10 Fashion Communication Jobs

Fashion communication is a popular field in fashion. But when I say “fashion communication”, what job first comes to your mind? Some immediately think of public relations; others may think of digital communicators, like social media managers. For others, fashion communication can even be associated with writing. Fashion communication is a broad field, and there are many different careers and jobs that are part of this area of the fashion industry. 

Communication is an important part of any fashion business. Without it, a brand or magazine wouldn’t get the exposure it needs to reach its readers and customers. A fashion event cannot happen without a PR involved to get press coverage. Brands wouldn’t get enough visibility without advertising and social media. You and I wouldn’t discover the latest fashion news if someone wouldn’t write about them. All these different fields mentioned are part of fashion communication. 

If you are reading this article, it may be because you want to pursue a career in fashion communication, and want to discover the different jobs in communication. Another option is that you already decided which job in fashion communication you wish to do and seek to learn more about it. Or maybe like many fellow fashion enthusiasts, you dream about working in fashion. But you feel lost or undecided between all the career options that the industry offers. Whatever your situation is, in this article, we are going to guide you through the different fashion communication jobs so it can help you make a career decision more easily.

Fashion Communication Jobs

Below, you will find a list of 10 fashion communication jobs. But let me give you just a little note before we start. For all these roles you will find below, you can add the keywords “intern”, “assistant”, “coordinator”, “manager” etc. when you search for fashion communication jobs according to your level of experience. So when we add the word  “manager” to the roles, it doesn’t mean they are only open to senior positions, but that we mean to define the job and give you an idea of the tasks it involves.

So yes, you won’t probably be doing the exact same thing as an intern. And your responsibilities will vary at the beginning of your career. But you might as well be involved in these tasks at a lower level, providing support for your boss and other senior roles. Plus, you have to be prepared for them as you will be climbing the career ladder. 

Fashion Communication

In general, we can say that the communication department is responsible for all the communication of the brand across all channels – print, digital, and social media. Those working in fashion communication develop strategies to increase the brand’s visibility and contribute to shaping its image. Developing relationships with the press and key suppliers within the industry is also a big part of the job.

Being a good communicator involves, first and foremost, having excellent written and verbal communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to communicate with all levels of employees and external contacts.

It also involves knowing how to use different software programs – such as Excel, PowerPoint, and Photoshop that allow one to organize the information and create interesting presentations, campaigns, images, and messages to deliver to the audience. 

Fashion PR

If you are an extrovert and you love talking to people, you might be interested in working in Fashion PR. A PR specialist’s responsibilities include managing a brand’s reputation in the public’s eyes. They pitch stories to the media and write press releases, organize press days, conduct research. And tracking of all daily newspapers, print, online, and broadcast press coverage for the brand. They also take care of PR samples by packing, dispatching, and receiving back clothing from editors for editorials. 

In addition, PR managers play a huge part in event organization (product launches, fashion shows, etc.) From sending invitations, choosing the location, and assisting on the event date by welcoming guests and talking to the press, to taking care of the social media during the event, and sending photos of it to the publications the following day. 

You can work in-house or at a PR agency.

In-house means you are employed by one single fashion brand. When you work for a PR agency you could be working on the different brands the PR agency manages. You could try both to decide what’s best for you.

In order to get an internship or job in the PR, the n#1 quality required for you is to be sort of an extrovert who manages to have a conversation with anyone. You need to have outstanding written and verbal skills in your skills arsenal because this job is all about building relationships with people. And ensuring to deliver the right message about the fashion company they work for. PR candidates are also usually asked to have a solid knowledge of local and international media, online media, and influencers as talking to the press is an essential part of the role. They also need to have strong organizational and problem-solving skills, as anything could go wrong at any time while planning an event, for example. Lastly, being able to speak several languages is beneficial because public relations allows you to meet people from different countries. 

Event Planner

While managing events is an important part of a PR’s job, event planning can be a job on its own. Basically, it involves organizing a fashion event (fashion shows, press events, events with influencers, awards..) from A to Z: ordering materials from external suppliers (printing, caterer, production, etc.) and ensuring that they meet the brand’s quality standards and are delivered on time, managing contacts, communicating with the different stakeholders involved in the event’s conception and execution, prepare and send out invitations, plan expenses, and monitor and analyze event results, among other tasks.

