There seems to be a common misconception that everyone who wants to go into the fashion industry wants to be a designer. When I tell people I study fashion, I always get two responses. First, they look at my outfit to see what I’m wearing. Then, they either ask to see pictures of clothes I’ve created, or they ask if I could design something for them. While I enjoy fashion sketching for fun, designing isn’t really the aspect of fashion that I want to go into, as I aspire to do something that involves writing, such as blogging or public relations.
The truth is, the fashion industry has plenty of job opportunities besides drawing and sewing that people don’t always know about. Here are some of the many career options in fashion worth pursuing if you’re passionate about fashion but don’t want to be a designer.
Blogging/Journalism
If you love writing and fashion, I recommend pursuing a career in fashion journalism. As a fashion journalist for a magazine or blog, you’ll research and write about trends and style and possibly interview people in the industry and cover events. If you’re interested in this field, it’ll help you to practice your writing skills frequently and get as much experience as you can to stand out from the competition.
Visual Merchandising
This is a great career path for creative and active people. Visual merchandisers plan displays in stores, decide where different products will be placed, create window decorations and basically everything else that involves making the store look more appealing to customers. Just keep in mind that you may have to work weekends and strange hours and you’ll probably be tired from being on your feet and moving around so much.
Public Relations
PR is all about helping companies keep a positive public image. You’ll need both strong writing skills and good people skills, as communication is a big part of this job. Some responsibilities will include writing emails and press releases and fixing any damage that may occur to a company’s reputation. One of the perks of this field is that you can sometimes attend exciting events and meet famous people!
Buyer
As a buyer, you’ll be getting paid to shop! It can be an exciting job, as responsibilities often include traveling and going to trade shows and fashion shows to buy products for a company. You’ll need strong math skills for this career because it involves money, and making Excel spreadsheets is typically a big part of the job. Good negotiating skills are also an important skill for the job.
Marketing
This is a great career path to look into if you’re good with social media. Fashion marketers are responsible for making fashion companies and products appeal to a target market. While this is technically considered to be more on the business side of fashion, it can be creative as well.
Trend Forecasting
If you’re always on top of all the newest trends, fashion forecasting may be the perfect career for you. You’ll need to have good business and math skills along with a creative mind because you’ll often be responsible for predicting trends based on research and data. Although you wouldn’t be drawing as much as if you were a designer, you may be required to make mood boards and sketch sometimes.
Sales Associate or Consultant
Retail isn’t for everyone, but it can be very enjoyable if you like talking to people and being active. Some of your responsibilities will typically include helping customers find items, cleaning and organizing the store and working the register. You may have to work varied or unusual hours, but this field doesn’t usually require a college degree and sometimes you get a fabulous discount. You may also have the opportunity to work your way up to management.
Stylist
If all your friends and family go to you for fashion advice, you should consider going into styling. Don’t expect to get a job as a celebrity stylist right away, but work your way up to it. If you’re just starting out, try looking into styling jobs at retail stores or virtual stylist jobs for apps and websites. Be prepared to encounter some difficult customers and work irregular hours, but you’ll get to be creative and help people explore their styles.
Fashion is a fun industry with plenty of interesting job opportunities. If you’re passionate about style and clothing, I recommend checking out any of these career paths. Internships are a great way to get your foot in the door, and I’ve enjoyed every internship experience I’ve had. Best of luck with your future careers, fashionistas!