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Finding Careers in the Fashion Industry

hanun — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 07:21:55 +0000

The vibrant, ever-changing fashion industry is always looking for brilliant minds with an idea of what comes next in design and merchandising. Could you be that visionary voice? What does the future hold for jobs in the fashion industry?

Check out some of the top fashion industry jobs, and learn what you can do to work your way into one of these exciting careers.

Fashion & Retail Management

If you love fashion and you’ve always wanted to own your own business, a degree in retail management could be right up your alley. You already know what shoes to pair with that little black dress for the perfect night out, but you need to learn the details of management as it relates to fashion. Courses in fashion sales, retail history, and more can give you the experience you need to enter the field with confidence.

Management Salary Points. In 2007, retail sales managers and supervisors saw mean annual earnings of $39,210, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Management positions at high-end boutiques and specialty stores might earn more, depending on location and experience.

Fashion Merchandising Careers

If you stand behind your brand, you have to be able to sell it. Fashion merchandising is an umbrella term that covers a range of careers, including:

•    Merchandise managers

•    Fashion buyers

•    Fashion marketers

•    Fashion sales

Even those who specialize in creating window dressings for department stores fall under the category of fashion merchandising.

Fashion merchandise managers see a lot of use in today’s fashion economy. “Today it’s the merchandise manager who carries the weight,” Marvin Traub, a retail consultant, told the New York Times. “He has an eye to the numbers.” While a degree or certificate in fashion merchandising may not be required for all careers, it can help to have the technical knowledge you can pair with you existing passion.

Merchandising Salary Points. Wholesale and retail buyers earned $53,580 in 2007, the BLS reports. That same year, purchasing managers across all industries earned mean annual wages of $90,430. While that figure goes well beyond the fashion industry, it should give you an idea of the kind of salary a skilled manager in the field might expect.

Fashion Designers

When you first think of jobs in the fashion industry, you might picture famous fashion designers like Donatella Versace or Michael Kors. While it’s true that most work can be found in fashion hubs California and New York, designers typically work all over the country, running small businesses and boutiques. Whether you’re dreaming of small-town success or a big-city dream, training in fashion design can get you there.

Fashion Design Salary Points. Fashion designers saw mean annual wages of $71,170 in 2007, according to the BLS. Most designers worked in New York or California, cementing the notion that your best chances for employment are on the opposite coasts.

While competition is keen for many careers and no degree can guarantee a job, graduates of fashion schools are still finding a viable job market. Research fashion schools to get a better idea of your potential future.

Fashion Degrees are a Popular Trend

admin — Sun, 09 Jan 2011 01:39:36 +0000

The popularity of television shows like Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model has added even more glamour to the fashion industry, and many people are wondering if a fashion career is right for them.

A fashion career might be a good fit for you if you have the right combination of creativity and business acumen. The fashion industry isn’t based just on making sketches of beautiful clothes, which is why many people are surprised at the hard work that goes into getting a degree in either fashion design or fashion merchandising. The truth is, you can’t just be a designer. You also have to be a great business person, which is why four-year Bachelor’s degrees are becoming increasingly sought after in the fashion industry.

A Bachelor’s degree in either Fashion Design or Fashion Merchandising covers a wide range of skills that can be used in the industry whether you end up designing apparel, organizing fashion shows, coordinating events or managing your own chain of retail stores. The in-depth education you’ll receive will include hands-on courses as well as internships and classroom work taught by industry professionals and professors in disciplines such as accounting and business. As a fashion designer, you can’t succeed today on pure genius. If you can’t address the realities of cost and practicality, someone else will overtake you.

Typical coursework will include a variety of interesting subjects, including the history of fashion and how fashion impacts society. You will gain an understanding of fabrics, textiles and ornamentation, as well as cutting, sewing and pattern making. You will also gain valuable exposure to the growing field of computer assisted design (CAD). Fashion merchandising and sales, accounting, business management, business technology and accounting are also studied. Consumer behavior is focused upon, giving you valuable insight into how to appeal to your potential clients.

There are actually two popular Bachelor’s degrees available for those interested in the fashion industry. If you earn a degree in Fashion Design, you’ll be prepared to work in any design house. You can work your way up from the cutting floor to becoming a design assistant. And eventually, you will be a designer in your own right. You may also coordinate and plan fashion shows or become an events coordinator for fashion houses and department store chains.

With a degree in Fashion Merchandising, your focus will be more on the retail and marketing side of the industry. You can become a buyer for a retail store or private label fashion house, traveling around the world to watch fashion shows and choosing which lines they will carry in the coming year. Other options include becoming the merchandising coordinator in a particular store, designing the display of merchandise to its best advantage. Window dressers are also in demand in large cities, where high-end department stores compete for the title of “best dressed window”.

Either type of fashion degree prepares you for the world of retail management. If your dream is to manage your own fashion store, you can’t go wrong with a degree in fashion design or fashion merchandising. Both degrees give you an excellent overview of the industry and an understanding of everything from which materials work well together to how to handle production and stocking costs. If you think that you have the head for business and the heart for design that it takes for success in the fashion world, getting a Fashion Degree is your best first step.

Fashion Fiesta Wrapped in a Week

admin — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 01:21:44 +0000

Creative sensational from different parts of the world taking style, beauty and definition of fashion to its edge, promotional linchpin of a multibillion-dollar industry, I am talking about nothing else but Fashion Weeks. Fashion weeks are hallmarks of fashion industry to rollout the new season feel in fashion. They generally last up to a week allowing fashion designers, artists and fashion houses to display their latest collection. It hallmarks next seasons “in” things, that’s why it is very important for buyers, media, celebrities and entertainment industry who take that fashion among the general public.

The most famous fashion weeks are held at Fashion Mecca Paris, Milan, London and New York. Since the new millennium fashion weeks are held in different parts of the world to put the local fashion on the world map and making a packed fashion calendar throughout the year. A refreshing sense of national identity and pride has emerged from the achievements of fashion sector – something that was otherwise traditionally been restricted to feats of sporting prowess, adding that its benefits go well beyond the fashion world (Emling 2006).

Fashion weeks are held several months in advance giving chance to designers, media and buyers to preview the trend for the next season. Fashion weeks are bi-annual events; the fashion weeks conducted between January and March are called “fall fashion weeks” whereas the one conducted in September through November are called “Spring Fashion Weeks”. Some fashion weeks can be genre-specific, such as a Miami Fashion Week (Swimwear), Prêt-a-Porter (ready-to-wear) Fashion Week, Couture (one-of-a-kind designer original) Fashion Week, Palm Springs Fashion Week (Resort Collections) and Bridal Fashion Week.

History

Omission of fashion week history would be curious at this point of time. Let me throw some light on that. Edna Woodman Chase—former editor of Vogue organized “Fashion Fete,” in 1914 to benefit the war-relief effort which is often apocryphally called the first fashion show ever. By the 1920s, the fashion show had gone mainstream. Early shows were often more theatrical than those of today.

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