Ashmita Tamta
If you have a fashion crush on Stella McCartney, a predilection for Yeezy ivory knit ankle boots or you just enjoy eyeing all the latest fashion trends, then you probably keep tabs on fashion weeks as they roll up in Paris, Milan, London and New York with wonderment. If such is the case, the odds are that you are envisaging the possibility of pursuing a fashion degree.
There are umpteen undergraduate fashion degrees that enable students to develop skills needed to succeed in this notoriously fast-paced, dynamic and ultra-competitive industry. The prospective fashion students shilly-shally about the sector of the industry they would like to work in.
Renowned colleges such as Parson School of Design, London School of Fashion, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Royal College of Art offer plenty of specialized and well-structured fashion courses focusing on fashion photography, design, management, PR, journalism, to name a few.
Careers in Fashion
If fashion is your passion, then here is the list of the most popular fields you can pursue a career in after successfully attaining a degree.
Fashion Technology
Be it virtual design-testing interfaces with complex algorithms predicting patterns in consumer choice or major breakthroughs in the ever-evolving world of style, Fashion Technology (FT) is perfect for the ones interested in transformative technologies. Growing rapidly since its inception, FT promises innumerable stimulating career prospects. There are a number of opportunities for FT graduates in textile technology, innovative software design, laser cutting, 3D printing and even in making wearable technology trendy.
Career Prospects: Fashion Design Producer, Technical Designer, Apparel Production Manager, Quality Control Manager, Graphic Designer, Product Developer
Fashion Designing
A career in fashion designing is likely to be the most fulfilling for the ones who are immensely creative and inspired by fashion. You can work within a team involved in a high-end fashion line, as a pattern designer in a textiles company or as an assistant designer for a fashion house.
The graduates get placed in various companies and work with apparel manufacturers, haute couture designers, jewellery houses, importers, etc. You can launch your own boutique or line if you are interested in producing your own garments and products. But before flying solo, it is recommended to work in an established enterprise to gain valuable hands-on experience.
Career Prospects: Costume Designer, Wardrobe Manager, Personal Shopping Guide, Fashion Stylist, Fashion Tailor, Production Pattern Designer, Jewelry Designer, Personal Stylist
Fashion Journalism and Publishing
Fashion journalism is one of the most sought-after professions impelled by the upsurge in fashion blogging nowadays. One can write for PR agencies, e-commerce sites, news portals, fashion magazines and various other print as well as online media. If you are an aspiring blogger, news reporter or a magazine journalist, your fashion degree must be coupled with sound writing skills and a notable portfolio of fashion writing.
Don’t fret if you have insufficient writing experience and still wish to compose pieces on fashion; you can consider undertaking a graduate degree in journalism wherein you specialize in fashion, magazine or celebrity journalism.
Career Prospects: Fashion writer, Copywriter, Columnist, Fashion Photographer
Fashion Merchandising and Fashion Buying
These careers rely on keeping abreast of the emerging trends before they hit the runway. There is a lot more to it, though it may sound as simple as flipping through an issue of Vogue.
Fashion buying involves sourcing and purchasing products in trend that will attract the company’s clientele and consumers. Fashion merchandising, on the other hand, is somewhat more business-orientated. It involves calculating how much a client will spend and making certain all the right products are found in the right stores at the right time.
Fashion buying and fashion merchandising are indispensable to the retail industry. So if you have a knack for foretelling à la mode trends and have an eye for what will sell, you should definitely give it a try.
Career Prospects: Visual Merchandiser (clothing and beyond), Fashion Buyer, Fashion Merchandiser, Retail Merchandiser
Fashion Advertising
Associated with the field of fashion marketing, the advertising industry deals with promulgating high street fashion, luxury fashion or related brands. It requires you to use the skills developed over the time to sell the latest fashions to different clienteles.
It proffers a wide range of careers in advertising that can either be print or digital media. It consists of diverse roles in editorial, copywriting, styling for photoshoots, multimedia marketing and handling public relations.
Career Prospects: Brand Management, PR, Fashion Promoter, Trend Analyst, Clothing Promoter
Ways to Amp Up Your Graduate Employability:
*Start your own fashion blog.
*Keep up with contemporary high street/designer markets and trends
*Equip yourself with retail experience and skills such as numeracy
*Fashion/Fashion Journalism internships in buying, production, merchandising and/or marketing with a focus on design
*Create a portfolio of work. You can use degree projects as well.
*Fashion industry contacts are essential, so start networking while graduating.
*A postgraduate degree in fashion and/or journalism.
*Experience writing for a university publication and working within a team
*An apparent interest in advanced technologies is essential and improve your technical proficiency by pursuing acertified course from an acclaimed university.
The fashion industry offers an array of exciting career options. Explore as many avenues as you can during your degree through fashion internships, gain retail experience and avail networking opportunities. This will not only increase future employability but also help you single out the field you would like to get into.
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