How to get a job in fashion

How to get a job in fashion

Become a Fashion Designer
Become a Fashion Model
Become a Fashion Editor 
Become a  Fashion Photographer 



How to become a fashion designer

You know you're destined to be a fashion designer if you:

1. spent most of your childhood making clothes for your Barbie dolls instead of playing with your friends;
2. read fashion magazines instead of your school books;
3. ran a boutique out of your basement at age 10.

In other words: if you want to be the next Yves Saint Laurent, it helps to be completely and utterly obsessed with fashion.

However, there are many aspects of the profession. Working as a fashion designer can just as well mean supervising a design team at a sportswear company as producing a label under your own name. Although the former career may not seem as glamorous as the latter, it certainly will make your life less stressful. To create your own label takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work. Not to mention living just above the poverty line for several years.


How to become a fashion editor

Live and breathe fashion? Looking to join the sorority of stylists and fashion editors? Pat Steele gives you an insider's view of what to expect.

Invitations to the best fashion shows and parties, discounted designer clothing, champagne on tap.... A fashion editor's life may sound heavenly, but the journey to front-row Nirvana is no easy 8-Path Guide to Entitlement.

Unfortunately for tear-sheet-deprived aspirants, the journey is fast-tracked for those with a very different portfolio: a good number of the cliquish coven of Blahnik-wearing fashion editors owe their jobs to the old-girls' network. In Manhattan fashion publishing at least, the right private school and a debutante's pedigree are never out of style. However, don't be discouraged if your blood doesn't run to various shades of blue and your ambitions are larger than your bank account: sheer determination, originality, a steely stomach and drop-dead style are also required to make it as a fashion editor. Though no meritocracy, in fashion as in life, talent always wins.

How to become a fashion model

The problem with writing an article on "How to become a fashion model" is that you can't really become a model.

Either you were born that way or you weren't. And if you were, somebody has probably already discovered you, in which case you don't need to read this.

But if you happen to be one of those rare creatures that is 5'9" to 6' tall; not larger than a size 6; have perfect skin; between 14-20 years of age still; and un-discovered, we can give you some pointers on how to get started.

Become a  Fashion Photographer

A career in fashion photography doesn't have to be an impossible dream. Three industry insiders tell Ben Widdicombe their tips for getting started.

With its huge audience, high pay-checks and glamorous international lifestyle, fashion photography may seem like one of the world's most sought-after professions. But for every fashion photographer who makes it through the door of a top magazine, a thousand others find their niche fashion advertising, art photography, celebrity portraiture or even paparazzi work to make a living.

Allure magazine photo editor Clio McNicholl, photo agent Gloria Cappelletti and New York fashion photographer Eva Mueller agree that breaking into the industry can be hard. But they have some tips for beginners on setting up a portfolio, submitting work to magazine picture editors, choosing the right photo agency and even getting shown in a gallery.