A career in the fashion industry sounds glamorous and lucrative. Have you consider getting into the fashion industry but might think that you cannot manage it? There are so many different roles and positions that you can play in the fashion world. One does not necessarily be a fashion designer but can still have a very successful career in the fashion industry.
Being able to make a living with things you like is always enjoyable. If you are a fashion fan and love to see beautiful clothing, accessories, or sketches around you, you should consider starting a career in the fashion world. Below are some key roles in the fashion world where you can participate in the design, production, marketing, and too much more.
Designing
This is one of the most high-profile jobs in the fashion industry. Designers are responsible for conceptualizing their ideas on trends and realizing them on their final products. Designers can be employed by companies that own a group of designers or work for their own brand and product line, or even as freelancers providing designs for different companies.
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There are several types of fashion designers:
1. Apparel designers: Obviously, these are clothing designers, ranging from lingerie, sportswear, casual wear to high fashion couture for men, women, and kids.
2. Footwear designers: They design footwear for men, women, and kids from a style point of view and a foot health’s perspective.
3. Accessory designers: Accessories has a broad definitely – from handbags, hats, eyewear to gloves, scarves, and jewelry pieces.
Production
Production involves collecting garments and accessories until producing the final pieces that would deliver to shops and customers. This massive work involves a team of various professions:
1. Merchandiser: Merchandisers play a key role in the production process of a fashion product. They are responsible for buying raw materials for production, selecting fabric, textiles and trims. They have to decide based on pricing, quality, and the latest trend and innovation in raw materials.
2. Technical designers: Technical designers are responsible for doing fittings during the whole sampling to production procedure. They might not be the ones who designed the garment but are the experts in providing an alternative to the garment to improve the garment’s fitting.
3. Pattern Makers: Pattern is the basis for a garment to be sewed. Pattern makers produce and maintain patterns for garments that designers have sketched out. Pattern makers are key persons in the realization of a garment.
4. Pattern Graders: The sizing of the garment starts with the pattern grading. Pattern graders are experts in creating size specifications for different sizes. They are vital for any fashion brand, as a consistent sizing across products can maintain customer loyalty and confidence.
5. Fitting Models: Ultimately, garments and footwear are made for putting comfort and style together. Fitting is a crucial part of the fashion industry, and the most precise fitting is to use the model as the body for fitting.
Many companies have their own dedicated models for fitting their lines, which have the exact sizing measurement the brand requires. Sometimes you would see ads looking for sampling models, from kids, men, women to plus size models.
6. Quality Control Specialists: Quality control is of top importance for any product and is no exception in the fashion industry. Quality control specialists look at the quality of raw materials, like peeling, shrinking, and color fading of textile and overall quality of a fashion item, for instance, the overall assembling of an accessory item.
7. Planners: Fashion planners coordinate closely with designers, merchandisers, and buyers to decide the coming seasons’ production plan. They look at both the production and marketing sides while paying close attention to the latest fashion trend.
Marketing
Marketing is as important as making a perfect piece of fashion item. Whether it’s marketing on a wholesale or retail side, people in fashion marketing bears the mission of promoting the fashion item in this fast-changing world.
1. Fashion Buyer/ Retail Merchandisers: Product merchandisers are the ones who buy ready-made products to be sold in a shop like department stores. These merchandisers conduct researches and analyze market trends, the relative customer wants, and stocks. They bear a huge responsibility for profit-making since having the eye to buy the right product for sales can make a difference in revenue.
2. Showroom Sales Specialists: Some brands own their showrooms, displaying their collection for fashion buyers (wholesalers) to make their orders. Compared with retail sales, showroom sales specialists should know their seasonal returning customers better and be able to provide detailed information on the selling collections.
3. Retail Store Manager/ Boutique Owners: Retail shop managers, sales, and boutique owners are the first line personnel facing retail customers like you and me.
Besides, in designing, producing, or marketing a fashion item, one might be attracted by other positions like a writer of a fashion magazine, online blogs, fashion event management, etc. Below is a list highlighting the other possible jobs related to the fashion industry:
1. Fashion Writers: Writers or freelance writers can write for magazines, online blogs, or sites on reviews, trends, and recommendations. Fashion writers can also develop into fashion magazine editors.
2. Personal Stylists: Some department stores provide personal styling services while some private customers would employ personal stylists, giving them recommendations in personal styling.
3. Fashion event Management/ Public Relations: There are nameless fashion events that require professional public relations and event management personnel to take care of. There are PR companies specialized in holding fashion related events.