Fashion Career? Heck Yes! But Which One?

by Kristin Marino
Fashion School Review Columnist

May 10, 2006

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Maybe you've wanted a career in fashion for so long you can't imagine doing anything else. Even if you're not sure how to thread a needle or cut a straight line, you can still have a fashion career. While a few fashion school programs focus on one particular fashion career, most fashion schools offer programs in buying and merchandising.

Fashion Buyer

Somebody knows what you'll be wearing this fall even before you do. It's not as creepy as it sounds. Fashion buyers decide what we'll all be dying to wear six months from now. In conjunction with other members of the fashion business team like the marketer and merchandiser, you've got to be one step ahead of the trends to have a fashion career as a buyer. You'll choose clothing and accessories months in advance of when they will actually appear in the stores. In fashion school, you'll learn to be a tough negotiator and adhere to a strict schedule to make sure items are priced right and arrive on time.

Fashion Merchandising

We've all walked into a clothing store and hated everything in it, just to return two months later and covet everything on display. The merchandising of a store or chain of stores is largely responsible for our reaction when we walk into a store. In fashion merchandising, you might work as a close advisor to the designer, or as a liaison between store buyers and fashion houses. You will be responsible for presenting the image and impression of a brand or designer. You'll be convincing celebrities and fashion editors to use your brand.

Fashion school is not just for future fashion designers, but for all the talented people who make fashion possible. It takes a chic village to dress the world.

About the Author
Kristin Marino is obsessed with haute couture, even though she lives in Reno, Nevada, where you can't even get Gucci or Louis Vuitton, let alone Jimmy Choo. She has a Bachelor of Art in English Composition from the University of Nevada.

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