One of the questions that I get the most by those who want to enter the fashion industry and have just graduated or are about to graduate in non-fashion-related-degrees such as law, economics, marketing, literature … is if they should take a fashion course first or if it is better to apply straight for fashion jobs and get started in the industry.
The fashion industry has many roles and different shades of each, and there is not a single standard path to get your first job in fashion.
The answer to this question depends on a number of factors: the city where you live, previous experiences, skills, the job you want to get … Not everyone has the same path and will enter the industry the same way, so I created a series of different cases and combinations, the points to consider and think about to make this decision.
There are those who studied law, economics, communication and want to become a fashion designer, or those who want to work in marketing or buying and are completing a “general” degree, those who want to become a stylist and other cases. Whatever is your situation let’s see if it’s better doing a fashion course or apply straight for a fashion job.
First of all ask yourself, why am I considering the option of a fashion school?
It’s because you want to learn specific notions of the fashion industry and meet professors who work in fashion and you love a fashion school enviroment? Or it’s because you think your current degree in economics, communication, literature … will not get considered in the fashion industry and so you won’t get a job without a fashion school on your CV?
CASE 1: I want to go to a fashion school because I think it’s the only way to work in fashion with my current “generic” degree
If this is the reason, I can already tell you to stop right away, because this is not the right reason to attend a fashion school and make such a significant investment.
In fact, you should know that fashion companies hire both those who come from a fashion school and those who have a “generic” degree. Therefore, even if you have not studied fashion, with your current degree (a bachelor degree is the minimum level required by all companies and any position) you can still apply for fashion internships even at the most prestigious fashion companies.
CASE 2: You studied economics, law, finance, literature … and you want to become a fashion designer
Let’s assume you have a degree in economics (but it applies also if you’re graduating in law, communications, marketing.. any general degree) and you’re considering a fashion school because you want to become a fashion designer, therefore you are completely changing your field. This could be a good reason and scenario to choose a fashion course. You don’t learn how to sketch during your law, literature or economics courses, so you need to learn the techniques of a designer that a fashion course can teach you.
However, if you have a degree in economics or other non-fashion-one and you already have experience as a designer (earned through summer internships or worked in the family business) then you could apply straight to jobs even without necessarily attending a fashion school because you have the basics and techniques of a designer thanks to your experience, which is worth much more than your education.
CASE 3: You have a degree in economics, law, literature… and you want to work in PR, marketing, buying …
Your degree in economics is undoubtedly appreciated in roles such as fashion buying, merchanding, marketing, product manager, communication, e-commerce, business development. Therefore attending a fashion school in this case is not mandatory and you can apply directly for internships at companies and/or agencies. Pay attention to the job requirements: there may be job offers where, even for these roles more tied to numbers and not to the creative side of design, it is required to have attended a specific fashion course, but I assure you that there are much more offers that do not require it, so continue to search for other jobs and apply. The same applies if you want to start a career in fashion PR: a degree in communication, economics, literature … is absolutely perfect to get a job in this field.
CASE 4: You have a “general” degree and want to become a stylist
The # 1 way to become a stylist is through experience. So find your favorite stylists and contact them asking if you can become their intern/assistant even just for a couple of shootings or a week. The important thing is to gain experience and get to know the photographers, makeup artists, editors, celebrities who will then remember you and start calling you for other jobs. In this case, if you want, you might choose to attend a short course in fashion styling, but the experience is still the most important thing. In addition to working with your favorite stylists, you could look for internships and fashion assistant jobs at fashion magazines or you could look for styling internships at e-commerce companies (Yoox, Net a porter, mytheresa, matchesfashion…) where everyday stylists work on the looks for the website pages and campaigns.
CASE 4: You have not studied fashion and want to work as a journalist in a fashion magazine
What really matters when you apply for a job as a journalist at a fashion magazine is your writing style, which, in most cases, is not taught in a course but it comes from a mix of passion, practice and let’s say, also a natural gift.
There are those who have spent the last 10 years reading every single fashion article published and, despite an engineering degree, can write perfectly about fashion. There are those who graduated in law, but out of passion over the last 3 years, have written a couple of articles every month and that’s how they have developed excellent writing skills.
It is not necessary to study fashion journalism to work at a magazine. A generic degree in literature or communication ​is appreciated, but if the magazine receives an excellent article written by an engineering graduate, it gets nevertheless hired. If you want to become a fashion journalist/editor, start your own blog and publish your works and send links or a couple of articles when you apply because your works/examples of work tell more than a CV or cover letter.
There is no right and wrong choice when it comes to choosing whether to attend a fashion school or going straight into the industry. What I can tell you is that companies appreciate the experience more than the education. So if they have to choose between someone with 2/3 fashion internships at their back and a general degree and one with a fashion degree and yet no experience, they will choose the first. Most of the people who work in fashion today got their jobs through lots of internships.
I want you to choose to go to a fashion school because you WANT to study those things, get into that environment and get to know professors of the fashion industry and not because you feel obliged because you think you will otherwise never get a job in fashion.
Whatever your current path is, if you attended a fashion school or not, remember that the starting point in the fashion industry will always be internships. Even those who have studied fashion must start from the internships because even though they have learned the basics in school, they do not yet have the appropriate experience yet.
In this article, I shared some tips for those who have not attended a fashion school on how to fill the fashion industry gap on your own.
Questions? Leave a comment below or start a conversation in our WhatsApp and facebook group 🙂
