Choose Fashion As your Career
There's more to the fashion industry than edgy couture designing. Jayanti Ghose sketches out prominent careers in fashion
Fashion designers in India have been making a name for themselves around the world for quite some time now. During the last one year, the fashion business has come into its own and it is now being seen as an industry. Although fashion is a serious business in many countries across the globe, in India it is a growing industry with strong potential.
The fashion industry is a fast-paced, increasingly complex world that integrates creativity, design, business and technology. As a growth industry, fashion is certain to provide many future career opportunities. The variety of opportunities in the industry attracts people with many different interests, goals, and abilities. Some career fields require artistic creativity and originality, while others require business know-how and management skills.
Attributes
Learning to become a good, clear communicator by honing your written and public speaking skills helps in possibly landing your first fashion job and facilitates high-quality presentations to prospective clients/ customers. Basic knowledge in marketing, advertising and business is essential for working in the fashion industry. Business acumen and marketing skills, strong computer skills, whether the job involves spreadsheet work in MS Excel or artistic editing using software programmes such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, are must-have attributes. Specialised professional skills (in painting, drawing or photography) are necessary for positions where hands-on creative work is integral to the fashion design process.
The Opportunities
The word 'fashion' is associated with designing of clothes, but fashion careers exist in the areas of art and design, communication and presentation, as well as in business and technology.
Fashion designers create designs for clothes, accessories, footwear, lingerie, sportswear, children's garments, etc. Aspiring fashion designers must be artistic and creative with an eye for colour, texture and pattern, possess good drawing skills, practical skills for producing clothes, be able to communicate ideas through sketches or computer-aided images, work out costs and budgets and, if freelancing, be able to market their own work, negotiate with clients and buyers, as well as handle the business. "After graduating out of a fashion school, it is best to work as a freelancer and if possible under some renowned fashion designer. This would give a student exposure as well as quality training," said Rajkiran, Head of the Fashion Department, Bhawanipore College, Kolkata.
Accessory designers conceptualise and create designs for footwear, handbags, ties, belts, hats, gloves, etc to go with your attire. Jewellery designers are usually categorised under the gem and jewellery industry. Says Puneet Shreemal, proprietor of Sindhar Institute of Gemology, "To be successful in the jewellery industry, a designer must be enterprising, that is he should have a penchant for doing innovative things." In addition to the skills of fashion designers, they should possess technical skills in working with materials required for the chosen specialty (leather, faux leather, etc for gloves, footwear, belts, and so on).
Costume designers work mainly for films, television and theatre. They research and design authentic period, country or social class costumes. They create sketches of costumes and develop costume budgets for the entire production. Skills are the same as for fashion designers.
Fashion merchandising concentrates on the planning, procurement and sales aspects of the fashion business. Fashion merchandisers combine the skills of advertising, retail knowledge, marketing and the creativity of a fashion designer. To survive and thrive, they need to have self-confidence, good judgment, enthusiasm, motivation, attention to detail, a genuine interest in the fashion market and the desire to live in a fast paced world. Bharati Moitra of NIFT, Kolkata says, "A successful merchandiser must be a good time manager and should also be able to cater to the changing demands of the customer."
Boutique owners are either trained in fashion design, apparel merchandising, marketing or fashion management. They may also be MBAs. To be a successful boutique owner, one has to be entrepreneurial, possessing a combination of savvy business skills and in-depth knowledge of the fashion retail industry.
Fashion stylists bring to life a photographer or director's vision for a fashion photo shoot, layout, fashion shows and events, music video, commercial, print advertisement, etc. They create the mood for the shoot by selecting and setting up the appropriate props, fashions, accessories and even models to fit the theme of the shoot. Stylists may be employed by magazines, newspapers, retailers, advertising agencies, television and music production companies, but most freelance.
Fashion journalists/ critics /writers produce editorial copy for fashion magazines, newspapers, fashion design websites or blogs, and for television. They may be trained in fashion communication, fashion merchandising, fashion management or fashion design or be journalists with knowledge in fashion.
Fashion photographers conceptualise and shoot photos and/ or videos to show off clothes and accessories in a creative manner so as to catch the eye of consumers. They must have a good eye for style and beauty, and be skilled at working with their models to achieve the best possible poses and photos. Most work as freelancers. They may have developed their talent through amateur photography, short courses in photography, fine art or fashion training, but have mainly been self-taught as formal courses are few.
Continued On Career In Fashion Technology Part-2
Graduating from France Studying management in France means... particularly in Fashion TEchnology Modelling Paris University International Residencies and Executive Education. post-graduate educational programmes such as Bachelors in International Business, MBAs ........
