A lot of people know they want to work in fashion, but they don’t know where to start. They know they like clothes, but they aren’t sure what they want to do. Does this sound familiar? Fashion isn’t just glamour and great clothes; it’s also a lot of work. Many people who work in the fashion industry work long hours along with evenings and weekends.
If you’re going to work so hard, don’t you want to find something you love doing? One of the best ways to discover the many opportunities in the fashion industry is with an internship or a job at a retail shop. Both of these experiences expose you to many different careers and teach you some skills along the way. Also, they look great on a college application or résumé. Colleges and future employers are always impressed with people who have experience.
Fashion is something you can study every day. Thousands of fashion blogs are available online, along with fashion magazines and designer’s personal websites. Your local mall is a great place for ideas too. Wander into different stores and see how things are displayed. Look at different types of clothes and how they are made. Put different outfits together. Take pictures of things you like and don’t like. This is a great way to get inspired!
Are you having a difficult time pinning down your fashion interest? Take this short quiz to see what areas you might want to dig into.
1. In school I like to take classes in . . .
a. English
b. Art
c. Math
d. Drama
2. If I were going to help create a movie, I would be . . .
a. Writing it
b. Designing the costumes
c. Building the sets
d. Acting
3. I would describe myself as . . .
a. Confident, organized, good at research
b. Creative, adventurous, risk taking
c. Precise, focused, good at math
d. Outgoing, curious, helpful
4. If I could receive one gift, it would be a . . .
a. Top-of-the-line laptop
b. Trip to Paris
c. Sewing machine
d. Designer handbag
5. When I go with my friends to a school dance, my favorite part is . . .
a. Taking pics and updating my Facebook page
b. Altering my dress so it looks like no one else’s
c. Serving on the school decoration committee
d. Helping everyone shop for dresses
6. My fashion style is . . .
a. On trend with my classmates’
b. Unique
c. Vintage and from thrift stores
d. On trend with the magazines
7. I would like a career where I can . . .
a. Report on all of the exciting things happening in fashion
b. Be creative and express myself
c. Be part of a team and work behind the scenes
d. Work with different people
8. When I flip through a fashion magazine, I like to . . .
a. Look at all of the product advertisements
b. See the fashion show runway pictures
c. Compare the quality of how clothes are made
d. See how outfits are put together and accessorized
9. When working on a group project, I typically . . .
a. Take notes and ask for everyone’s input
b. Take the lead and direct how the project will go
c. Pay attention to the details and make sure everything is finished
d. Make sure the project looks good with great poster boards and props
10. The thing I like most about my favorite clothing store is . . .
a. They play great music and make it a fun place to shop
b. They carry a lot of different clothing brands
c. The clothes are always well made
d. They follow all the latest trends
If you answered mostly A’s, then you may want to look at having a career in fashion media or marketing. There are so many opportunities, from online blogging or magazine journalism to promoting and selling a designer’s fashion line.
If you answered mostly B’s, then you’re interested in fashion design. You can create your own clothing line or work for a larger design company as part of its creative team.
If you answered mostly C’s, then you may want to consider fashion production. This includes careers as patternmaker, cutter, sample sewer, and production manager.
If you answered mostly D’s, then you may be interested in working with fashion in a different way. You may consider becoming a model, photographer, or fashion stylist. All of these careers let you meet a lot of different people.
Have you ever wondered where the whole fashion industry begins? Who comes up with all of the clothing designs, and where are they made? Who decides what’s in style? Is it the designers or the magazine editors? How do retail stores know what clothes people are going to buy? Do they have a crystal ball, or is it just a guessing game? Fashion is like every other industry. It involves a process that takes an idea and develops it into something that can be purchased in a store. Here’s a brief description on how that happens.
For the fashion industry to exist, someone must make clothes. A designer starts with an inspiration that later becomes a paper or computerized drawing of a garment. The designer often works with several people who help turn the drawing into an actual piece of clothing. Fabric has to be chosen. Patterns must be cut for various sizes. And someone assembles and sews all of the pieces. Finishing touches like buttons and trim are added at the very end. It’s a process that is repeated for every piece of clothing in a designer’s collection.
A designer’s collection may be shown at a fashion runway show or sold directly to a retail store. Either way, a designer needs a way to show off the designs. This is where models and photographers help so much. A model may wear the designer’s clothes in a runway show or pose in a studio for a photographer. All of these photographs are put together into a catalog for the collection. The catalog is needed when meeting with clothing buyers and people interested in reporting on the clothing to the media. The designer works closely with the models and photographers to make sure the pictures tell the right story about the collection.
Haute couture designs are custom-made clothes for a customer. Haute refers to something elegant; couture refers to sewing. Clothing can be called haute couture only if it meets strict standards. A couture garment typically is sewn by hand. Attention to detail is most important.
