). Bigger brands like ScentAir create that can’t-quite-put-your-finger-on-it smell for Bloomingdale’s and Westin Hotels, among others.

Fit Model

Just because you’re not a size 2 doesn’t mean you can’t be a model. That’s where fit models come in. Think of them as the unsung heroes of the fashion industry, trying on sample sizes to see how a garment looks, lays and feels before it goes on to be produced for the masses. And there’s much more job security in fit modeling — as long as your dimensions remain the same, there’s no reason why you couldn’t continue in this career for decades.

Fashion Colorist

If you live and breathe in Pantone and can tell the difference between a royal blue and a true blue in a heartbeat, consider this niche area. These color whiz kids can not only match a particular color a designer has in mind, but also oversee color libraries and create new colors in labs. But it’s also a social job, as colorists often have to meet with buyers, designers and production studios to make sure the color is just so. According to Indeed.com, colorists in major cities like New York can make upward of $90,000.

Color Experts

Speaking of color, there are actually bona fide color experts that advise designers, production managers and the like on all aspects of color and what it means for a particular product or garment. Pantone’s Leatrice Eiseman is arguably one of the most famous and influential, having written no less than six books on color and color theory.

Fashion Florist

Was there ever a more perfect pairing than fashion and flowers? We think not. Just look at high-profile fashion types like former editor Taylor Tomasi Hill and Rambert Rigaud of Dior Haute Couture who left their posts to make stunning floral arrangements. Rigaud told The New York Times in a 2014 profile that he gets 70 percent of his business from high-profile fashion clients who, thanks to social media, need a new way to stand out from the pack. “Everybody wants to differentiate their brand,” chimed in Etienne Russo of Brussels-based production company Villa Eugénie. “There is a bigger emphasis on creating a live experience than before. It’s about creating a moment.”

Theater Costume Designer

Sure, fashion designers get the lion’s share of fame and accolades for their collections, but often costumes for operas, musicals and plays are much more elaborate and, well, theatrical (and in our opinion, more fun to wear). A position like this requires technical know-how, a firm base in fashion history and, of course, a flair for the dramatic. And as always, the show must go on.