From clothes designer to visual merchandiser, could you handle the competitive cut-throat world of fashion?
“I have always believed that fashion was not only to make women more beautiful, but also to reassure them, give them confidence” – French fashion designer, Yves Saint Laurent, once famously said. While it pays to look good when you’re dressed in stylish attire, it can also pay dividends to work in such an industry.
A foot in the door
As with most professions, starting off as an intern is a huge plus for your future career. It’s a way in and, if you make a great impression, it could be you whom that specific company asks for in the midst of thousands of other keen fashionistas. The reason this industry is so popular is because everyone believes it to be so glamorous, packed with fashion shoots and shows. The reality, however, is walking around the city, picking up garments, filling in forms and buying the boss’ lunch, a la The Devil Wears Prada. It’s fast-paced and hard going, and if you’re easily offended, it’s the wrong industry for you!
So, how do you go about being an intern? There are myriad websites advertising vacancies, try www.gorkana.com or www.ukfashionintern.com and follow relevant social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Usually, tasks at fashion houses and glossy magazines will include making the coffee and doing a lot of running around after people – all for free, although your expenses may be covered. Your experience, however, is priceless.
Starting off
There are a significant amount of routes into the fashion industry, and entry-level jobs include: Assistant buyer – This is where your sense of style and an eye for trends come in. Buyers anticipate what will be flying off the shelves next season, having been inspired by what outfits have graced the catwalks of Milan, Paris, London et al.
As an assistant, you, along with the buyer, will work closely with designers and their designated sales representatives and attend trade fairs, wholesale showrooms and fashion shows to observe trends. You may work for large department stores, chain stores or smaller boutiques. For smaller independent stores, a buyer may participate in sales as well as promotion, whereas in a major fashion store there may be different levels of seniority such as trainee buyers, assistant buyers, senior buyers and buying managers, and buying directors. It’s an important role, as decisions about what to stock can significantly affect business.
In order to progress to a buyer, you need enthusiasm, creativity, imagination, decisiveness, good judgement, and strong analytical skills. Most of these qualities are obtained from experience you’ll learn as an assistant, however, self-motivation is key to success throughout this industry. A buyer also needs to be flexible, because you may be working in the office one day and travelling to another country at short notice the next day. Working well under pressure is also a must.
A Bachelor’s degree in either retail, buying, marketing or a related field is desirable. It’s also beneficial to have experience in fashion retail or sales. The average salary of an assistant buyer in the UK is £21,000. You can work your way up to a senior buyer within around three to five years.
Personal assistant – As a role that predominantly supports the fashion director, a personal assistant (PA) is a demanding job. It requires you to be a quick thinker and a multi-tasker who may be asked to change complex itineraries at the last minute.
From booking hotel rooms and flights, to sorting lunch for an important event, a PA works with the fashion director for all diary appointments, intricate expenses and other tasks that may be required. As the fashion director will do a lot of travelling during a year, being highly organised is paramount. You’ll manage all correspondence on their behalf, including sorting any incoming mail and emails and log, forward, prioritise and respond as appropriate. You’ll complete complex, multi-exchange rate expenses efficiently while working to tight deadlines, perform ad hoc (sourcing venues or catering) and personal tasks as required, at the request of the fashion director and assist with all day-to-day activities.
There are no formal qualifications needed to be a PA, although a business-related BTEC, HND or degree will give your career a boost. Starting out, a PA can expect to earn around £15,000, while experienced PAs can earn between £25,000 and £35,000 – especially in London.
Junior visual merchandiser – This demands a good eye for detail and how to present things and put them together. A background in design, combined with a creative mindset and a decent grasp of colour theory, will help to land you the gig.
Famous window displays such as those in Selfridges, Fenwick and Harrods, aren’t done by janitors, it’s a full-on job for visual merchandising teams. And it isn’t just windows, the in-store product displays are also created by these teams. It can take months of planning and the junior will help to execute the ideas put forward by their boss and fellow members of their team. The disadvantage is, all of the displays are done when the shop is closed, so there are a lot of early mornings and late nights.