Mass-market clothing caters to the everyday customer and is made in large quantities. The clothing follows the fashion trends set by designers and mass media. They use cheaper fabrics and production methods to make the clothing more affordable.
Ready-to-wear clothing is a combination of haute couture and mass-market clothing. Small quantities guarantee quality. These are the clothes that usually walk down the runway during a fashion week.
Now that the clothing has been made and photographed, it needs to be sold. How do the clothes get from the designer to the person wearing them? Fashion designers sell their clothes to large retail clothing stores, individual boutiques, or directly on their own website. Retail buyers will choose the styles based on what they think their customer will buy. They use different mathematical formulas when deciding how many items to order and how much they will charge a customer. When the clothing arrives, a retailer puts the items on display in their store. Stores usually display their clothing by designer, but some will divide them into different departments.
Name: Veronika Scott
Age: 24
Job: Founder and CEO of the Empowerment Project
WHAT STARTED OUT AS A CLASS PROJECT HAS TURNED INTO A PASSION FOR VERONIKA SCOTT. HER ASSIGNMENT WAS TO DESIGN SOMETHING THAT SOLVED A PROBLEM. SHE RECOGNIZED THE HIGH NUMBER OF HOMELESS PEOPLE IN DETROIT AND SET OUT TO DESIGN A SELF-HEATING AND WATERPROOF COAT THAT TRANSFORMS INTO A SLEEPING BAG AT NIGHT. AFTER GRADUATION, SHE CREATED THE NONPROFIT THE EMPOWERMENT PLAN TO CONTINUE MAKING HER SLEEPING BAG COATS. SHE EMPLOYS HOMELESS PEOPLE TO SEW THE COATS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE THEM WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO GET OFF THE STREET. THE SLEEPING BAG COAT HAS ATTRACTED THE ATTENTION OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY, AND SCOTT HAS PLANS TO BEGIN A PROGRAM SO THAT, FOR EVERY COAT PURCHASED, A COAT IS DONATED TO SOMEONE IN NEED. SO FAR, HER ORGANIZATION HAS BEEN ABLE TO KEEP THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WARM AT NIGHT.
Where did you go to college to study?
I graduated in December 2011 from the College of Creative Studies in Detroit with a bachelor of fine arts in industrial design.
How did the idea of the sleeping bag coat come about?
In the fall of 2010, I was given a class assignment to design something to fill an actual need, and almost immediately recognized how many homeless individuals there are in the city of Detroit. With this in mind, I reached out to a local shelter and began volunteering, working with a group of homeless individuals. After spending months on this project, I had designed a water-resistant and self-heating jacket that transforms into a sleeping bag. After the semester ended, I realized the idea was much larger than a class project, and that the coat could actually provide warmth and a sense of comfort and independence to those living on the streets. I decided to continue to work with the homeless to create other prototypes and to improve the quality and design of the layout.
What did you discover when designing the coat?
After speaking with a homeless woman one day, I came to realize that the coat is a Band-Aid for a systemic problem and what these individuals really need are jobs. I then went on to hire and train homeless single parents to make the coats. The Empowerment Plan currently employs fifteen seamstresses and is continuing to grow. The Empowerment Plan is unique, as we not only focus on coat production and distribution, but also on the importance of providing educational and vocational opportunities to our women in order to best help them build better lives for themselves and their families.
What kind of career did you originally think you would have after graduation?
Being that I went to school for product design, had internships working with design firms such as Little Tykes, and had discussed that path with my family and professors, I thought I would continue down that same trajectory after graduation. Until I was assigned that class project, I truly thought that I would work for a private design firm, hopefully in New York City, until I could break off and begin doing my own work.
What has been one of the most exciting moments you’ve had since starting the Empowerment Plan?
Each and every time one of the newer team members goes from living in survival mode (worrying about food, shelter, and taking care of their children) to becoming the person they always were underneath all of the stress, anger, and worry is truly a beautiful experience for our entire team.
What advice can you give teens who are interested in a fashion career?
Don’t be afraid of constructive criticism, of showing your work and being open to receiving honest feedback. Even though there will be times when you will feel like you want to go into a corner and hide your work until you think it is good enough to show someone, be proud of your creativity and your work. Take advantage of those around you with more knowledge and experience—I would not be where I am today without my mentors.
How do people even know a designer exists? They learn about designers and their clothes from the media and marketing. This can happen in many different ways, from an advertisement in a magazine to someone writing an article on a fashion blog. A magazine’s back-to-school issue may have an article about the best jeans to buy and then include pictures of the jeans the editor picks, along with the designer’s name. This is great for a fashion designer because that person gets free advertising and product endorsement from someone who has researched a lot of brands. People who work in this field have a lot of power. They help create trends, promote designers, and influence people’s buying decisions.
