Fashion industry is seeing a steep rise all over the world. As a result the career opportunities and competiveness between the people associated with the fashion industry are also increasing. There are various career options available in the fashion arena like fashion designing, marketing, merchandising and fashion consulting. But there is difference between them as they differ in job profile, although they fall under the category of fashion industry itself. There is an increased demand for skilled and talented people for the above mentioned positions in the fashion world. Acquiring a fashion degree is an easy task as there are many institutes who offer the training, degrees & diplomas. But having studied or trained by recognized and authentic institutes hold more value.

Attributes Required

Fashion market is continuously evolving. The trends change seasonably. Fashion is never stagnant, it is never stable. Therefore the people who wish to make a career in fashion industry should be adaptable to such type of changes. They should have the ability to insight the future trends and the flair to study various fashion trends. Generally the world of fashion is associated with glamour and glitz, but the main thing which is required to create a niche for oneself here is the talent and loads of creativity. This field provides an opportunity to get exposure to celebrities, famous brands, superb salary, designer clothes, etc. Although to achieve success in fashion industry is not an easy task it requires lots of struggle, hard work and patience.

Being in fashion field is purely business whether you are a designer or a ramp model. Talent and creativity being an essential component, looking glamorous and up-to-date is also important for people associated with it. Fashion is not everyones cup of tea as it puts forth long hours of working, unpredictable work culture and stress for meeting the deadline. But it does provide ample of excitement and inspiration through work.

There are lots of career opportunities available here like- modeling, fashion-designing, retailing, marketing, planning, and distribution. Many technological advancement tools are being developed for fashion industry like CAD/CAM, e-fit, etc. In order to survive the competition and international demand various fashion manufacturing units, retailers and houses should adapt to latest technological offerings.

Fashion Designing

Fashion designing is the most favorite career option of fashion industry. To become a successful fashion designer apart from proper professional training-creativity, patience, hard work and artistic capabilities is required. This is a dream profession of many people. The designers should have a keen eye for fabrics, color, textures and lines to create designer sketches for the outfits. After the sketch is made, the fabric for the outfit is selected; pattern is cut and sewn for the final garment to be made.

Fashion designing is a very competitive field. Just creative imagination does not suffice the requirement of being a successful designer. Ability for patternmaking, leadership quality, technical knowledge about garment making, artistic understanding, dedication and ability to work under stress are required. Certain level of obsession for designing is needed i.e. a passionate attitude towards work. At the start of the fashion designing career long working hours with low monetary gain could happen, but continuous hard work and patience always pays for a fashion designer.

Designers have the responsibility to design, create and produce garments. Fashion designing is present from centuries, but the working techniques, style and code of conduct has changed. The new generation designers begin their career generally after a formal training, but there are many fashion designers who have not received any formal training from any institute but gained knowledge through experience. This career can be pursued as a freelancer also. Either job or business could be selected as mode of work by a fashion designer. For example- many designers run their own fashion boutiques or fashion & export houses, like- BE:, NAMEE, MONAPALI, etc are names of some fashion boutiques showcasing the work of famous Indian designers. There are many big companies that employ designers, in such companies an individual could start his/her career as a designer then progress to the post of design director. In many garment manufacturing companies that produces different types of garments could have designer for each segment, for instance- western wear, traditional wear, children wear, intimate wear, etc.

Many companies are into product development hire fashion designers to design garments for their brand, for example- Pantaloons, Shoppers Stop, Westside, etc.

Just having creativity is and obsession for designing does not guarantee success. Very few make it to the top. The designing should be such that should be appealing to the masses. It is very important to have fashion insight and knowledge about future trends that would dominate the fashion markets, and design accordingly.

And don't disregard a job offer until you have fully explored its growth potential. Think about each job as a stepping stone in your career -- so that you will always know what options you have. The main thing that should be kept in mind by young aspiring fashion designers is to be patient and always consider every job as accelerator for the career.

Fashion Modeling

Modeling as a career is associated with lots of glamour, style and fame. There is tremendous competition in this field. Models need not have a very beautiful face, but well framed body and good figure is required to be a model. The models can display products as well as services. This career is often short lived and requires lots of hard work, discipline and firm determination. The pay scale is not fixed here, but it provides the scope of making big money. The component of stress is present in this field of fashion. There are no fixed working hours.

Both males and females could make a career out of it, despite the fact that females rule over this industry. There are many types of modeling options available like television modeling, print modeling and ramp modeling. Apart from ramp modeling which requires young models, there is no set age limit for it. In order to enter this field the foremost requirement is to make a portfolio for oneself and reach to the prospective companies or employers through modeling agencies. Even a high school degree could be enough for a model, so there is no requirement of high educational qualification to make big in this industry.

Fashion marketing and merchandising

In order to reach out the target customers, marketing is essential. Marketing done for fashion products and apparels is known as fashion marketing. How to design the advertising campaign, advertising and method of conducting business activity? are part of fashion marketing. People who are working as fashion marketer should have detailed knowledge about fashion world, also be able to recognize the latest market fads and what their target customers want. They should create a familiar environment with consumers of all age groups. It is the fashion marketer who decides which advertising tool and campaign would be best suitable for the fashion product of a particular designer.

Another important link between the designer and customers are fashion merchandisers. They buy the clothes from designers and supply to the retail stores. They arrange for display of products for the customers. Presentation makes a lot of difference in the selling of the fashion products, as any garment that is displayed in an attractive manner would certainly attract the attention of the customer, whereas even if the outfit is expensive and of exquisite design if displayed in crumpled non-attractive manner would not be preferred that much.

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