Relevant qualifications are needed for this role, such as a design or art degree. Employers also look for those who have previous experience in fashion, retail and design. Salaries usually range from around £18,000 to £45,000 – depending on the size of the company and the location.
Big business
Many people enter the world of fashion with one thing in mind – designing the dress that every A-list star wants to wear. Becoming an established fashion designer is the ultimate in this industry.
One of the most famous – and highest earning – fashion designers in the world is Dame Vivienne Westwood. The Brit burst onto the fashion scene with a romantic pirate theme back in 1981 and was responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Now she makes her millions worldwide with a brand that includes bridal wear, shoes, accessories, as well as autumn/winter and spring/summer collections.
Some designers focus on one specific area such as babywear, footwear, women’s wear or accessories. Advancements in technology mean that a design can be on sale as a finished product on the high street within six weeks. Designers may work to their own brief or be given one by a client, with specifications relating to colour, fabric and budget. The main areas of work are:
High street fashion – This is where the majority of designers work and where garments are mass manufactured. The design process is influenced by celebrity catwalk trends, seasonal trends and patterns. It’s a commercial area and is heavily media-led.
Haute couture – Requires large amounts of time spent on one-off items for the catwalk (which are often not practical to wear!) to endorse other brands and create a specific look.
Ready-to-wear – Established designers create collections that are produced in relatively small numbers.
A junior designer’s starting salary can be between £16,000 and £17,000. However, once you get a big break, you become a senior designer, your designs get recognised or you become a creative director, you can earn up to £85,000 – not including high payments for one-off items from the rich and famous.
With the increase in online retailing, setting up in business or being self-employed is becoming more common, even straight after graduation. Extensive market research and business training are critical for any fashion business to succeed.
Helen Cook, 25, from Canterbury, Kent, is a press officer at luxury childrenswear company, AlexandAlexa.com She was a former press officer at Liberty and an accessories buyer for Jigsaw, before heading to AlexandAlexa. She tells us how she made it in the fashion industry and what it takes to succeed.
“I started out like so many others in the fashion industry – interning! Each of my placements was invaluable and absolutely key to getting me where I am today in fashion PR. I interned every summer throughout my university degree in fashion marketing and management in order to gain as much experience and exposure as possible, as well as building up my connections. I landed my first job in fashion after interning as a graduate at Jigsaw, a British heritage retailer based in Kew Gardens. It was a great first job and allowed me to be super creative – I worked on look-books, style guides and PR projects.
“It’s a lot of fun working in fashion PR – I love being able to go to events, make new connections and meet interesting people. Any freebies or cocktails are an added bonus! However, you need to be willing to graft, work on initiative and be as flexible as possible. Most importantly, be proactive and helpful. Showing your employer a good work ethic and willingness to go that extra mile when necessary will get you noticed and land you that dream job! Developing a thick skin is also a must!
“At AlexandAlexa, every day is different, and that’s why I love doing what I do. My routine consists of meetings, reviewing press clippings, writing press releases, working on campaigns, meeting designers – every day is so varied, I never really know what’s going to happen!
“Earlier in 2013 I worked on the first ever Global Kids’ Fashion Week, sponsored by AlexandAlexa, which cast a spotlight on premium kids’ fashion, from both established designers as well as emerging names. It was a hugely successful event that generated a massive amount of coverage and awareness worldwide. It was by far the most exciting and career defining project that I have had the pleasure to work on so far.
“Often, people wanting to get into the industry or people outside of it often mistake it for being all fun and glamour – there are aspects of glamour but not the kind people perceive when they watch movies or TV! In reality it’s tough, hard work with long hours. However, there are perks to working in the industry and there’s a lot of exciting things happening in fashion which I feel very fortunate to be part of.
“You have to make an effort, outfit-wise, in this industry and I take a lot of inspiration from Scott Schuman’s blog – The Sartorialist. He captures amazing off-the-cuff street style that’s incredibly diverse. Day to day I tend to wear a lot of tailored simple pieces from Cos, & Other Stories and Zara – white shirts, silk dresses jazzed up with a statement necklace or a pair of bright heels.
“The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is ‘Make yourself indispensable so that your employer can’t possibly survive without you’ – wise words from my fashion tutor an university.”