There's more to the fashion industry than edgy couture designing. Jayanti Ghose sketches out prominent careers in fashion
Fashion designers in India have been making a name for themselves around the world for quite some time now. During the last one year, the fashion business has come into its own and it is now being seen as an industry. Although fashion is a serious business in many countries across the globe, in India it is a growing industry with strong potential.
The fashion industry is a fast-paced, increasingly complex world that integrates creativity, design, business and technology. As a growth industry, fashion is certain to provide many future career opportunities. The variety of opportunities in the industry attracts people with many different interests, goals, and abilities. Some career fields require artistic creativity and originality, while others require business know-how and management skills.
Attributes
Learning to become a good, clear communicator by honing your written and public speaking skills helps in possibly landing your first fashion job and facilitates high-quality presentations to prospective clients/ customers. Basic knowledge in marketing, advertising and business is essential for working in the fashion industry. Business acumen and marketing skills, strong computer skills, whether the job involves spreadsheet work in MS Excel or artistic editing using software programmes such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, are must-have attributes. Specialised professional skills (in painting, drawing or photography) are necessary for positions where hands-on creative work is integral to the fashion design process.
The Opportunities
The word 'fashion' is associated with designing of clothes, but fashion careers exist in the areas of art and design, communication and presentation, as well as in business and technology.
Fashion designers create designs for clothes, accessories, footwear, lingerie, sportswear, children's garments, etc. Aspiring fashion designers must be artistic and creative with an eye for colour, texture and pattern, possess good drawing skills, practical skills for producing clothes, be able to communicate ideas through sketches or computer-aided images, work out costs and budgets and, if freelancing, be able to market their own work, negotiate with clients and buyers, as well as handle the business. "After graduating out of a fashion school, it is best to work as a freelancer and if possible under some renowned fashion designer. This would give a student exposure as well as quality training," said Rajkiran, Head of the Fashion Department, Bhawanipore College, Kolkata.
Accessory designers conceptualise and create designs for footwear, handbags, ties, belts, hats, gloves, etc to go with your attire. Jewellery designers are usually categorised under the gem and jewellery industry. Says Puneet Shreemal, proprietor of Sindhar Institute of Gemology, "To be successful in the jewellery industry, a designer must be enterprising, that is he should have a penchant for doing innovative things." In addition to the skills of fashion designers, they should possess technical skills in working with materials required for the chosen specialty (leather, faux leather, etc for gloves, footwear, belts, and so on).
Costume designers work mainly for films, television and theatre. They research and design authentic period, country or social class costumes. They create sketches of costumes and develop costume budgets for the entire production. Skills are the same as for fashion designers.
Fashion merchandising concentrates on the planning, procurement and sales aspects of the fashion business. Fashion merchandisers combine the skills of advertising, retail knowledge, marketing and the creativity of a fashion designer. To survive and thrive, they need to have self-confidence, good judgment, enthusiasm, motivation, attention to detail, a genuine interest in the fashion market and the desire to live in a fast paced world. Bharati Moitra of NIFT, Kolkata says, "A successful merchandiser must be a good time manager and should also be able to cater to the changing demands of the customer."
Boutique owners are either trained in fashion design, apparel merchandising, marketing or fashion management. They may also be MBAs. To be a successful boutique owner, one has to be entrepreneurial, possessing a combination of savvy business skills and in-depth knowledge of the fashion retail industry.
Fashion stylists bring to life a photographer or director's vision for a fashion photo shoot, layout, fashion shows and events, music video, commercial, print advertisement, etc. They create the mood for the shoot by selecting and setting up the appropriate props, fashions, accessories and even models to fit the theme of the shoot. Stylists may be employed by magazines, newspapers, retailers, advertising agencies, television and music production companies, but most freelance.
Fashion journalists/ critics /writers produce editorial copy for fashion magazines, newspapers, fashion design websites or blogs, and for television. They may be trained in fashion communication, fashion merchandising, fashion management or fashion design or be journalists with knowledge in fashion.
Fashion photographers conceptualise and shoot photos and/ or videos to show off clothes and accessories in a creative manner so as to catch the eye of consumers. They must have a good eye for style and beauty, and be skilled at working with their models to achieve the best possible poses and photos. Most work as freelancers. They may have developed their talent through amateur photography, short courses in photography, fine art or fashion training, but have mainly been self-taught as formal courses are few.
Continued On Career In Fashion Technology Part-2
Graduating from France Studying management in France means... particularly in Fashion TEchnology Modelling Paris University International Residencies and Executive Education. post-graduate educational programmes such as Bachelors in International Business, MBAs ........
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