As you can imagine from reading all these different tasks, planning events requires you to be extremely organized and be able to multitask. You need to treat the event like a project that must include all the necessary elements for its successful running. Knowing Excel will help you with that. So you need to learn how to use this program in case you don’t how to yet. Naturally, communication skills are also important for this job. There are so many people involved in the event production. So you have to be able to build and maintain strong and trustful relationships with them to make event planning a smoother process and get the desired result more easily. 

Fashion Marketing Manager

While fashion marketing is a category of its own (we talked about fashion marketing jobs here) it can also fit into the communication department because it involves, besides activities specific to marketing, a lot of communication through different channels and platforms – in person or digital. 

If we look at fashion marketing in general, we can define it as the process of promoting products and services to the target audience with the goal to boost sales and make profits. Which is partly successful thanks to good communication. 

Marketing specialists have a variety of tasks: conduct competitor and market research to look for best and innovative practices, ideate and prepare marketing materials and campaigns, test and set up ads and conduct client targeting, plan and manage projects, special launches, and events, analyze the campaigns, KPIs, and ROI to measure their success and improve performance, prepares reports, build relationships with internal and external stakeholders, take care of the documentation, imagery, and files, and presentations to teams and managers, and assist with the optimization of content for SEO. 

All these tasks require to have strong written and verbal skills.

Besides, you need to have analytical and numerical, and computer skills, know about project management, and have a creative eye.

A good example of a marketing job that involves lots of communication is email marketing, which entails sending emails to the brand’s customers to inform them of new arrivals, discounts, and special programs and services with the goal to increase their loyalty and lead to a purchase.

Another example is advertising. This career focuses on promoting a brand through advertising campaigns with the goal to reach potential customers. Fashion ads don’t only promote products, but a lifestyle, so that consumers can associate a particular brand with a specific lifestyle and social class. And end up buying the product because they dream of the idea of the product and the lifestyle it could bring them. As you can imagine, creativity is a big part of the job. Advertisers constantly need to come up with new ideas for original and catchy ads. They need to have good communication skills to send the right message in the ad campaign. And also to sell the ads to magazines so they can include them on their pages. 

If you want to learn more about the career opportunities in this department, take a look at this article about how to get a job in fashion marketing.

Social media manager 

Do you want to work with modern communication tools? Then probably you should consider a career in social media. Social media managers work at fashion brands or magazines, to promote the brand online. They plan editorial calendars, create posts, write captions, work with influencers, stay aware of trends, and conduct competitor analysis, among other tasks.

Organizational skills and the ability to meet deadlines is an important skill set for a social media manager. In addition, interest in new and emerging social media channels and digital trends. And knowing how social media channels work on a professional level (not a consumer level) is also important. 

Community Manager

Contrary to what one may believe, social media managers and community managers wear different hats, even though these two roles are communication-based. The difference is that a social media manager focuses on promoting the brand and attracting a new audience. While a community manager focuses on building relationships with the brand’s existing community. They develop strategies to build communities increasing brand reach and the number of active members on the different social media platforms. They answer customers’ requests, solve problems and collect their feedback on the brand’s products and services. 

Overall, a community manager needs to be at ease with social metrics and web analytics tools like Google Analytics and provide data-driven insights. Analytical and interpersonal skills are an essential part of success at this job. That’s becasue it focuses on interacting with the audience and analyzing how their interact on social media. 

Influencer & Celebrities Manager

A quite recent, but not so new either, trendy job in fashion communication is influence management. Many fashion companies look for the perfect person to cultivate and strengthen relationships with influencers and celebrities. You know they are big players for brands as they help them promote their products and lifestyle by acting as brand ambassadors. Or simply because they have a strong social media presence. And show the clothes and the bags and the shoes they wear on their Instagram or Tik Tok. So an influencer & celebrity manager’s tasks include cultivating and strengthening the relationships with them. Coordinating their campaigns for advertising, and events during product launches, fashion week, etc.

Copywriter

Let’s move now to another creative area of fashion communication – copywriting. As a copywriter, you will manage and/or provide support with editorial, SEO (search engine optimization) and CRM, (customer relationship management) write descriptions, (for products, for example) and create performing and engaging texts for social media, newsletters, etc., optimize content based on performance evidence and specific channels KPIs, and conduct market analysis to identify new emerging trends and keep the content always updated. Copywriters also collaborate across departments to ensure a consistent tone of voice.

