How to Get Your Fashion Career Started in 2022

Features

14/03/2022

The fashion industry continues to grow, innovate and adapt, and there are plenty of career paths available, whatever your talents or areas of interest. Are you intrigued by design? Or marketing? Or buying? There are plenty of opportunities available in all of these fields.

When you’re right at the start of your journey, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out what the best steps are for you. So, we’ve put together a guide on how to get your fashion career started in 2022.

1. Choose a Field to Focus On

The first step is to do your research and find out which field of fashion you want to work in. There are so many different areas of the fashion industry to explore, and they all have their own unique challenges.

If you’re not sure where your talents lie yet, start by reading up on each field thoroughly to get an idea of what it entails.

Design – Fashion designers create clothing and accessories and bring them to life with their own personal flair. If you’re a creative person and love creating new things, this could be for you!

Styling – Stylists work with celebrities and models to create key looks for fashion editorials, red carpet dressing and press events, as well as women and men as regular clients to help them discover their authentic personal style that shares the nuances of their personality with the world. They collaborate with designers, brands, makeup artists and hairstylists.

Marketing – Marketing professionals focus on building the brand of fashion companies through advertising campaigns, marketing events, and other strategies. To succeed in this field, it’s important to have an eye for trends while being able to clearly represent a brand.

Buying/ Merchandising – Buying managers find merchandise and organise its movement around stores according to what they believe will sell best. Merchandisers play an essential role in keeping stores and websites up to date with the latest trends.Photography – Fashion photographers capture the essence of runway shows, ad campaigns and more. They work closely with models to create the best possible images for their clients.

Fashion Writing – Fashion writers cover an array of fashion-related topics: from industry news to trends in styling and outfit building. If you’re good at expressing yourself through writing, this is a great way to get your views out there.

This is just a rough overview of some of the main fields in fashion, but there are many more avenues to explore.

Once you’ve narrowed it down to one or two specific fields, the next step is to learn as much as you can about them. Read as much as you can, discover documentaries or relevant YouTube channels, and find social media accounts of people who are already working in these fields. The more information you have, the better prepared you’ll be for making the jump into a fashion career.

London College of Style Discount

2. Start Developing Your Skills

Once you have a better idea of what aspect of the fashion industry you’d like to work in, you can start looking at courses and programmes that will help you develop the skills you need.

The London College of Style is a great place to start looking for a fashion programme. The college offers a wide variety of courses in fashion, from photography and styling to design.

The school has an international student body with people attending from all over the globe. It offers in-person courses in London as well as online courses for those who need more flexibility or can’t travel to London to study.

The online fashion courses are a great option if you want to learn more about fashion but don’t have the time or money to commit to a full-time programme. You can study alongside working or other commitments and take your time to complete the courses at your own pace. Most courses require only a few hours each week of study time.

Some examples of the fashion courses you can study online with The London College of Style include:

Alternatively, for a more immersive experience in London – one of the fashion capitals of the world – you can join one of The London College of Style’s in-person courses.

These courses are taught by experts from within the fashion industry and take place on a college campus located in Russell Square, near Covent Garden and Soho.

Courses run from one week to 6 months. Some of the London fashion career courses available include:

All training courses (both online and in London) are accredited by the British Accreditation Council and the Diploma and Advanced Diploma certificates awarded are recognised globally.

If none of these courses are quite right for you at the moment, it’s well worth keeping an eye on the London College of Style website, as new courses are released regularly. For example, a Life Coaching training course is scheduled to be launched in May 2022.

3. Get More Experience in the Fashion Industry

Once you’ve been studying fashion for a while and have gained some knowledge, it’s time to put that learning into practice. There are several ways you can do this:

Start your own website – To help get yourself out there, start writing about your favourite topics or areas of interest. For example, you could document your fashion design process or put together and photograph outfits you wear for different occasions. Try to keep up with regularly to encourage people to come back for more of your content.

Start a social media account – Use the resources available on sites like Instagram or TikTok to build an audience around your brand. Post regular updates that will be interesting to your readers. You can also start a Youtube channel to show off more of what you’re able to do with fashion.

Find an internship – If you want some hands-on experience within the industry, look for internships in different areas that interest you. This is a great way to make connections and gain exposure without committing to a full-time job.

Volunteer – Similar to internships, volunteer for positions that will give you access to people working within the fashion industry. You can offer your time and skills in exchange for learning more about what it’s like to work in this field.

The more experience you have in the industry, the better positioned you’ll be when it comes time to look for a job. It’s important to remember that it takes time and effort to build a career in fashion, but if you’re willing to put in the hard work, you’ll eventually get where you want to be.

London College of Style Discount

4. Network & Build Industry Connections

Networking is a huge part of getting a job in any industry. While it’s not the only factor that will get you hired, having access to people who can help open doors for you is an invaluable resource when trying to break into fashion.

These contacts could be your future employer or someone else with the connections and resources you need to succeed in your field.

There are a few ways you can go about building these connections:

Your course peers and tutors – One of the most valuable aspects of studying a fashion course is that you’ll get to meet and network with people who are interested in the same things as you. These contacts could become valuable career assets down the road, especially if they have connections within your industry of interest or can help out by referring you for jobs.

Attend fashion events – Many industry events happen all over the world. Find out what’s happening in your city or region and attend as many as possible. This is a great way to meet people working within the fashion industry and learn more about what they do.

Use social media – Sites like LinkedIn and Twitter are great for connecting with people in the fashion industry. You can search for keywords that relate to your interests or find people who work at companies you’re interested in. Follow them, connect with them, and start building a relationship.

The more connections you make, the easier it will be for you to find a job in fashion or build your own brand. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people and ask for help – most people are happy to offer advice if they can.

Make 2022 The Year You Break into Fashion

It’s time to put in the hard work and make 2022 the year you take the first step towards achieving your dreams. If you want some help getting started, get in touch with the team at The London College of Style for help and advice on choosing a course that will help you build the skills you need for a successful career in the fashion industry.