Departments
- Haute couture Until the 1950s, fashion clothing was predominately designed and manufactured on a made-to-measure or haute couture basis (French for high-sewing), with each garment being created for a specific client. A couture garment is made to order for an individual customer, and is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric, sewn with extreme attention to detail and finish, often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. Look and fit take priority over the cost of materials and the time it takes to make. Due to the high cost of each garment, haute couture makes little direct profit for the fashion houses, but is important for prestige and publicity.
- Ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear clothes are a cross between haute couture and mass market. They are not made for individual customers, but great care is taken in the choice and cut of the fabric. Clothes are made in small quantities to guarantee exclusivity, so they are rather expensive. Ready-to-wear collections are usually presented by fashion houses each season during a period known as Fashion Week. This takes place on a city-wide basis and occurs twice a year. The main seasons of Fashion Week include, spring/summer, fall/winter, resort, swim and bridal.
- Mass market Currently the fashion industry relies more on mass market sales. The mass market caters for a wide range of customers, producing ready-to-wear garments using trends set by the famous names in fashion. They often wait around a season to make sure a style is going to catch on before producing their own versions of the original look. In order to save money and time, they use cheaper fabrics and simpler production techniques which can easily be done by machine. The end product can therefore be sold much more cheaply.
Career Openings
Fashion Design denotes the start of the fashion industry flow. Successful designers are the initial creators sketching, painting and building demonstrations that act as the beginning signs of an idea that will be put into motion.
These professionals build creative inspiration through the upkeep of absorbing fashion knowledge that ranges all across the industry.
Designers are found in a multitude of areas that include womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, textiles, interiors, events, packing and toys.
Fashion Merchandising encompasses all tasks involved in producing a fashion line that ultimately sells. It must attract the attention of buyers who are responsible for getting it off the ground and into the store.
Fashion Marketing is the primary connection between design and the public. How will the right clothing get into the hands of the right consumer?
The job of those in this field is to analyze consumer tastes and show how a brand best fits into that consumers lifestyle. Fashion lines must get noticed through storytelling, and the implementation of advertising campaigns and public relations strategies. The marketing employed might work within a specific company department, outside marketing or advertising firms or as an independent consultant.
Some examples of marketing positions in the fashion industry are copywriters, media planners, publicists, event planners, journalists and market researchers.
Fashion Management is a fashion industry area that is found within both corporate and retail environments. Those involved in this field manage day-to-day operations of sales environments, as well as different corporate departments such as production, manufacturing and human resources.
Managers are responsible for supervising employees, whether it be sales associates or those employed within the production department of a fashion house.
Examples of management jobs in the industry are sales managers, showroom representatives, apparel production coordinators and human resource managers.
Visual Merchandising is the art of creating engaging displays of fashion. Visual merchandisers combine design ideas with products in a specific environment that is meant to increase store traffic, sales and create emotion.
These displays are installed to project a particular image to store customers and effectively promote certain items. These installations are meant to be in-depth, for their purpose is to create a buying mood and telegraph to customers what the brand and store is all about.
Display designers, store planners, and window, prop and mannequin stylists are all part of this field and may be independently employed or work with a team.
Art and Graphic Design is a field in the fashion industry that is overlapped within all sectors.
For example, an illustrators skills could be called upon for the upcoming advertising campaign of a designer. The same illustrator may very well be utilized by the designer again for a new website layout.
This also holds true for a photographer, who might work on a campaign, lookbook, as well as a magazine editorial shoot all within their career.
This area includes positions such as art directors, animators, illustrators, commercial and studio photographers and photo editors.
Fashion Design denotes the start of the fashion industry flow. Successful designers are the initial creators sketching, painting and building demonstrations that act as the beginning signs of an idea that will be put into motion.
These professionals build creative inspiration through the upkeep of absorbing fashion knowledge that ranges all across the industry.
Designers are found in a multitude of areas that include womenswear, menswear, footwear, accessories, textiles, interiors, events, packing and toys.
Fashion Merchandising encompasses all tasks involved in producing a fashion line that ultimately sells. It must attract the attention of buyers who are responsible for getting it off the ground and into the store.
Fashion Marketing is the primary connection between design and the public. How will the right clothing get into the hands of the right consumer?
The job of those in this field is to analyze consumer tastes and show how a brand best fits into that consumers lifestyle. Fashion lines must get noticed through storytelling, and the implementation of advertising campaigns and public relations strategies. The marketing employed might work within a specific company department, outside marketing or advertising firms or as an independent consultant.
Some examples of marketing positions in the fashion industry are copywriters, media planners, publicists, event planners, journalists and market researchers.
Fashion Management is a fashion industry area that is found within both corporate and retail environments. Those involved in this field manage day-to-day operations of sales environments, as well as different corporate departments such as production, manufacturing and human resources.
Managers are responsible for supervising employees, whether it be sales associates or those employed within the production department of a fashion house.
Examples of management jobs in the industry are sales managers, showroom representatives, apparel production coordinators and human resource managers.
Visual Merchandising is the art of creating engaging displays of fashion. Visual merchandisers combine design ideas with products in a specific environment that is meant to increase store traffic, sales and create emotion.
These displays are installed to project a particular image to store customers and effectively promote certain items. These installations are meant to be in-depth, for their purpose is to create a buying mood and telegraph to customers what the brand and store is all about.
Display designers, store planners, and window, prop and mannequin stylists are all part of this field and may be independently employed or work with a team.
Art and Graphic Design is a field in the fashion industry that is overlapped within all sectors.
For example, an illustrators skills could be called upon for the upcoming advertising campaign of a designer. The same illustrator may very well be utilized by the designer again for a new website layout.
This also holds true for a photographer, who might work on a campaign, lookbook, as well as a magazine editorial shoot all within their career.
This area includes positions such as art directors, animators, illustrators, commercial and studio photographers and photo editors.