3 Behind-the-scenes Jobs In Fashion Designing

When you think of fashion designing jobs, what comes to your mind are the most visible ones like models, designers, photographers. But if you don't want to pursue these jobs and would still like to work in this industry, there are a number of 'behind-the scenes' jobs waiting for you. Fashion designing, as you know is not only about what you see, there a number of people working in managing and marketing the entire show.

*Fashion Merchandising: Simply put, fashion merchandising entails bringing fashion from the high catwalks down to the everyday consumer. Think of merchandising as the business side of the fashion industry. This job does not require artistic abilities, but you must have complete understanding of the fashion industry to be able to analyze and forecast which forms the basis of your job. You will have to anticipate fashion trends and what the customer wants, and bring that fashion to retail stores. The work will also involve giving good visibility through window displays and advertising. Merchandising however is a very competitive field, so it is best to have the required degree, and be prepared to put in lots of hard work.

*Fashion Marketing: Many times you hear people using the word marketing and merchandising interchangeably, but they are in fact two separate job functions. Smaller companies with limited resources may club the two but the fact remains they are both distinct. Fashion marketing is more direct as compared to merchandising. Yes, an understanding of the industry and certain analytical skills are required here too. You will be required to conduct research about the trends in the market and demands of the consumer. The data will have to be analyzed, and accordingly the clothes will be brought into the stores, with the suitable advertising for each line of clothing, fashion and target audience. You have the freedom to work independently, or for a fashion company or advertising firm.

*Fashion Management: Knowing the fashion industry, business sense and having a relevant degree are the requirements for this job. There are a range of duties that are required to be performed under this profile; managing retail stores including supervision, stocking and meeting sales goals, finalizing the ambience of a store, planning window displays, coordinating fashion shows, the list can go on. You could say the job requires dealing with fashion from a business angle.

So even if you are not artistically inclined, but you like the fashion industry and understand it well, then these kinds of jobs can be equally exciting, and rewarding.