I'm sure we have all seen The Devil Wears Prada and think to ourselves, "Is that what it's like to work in fashion?" Will a crazy boss be dictating our every move and daily coffee runs? Well, I have never worked for a magazine so I don't know but, I do know that the movie only portrays one area of working in the fashion industry.
Fashion is something that has always been of interest to me and I know I want to work in the industry but, I always change my mind about what exactly it is I want to do when I graduate. Most people hear fashion and think designer, working for a fashion magazine or retail sales. However, I have discovered through school and lots of internet digging that there are so many different kinds of fashion industry professions.
AKA the silent sellers. Ever walk into a store and think to yourself, "I love that outfit on the mannequin, I want to try on those jeans" or "that display looks so pretty." When you have those thoughts as a customer it means visual merchandisers have done their job correctly. Their job is to display all merchandise creatively to increase sales and make the customer shopping experience run smoothly. However, most customers think sales associates do all of the work in stores which is not always the case. Lots of stores, especially bigger stores and department stores have separate teams that work directly with prepping and displaying merchandise. Personally from experience I had no idea this job existed until I started working in retail 3 years ago.
2. Fashion Buyer / Planner
If it weren't for these people, clothing stores would be empty. A buyer's job is basically to decide what merchandise is sold in stores. They attend fashion shows, travel, negotiate with vendors (brands) and help create marketing plans and sales for different products. The job when you first here about it seems fun and exciting but, can be a lot of work. You must have outstanding math skills to understand how much product to buy for each store or online channel, and manage inventory. There are lots of retail math formulas that are used in excel spreadsheets that help calculate sales and inventory. I had no idea this job existed until I applied to Ryerson University about 2 years ago.
3. Trend Forecaster in a Fashion Office
Just the words 'Fashion Office' sound intriguing and inviting, like the best place to work would be in an office full of fashion. Trend Forecasters predict what trends will be in season and once they predict the trends, they get to tell us what to wear for each season. Their days consist of researching trends, travelling, maybe attending fashion shows and creating look books to showcase what the store needs to focus on for fashion. They will most likely work with the buying and marketing teams.
So much is communicated online these days which means that fashion brands and retailers need to be online too. Especially so they can see what their customers are saying about them and ultimately interact with them as well. Social Media Managers' are in demand for fashion because brands want to be represented in a certain way and Social Media Managers' know the right way to communicate the right message.
5. Digital Content Creator
Or you may know them as bloggers, vloggers, YouTuber's, Instagrammer's etc. However, companies have come up with the title Digital Influencer or Content Creator to describe all the individuals you follow online. This job has grown in the past couple of years and it seems like there are so many of them on the internet. However, what you may not know is that for a lot of Influencers, it is their full-time job. They get to work with fashion brands, travel, have meetings with brands, get free products and have access to cool events.
How many of you saw pictures on Instagram about NYFW? You probably saw the Influencer you follow got to attend different shows. Most likely a brand was sponsoring them to go and positively represent them. Overall, it is a unique job with amazing perks and benefits that a lot of people accidentally fell into. Some may not view this as a career but, in this day in age, it does exist and is impacting the world of fashion and other sectors a ton.
I hope this post helped you discover new opportunities in the fashion industry. Let me know what fashion jobs interest you in the comments below!
xoxo,
