How Can I Shift To a Fashion Career?

The creative industry is one of the rapidly growing sectors in the economy. Employment in this industry is growing 40% faster than in any other industry. In the Australian workforce, it has increased steadily since the 1980s. Digitalisation and e-commerce have accelerated it even more.

The fashion industry belongs to the creative field and is perhaps the most fast-changing of them all. If you’re thinking of joining the industry, now is the best time. In fact, anytime is a good time. You can start by enrolling in fashion courses and learn about theory, illustration, and entrepreneurship. Then immerse yourself in the latest trends and find ways to improve them. As an industry creative in nature, fashion seeks novel ideas and unique perspectives.

New Ideas from New Talents

The essence of fashion is to be up to date and evolve as the world, and the people evolve. It is a medium of self-expression of our continuously developing selves. Nowadays, consumers’ fashion values are shifting to sustainability, distinctive designs, and more personal approaches to clothing. Fashion is becoming more and more multidisciplinary and benefits from insights of different key players. 

Fashion gives people a feeling of belonging toward their social group or environment. Fashion also encourages deviance, distinction, and uniqueness that every one of us can offer. That being said, new talents will always be welcome in fashion.

Find transferable skills and build on them.

Fashion is extremely broad. While it is a creative discipline at its core, it entails a wide range of skills. Aside from creative and artistic skills, there is a need for technicality and soft skills. All in all, these skills make a successful fashion line or brand. 

Many skills required in fashion are fundamental qualities for several other disciplines. For instance, a graphic designer’s computer-aided design skills can do wonders on digital fashion illustrations and the production of tech packs. Merchandising and retail buying are essential activities in the fashion industry that an experienced negotiator can fulfil. Excellent customer service skills are needed for personal styling roles. Maybe a background in science and materials will help you work with textiles and surfaces. If you have experiences that cross over these skills, you can apply them to the fashion industry. 

Figure out your place in fashion

The fashion industry has a range of jobs in the spectrum. As long as you’re passionate about fashion, you can find one suitable for your skills. As mentioned above, many roles make up the whole fashion industry. 

One of the high-profile roles is that of being a fashion designer. Fashion designers initiate concepts on clothing and fashion ranges. They analyse trends, develop design instructions and patterns, as well as estimate material and manufacture costs. They may design ready-to-wear clothes or work in high-fashion. If fashion design is the job you want, you can study fashion courses to fast-track your career. 

A fashion designer works with many people whose roles you may also be interested in. Fashion illustrators work with them in creating sketches of their products. Illustrators are in charge of efficient visual communication of a fashion design goal. Retail buyers are in charge of sourcing garments for a retail store. They need to be in tune with customer demands and seasonal trends. Media-oriented roles include fashion stylists, fashion writers, and functions in fashion public relations. More technical roles include textile designers and garment technologists. 

Build a Portfolio

Show your dedication to fashion by building a portfolio. Even a curated Instagram account unleashes your creativity for others to see. Blogs about fashion can display your knowledge and insights about the industry. Besides highlighting transferable skills in your CV, a portfolio greatly increases your chance of getting internships and jobs. 

There’s a good chance that fashion is already a big part of your life, even if you’re not yet officially doing it for a living. You just need to frame it in the most proper and eye-catching way.