If you want to become a copywriter, writing skills are important, as well as broad knowledge of fashion and products, as you could be specialized in one product category of one brand. Or you could work for a retailer and write descriptions of every kind of piece from street style to luxury.

Fashion Writer

This role may look similar to the role of a copywriter, but the difference is that a fashion writer is responsible for writing fashion articles. There are different types of articles published in fashion media: news, fashion features, catwalk report, shopping articles… you could be specialized in one or several categories, depending on your knowledge of the field and personal preference. Some fashion writers work for the digital division publishing articles on the website. Others on the print, and some manage both.

Of course, your writing skills and grammar must be on point. Plus you need to adapt to the tone of the publication, as you cannot adopt the same writing style for Vogue and for Cosmopolitan. Another important skill for any writer is pitching, aka selling your articles to magazines – especially if you work as a freelancer and your living depends on it. But in-house writers also must know how to pitch to suggest new topics to write about. Working as a writer, you will often use programs such as WordPress and Google Analytics. And you should be familiar with SEO (search engine optimization) writing so that your stories can be well-ranked on Google. Finally, you should be a curious person and look for inspiration for your next topics. 

What to study to work in fashion communication 

Communication is common in all these jobs. Most fashion schools and traditional universities offer a degree in communication and sometimes it includes marketing and/or public relations. You don’t necessarily need to study fashion communication to get one of the jobs listed above. Many people working in this field have a traditional degree in communication, marketing, art history, literature, and journalism. What really matters to get one of these jobs is to start with an internship.

What if I graduated already or I am studying something else? 

Will you feel more confident if we tell you that you can get a job in fashion communication no matter what you studied? Yes, even if you studied law, business, or economics and woke up one day and realized this is not made for you, and you would rather work as a writer. Or perhaps you studied something related to communication, say marketing, and now you want to organize fashion events. In this case, I also say yes – you can do it. 

Our aim at Glam Observer is to show you that no matter which degree you decide to take – whether it is from this list or any other – it doesn’t define your career path. There is always a way to find transferable knowledge and skills for your desired role. Studying finances, for instance, must have taught you serious analytical skills that will be useful in your job as a marketing manager; the lessons learned at your marketing degree probably developed in you creative skills and the ability to create beautiful campaigns, which will be useful in your role as an events planner and promotor. 

How to get a job in fashion communication

So, after reading this article, are you (still) interested in fashion communication and wondering how to get a job in this field? Whether you are a student or recent graduate, or you are coming from another field and want to venture into fashion communication, you may have little or no experience. So the best way to get your foot in the door is by interning. As you saw, there are so many career possibilities that fall into the category of fashion communication. Which means there are many internship opportunities. 

Official website of the fashion brand or Group

The official way to find internships in fashion communication is by visiting the official website of the fashion brand or Group to see if they have any open vacancies. Usually, you can filter by department. So you can click on “communication”, “PR”, “marketing”, “media” or any similar word that is related to communication. 

LinkedIn

Another option is LinkedIn, which is the most popular and best social media platform to look for fashion jobs. In order to find communication jobs, you can either type “fashion” in the search bar and scroll through the different vacancies. Or you can filter by job function in the advanced filters. You can also search directly by the specific career in fashion communication you are interested in. So, for example, you can type “fashion PR”, “social media manager”, “editor”, etc., and see what you find. 

Email companies directly

There is also an unconventional strategy, which is my favorite, to get a job or internship in fashion communication: emailing the companies directly. See, you don’t want to waste time and opportunities by waiting for brands to post buying jobs online. Be proactive and cold-email them instead. And submit a spontaneous application with a strong resume and a customized cover letter. Companies love that; they appreciate people who think outside of the box. I teach more about emailing companies directly as well as other unconventional strategies inside this free masterclass.

Present yourself appropriately

Make sure you also have the appropriate skills present on your resume according to the job (social media, communication skills, writing skills, organizational skills, etc.) and that your cover letter and emails are perfectly written. The way you present yourself to a company when you apply for a job or internship shows your communication skills which of course are very important for this career. 

Need help getting one of these jobs? Click here to register for my free masterclass.