Have you always wanted to become part of the fashion industry? Whether you're the best-dressed person at work or you enjoy putting outfits together for your friends, you have a flair for design, and you know it. Working in fashion can be rewarding if you love putting outfits together. You can also make great money while working on your passion

Popular Fashion Industry Careers

Getting a career in the fashion industry is just like getting a job in any other industry. However, there are a few things that set the fashion industry apart. Be prepared for many interviews and background checks before you land your dream job. If you’re interested in fashion, but you don’t know where to start, check out these popular careers in the fashion industry.

Art Director

A fashion art director is responsible for styling a product. You’ll work for a public relations agency, fashion magazine, or even a retailer in this role. Art directors must be creative and have an eye for the types of images that will help sell products. Having design or photography skills can also help you in this position.

Fashion Buyer

Fashion buyers also called purchasing agents, choose which clothing, accessories, and shoes to sell in stores. Top stores, such as Bloomingdales, have fashion buyers who make important decisions that can affect the store’s revenue. In this role, you’ll work for a department store and find products to sell customers, so you’ll need to know a lot about the customers. Buyers also travel a lot to visit manufacturers and attend fashion shows. A degree in business or marketing can help you succeed as a fashion buyer, but it’s not necessary.

Designer

A designer is a person who creates the clothing, accessories, and shoes that department stores sell. A designer must have artistic skills and typically use design programs and graphic software to help bring their ideas to life.

Market Research Analyst

A market research analyst will study the fashion industry and its customers to understand the clothing people want to buy. In this role, you’ll need strong analytical skills and be able to read and understand data. You should also be able to convey this data to the clients you have or your bosses.

Model

Models bring the clothes, shoes, and accessories in the fashion world to life. These individuals pose or walk down runways to advertise products and designers. Models can work in print, online, or fashion shows. As a model, you’ll have an unpredictable schedule and potential periods of unemployment. Becoming a model can be difficult, but it's possible for anyone as long as you love what you do.

Product Developers

Fashion product developers coordinate the entire product development process, including developing new styles and ensuring quality. A developer does everything from sketching to sourcing and even analyzing. They are involved in every aspect of design from start to finish to ensure product quality. For example, if you’ve developed a new pair of tights for a brand, you’ll need to ensure you’re choosing the right fabrics and work with manufacturers to ensure that the quality is up to your standards.

Product developers must have design experience using a variety of design software.

Trend Forecaster

Trend forecasters forecast which trends will be popular year after year. They tell brands whether the next big thing will be cheetah print or what color is the new black that season. As a forecaster, you don’t decide what trends will be popular, but you will identify new trends and predict customer behavior and sentiment.

The majority of a trend forecaster's job is to analyze data and socio-economic factors to determine what people will want to buy. As a trend forecaster, you’ll need experience in the fashion industry along with product development, retail, designing, and data analysis.

Customer Relationship Manager

A customer relationship manager’s job is all about the customers. You’ll need to know what they want before they do so you can serve them. You’ll work closely with marketing and customer service to ensure customers have a positive sentiment towards your brand. As a customer relationship manager, you’ll need customer service experience.

Print Designer

A print designer creates prints to be used on materials or in graphics. As a print designer, you’ll develop appealing designs and prints to be used on clothing, shoes, and accessories. As a print designer, you’ll need to be creative and have experience with design tools, such as Photoshop. You should also have some drawing skills.

Fashion Psychologist

A fashion psychologist isn’t a therapist like you’re probably thinking. However, it does involve getting inside the mind of customers by studying and researching consumer habits. This job also has an understanding of how fashion affects emotional wellbeing. Most people who work as fashion psychologists have a marketing, sociology, or psychology degree. Having an analytical mind will also be helpful for anyone in this role.

Skills for Working in the Fashion Industry

While each of the jobs listed here requires its own set of unique skills, there are some skills you’ll need for any job in the fashion industry, including:

Attention to Detail

Whether you're ordering products to working in a retail establishment, you’ll need excellent attention to detail. Mistakes can be detrimental to your boss and their businesses. While everyone makes mistakes now and then, you should be able to pay attention to what you're doing for long periods.

Business Expertise

You don’t need to have an MBA to work in the fashion industry, but knowledge of the business and how it works will be helpful. You’ll need to know more than what the current trends are or how to price items. The level of business expertise needed will depend on your role. For example, designers will need to understand the cost of materials while retail owners will keep an eye on the items being purchased.

Creativity

Whether you’re buying fashion items for a department store or designing accessories, you’ll need creativity and the ability to use the right tools.

Finding a career is easy if you have the right skills and dedication to your craft. Whatever role you choose to take on, make sure it’s something you’ll enjoy doing every single day.