The entire process, from a designer’s sketch to clothes appearing in stores and magazines, happens several times a year, often fall/winter, spring/summer, and resort collection. By the time a fashion designer’s collection is being sold in a store, the designer is already well into working on the next collection. It’s a fast-paced industry with very little down time.
The designer must have a workshop in Paris.
A minimum of twenty people must work for the designer.
The clothing must require more than one fitting, so the clothing fits perfectly.
The designer must present at least thirty-five clothing looks in Paris at each season’s fashion week.4
A few well-known haute couture designers are Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Chanel, and Christian Dior.
It’s not hard to admire someone who’s on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for changing the world in media. It’s even harder not to show admiration when the person is fifteen years old. That’s exactly how old Tavi Gevinson was the first time she landed on the list in 2011. She was right back on their list in 2012 and shows no signs of slowing down.
Gevinson was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1996. She started the blog Style Rookie when she was eleven years old as a way to comment on fashion and show off what she was wearing. Soon she was sitting next to Anna Wintour, Vogue editor in chief, in the front row of New York Fashion Week. Many people took notice, and she was interviewed by popular magazines and newspapers. It seemed she was destined to become a great fashion icon.
In 2011 she decided to take her after-school career in a new direction. She decided to bridge her love of fashion with feminism. As she stated in an interview with New York Magazine, “I even think that fashion can be a tool of feminism and of self-expression and individuality and empowerment.”5 She founded an online magazine called Rookie. This magazine, written mostly by teenage girls, unites and empowers girls through pop culture, fashion, and interviews. In 2012 she published her first book, Rookie Yearbook One, which was followed by a second book in 2013.
Tavi Gevinson is proof that you’re never too young to begin pursuing your dreams. Her early start has given her a chance to fine-tune her interests.
Name: Isabella Rose Taylor
Age: 12
Job (when not studying!): Fashion designer
ISABELLA ROSE TAYLOR IS ONLY TWELVE YEARS OLD BUT IS ALREADY MAKING A BIG NAME FOR HERSELF IN THE FASHION AND ART COMMUNITY. AT AGE THREE SHE BEGAN PAINTING. BY AGE ELEVEN SHE WAS SELLING OUT AT ART GALLERY SHOWS THAT DISPLAYED HER PAINTINGS. HER LOVE OF ART AND CREATING NEW THINGS LED HER TO FASHION DESIGN. IN 2013 SHE WON THE RISING STAR AWARD AT AUSTIN FASHION WEEK FOR HER HIPPIE/GRUNGE COLLECTION AND BEGAN SELLING CLOTHES ON HER WEBSITE. ALREADY A HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATE, SHE IS ATTENDING AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE AND IS AN EDITOR FOR AMAZING KIDS! MAGAZINE. SHE HAS BEEN A GUEST ON THE TODAY SHOW, AOL, AND THE STEVE HARVEY SHOW. SHE BELIEVES HER PAINTING AND CLOTHING DESIGNS INFLUENCE EACH OTHER. AS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR T-SHIRTS FROM HER CLOTHING LINE STATES, “IF ART HAD LEGS, IT WOULD BE FASHION.”
How did you get started in fashion and designing?
I started painting at a very early age. Around age eight, I was moving into mixed-media work and thought it would be nice to know more about textiles and sewing. I signed up for a sewing camp at that time. I fell in love with fashion during that camp and have been designing clothes ever since.
How do you balance school and work responsibilities?
Sometimes it’s really challenging to manage my school and work responsibilities, so I try to make sure there is flexibility in my daily schedule in order to maintain balance. If something is not working, then I try to change it.
What do you like most about your job?
The best thing about my job is being creative. I love to make things; it’s my passion, and I am very grateful to be able to do that.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
The most challenging aspect for making my clothing line is definitely fabric sourcing. I am on a continual search for fabric. As far as it is being challenging, it’s also quite inspiring. Sometimes I get inspired by a fabric I have found for a piece in my collection.
What has been one of the most exciting moments you’ve had since you started your fashion career?
My most exciting moment was being on national television, but one of the most unexpected thrills has been all the amazing people I have been lucky enough to meet.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In ten years I hope to have global recognition of my brand, expand into accessories to complete my looks, and be a mentor to other young girls who are trying to follow their dream.
What advice can you give other kids who are interested in a fashion career?
My advice is my motto, “Blood, sweat, and glitter.” You need to have the passion (blood), put in a lot of work (sweat), and be creative (glitter). Perseverance and determination will go a long way toward helping you reach your goals.
As you start to consider a career in fashion, it’s important to think of the many ways you can start educating yourself about the industry. It’s a very competitive career, so it’s better to start sooner rather than later. Films are a great place to start. All it takes is one amazing idea to point you in the right direction!