So you wanna be in fashion?

We can’t all be as naturally glamorous as Marcia, but if you too are a dab hand with a needle and thread, and fancy possibly rubbing shoulders with the jet-set and their dogs, then maybe the fashion industry is for you.

1. Walking the walk
The fashion industry is big. Very big. In the UK alone, over 175,000 people are employed in the industry and they’re not all catwalk models or glamorous designers. Working hard behind the scenes are milliners, dressers, stylists, make-up artists, cutters, pressers, sewers, sealers, knitters, stitchers, tailors, and their assistants.

2. Ground floor, going up!
As far as starting a career in the fashion industry goes, why not get in there whilst you’re still young? A weekend or holiday job in a clothes shop will provide you with a valuable insight into the retail end of fashion, as well as helping you understand the problems that old ladies can sometimes have with gussets.

3. I’m talking to you, dummy
If you love kitting out your Barbie Doll or Action Man in the hottest toy-town fashions, then draping them around your dolls’ house, why not consider a career as a Window Dresser?

• It pays fairly well (around £17k a year)
  
• You can get cracking as soon as you’ve done your G.C.S.E.s.
  
• If you’ve got 3 G.C.S.E.s (including art), you could study for a National Diploma in Design Display
• One day, you might find yourself building displays in a TV studio, theme park, or even on board a cruise liner.

4. But powder-blue is so you!
Or how about becoming a stylist? Stylists are hip, cool, and know what’s in, what’s out, what’s lush, and what’s gopping. Fashion Stylists are responsible for the costume, make-up, and look of a fashion shoot and some get to work for the rich and famous. A GNVQ in art and design, and national diplomas in fashion and textile design, will get you started.

Hats orf!
Milliners are fashion designers for the head, and they’re in demand. BTECs in art and design will do for starters, then you’ll need N/SVQs in Manufacturing Products from Textiles levels 1 and 2. Alternatively, just make some hats and try to sell them at your local car boot sale.

The cats with the cream
Premier fashion designers are the people who dictate what we mere mortals wear. It is often the vision, style and artistry of their own limited edition Haute Couture creations, that ‘inspire’ the mass-market garments we buy on the high streets.

The cats with not so much cream
In-house fashion designers who work for the high-street retailers are not just ‘copy-cats’. It takes an equal amount of vision, style and artistry to translate the "in" colours, styles and fabrics, dictated by "high fashion", into clothing accessible to everyone.

Getting there
Most of the top names have gone into higher education before moving into the working world. Luckily, Britain is awash with high-quality degree courses in fashion design. But this also means that the professional world is very competitive, and equally awash with highly talented, creative individuals seeking their big break. (See Links for career advice).

next>>