How cliché does this sound “I am into fashion”, then the questions start rolling in, ‘oh you’re a designer?’ ‘Wow!! You also make clothes like the rest?’ People tend to forget that FASHION is a broad term, just like Engineering; there are so many fields in one that make up FASHION.
Have you always been obsessed with the latest trends in fashion, you’re a huge fan of anything voguish and also has a strong flair for personal style or have no interest in Sketching or having to think of the intricate detailing in a clients dress? Keep calm, we got you covered.
Here are some fascinating career paths to consider in the Fashion Industry that might suit you well.
Fashion Marketing / Merchandising
Fashion marketing and merchandising Specialist are responsible for determining and procreating fashion trends to sell products made by fashion designers. They also help retailers to stock fashion lines and make sure they have a great sale. In Fashion merchandising, being able to design clothes is not necessary at all.
Photography
If you think that only the designer needs to have an eye for details then you thought wrong. A Photographer is the person who brings out the main elements of a designers collection. The only way to speak through your clothes is by having the right photographer capture the moments. Hence the importance of a photographer cannot be over emphasized. You could dive into Fashion photography, which is a genre of photography that is focused on displaying fashion items. These two go hand in hand, Designers and Photographers.
Stylist
Trust us when we say this position is more serious than it sounds, if you think being a stylist is just about telling Clients how to wear an outfit, then you need a day in the lives of Fierce and Modish, The Style Infidel, Brandon Maxwell and Kate Young.
These are the Stylist who has carved a niche for themselves in styling. According to Wikipedia a stylist is a consultant who selects the clothing for published editorial features, print or television advertising campaigns, music videos, concert performances, and any public appearances made by celebrities, models or other public figures.
It goes way beyond public figures. In this age and time individuals are now contacting Stylists to help coordinate their daily outfits and also for personal projects too. Stylists are also a huge part of how a designers collection would look on the runway, the Style Infidel did a great job with Samuel Noon’s collection at Lagos Fashion and Design Week in 2017, Moashy Styling did a great job with ‘Chuluap‘ collection at Arise Fashion Week in 2018
Fashion journalist
Do you love research, writing, giving your opinion on a fashion controversy, meeting people, then this is the perfect role for you. A fashion Journalist needs to be an individual who uses his creative juice for interviews and intricate research. Prior to the advent of the internet this job was an uphill task as you needed to live in the fashion capital to have hands-on information as regarding anything Fashion.
Those times are definitely in the past; you could sit on a desk with your Laptop in a small state like Calabar in Nigeria and be a Fashion Journalist. This job is so cool, once you are an expert in your field you have fashion brands looking forward to working with you. This career path in Fashion is all about having great contacts and being creative.
Fashion Illustrators
The fashion industry is an arm that has unending roles. If you thought that all fashion designers were responsible for all the artistic dress forms, and cloth design you see, you thought wrong. Every renowned fashion house has either a creative Director or a Fashion illustrator who is responsible for all those great designs you see.
According to chegg.com a Fashion Illustrator creates clothing designs by hand or with computer programs. When you’re a Fashion Illustrator, your drawings are usually the first things that Fashion Stylists and Fashion Buyers will look at in order to make decisions for their clients. They are also used for ads and sales for the fashion house. A fashion Illustrator helps in bringing the ideas of a designer to live.
There you have it, five ways to be in fashion without being a Fashion Designer. Stay tuned for better insights into the Fashion Industry.
By : Utibe Ayi
