How To Land A Job In Fashion With Zero Experience

Have you just realized you want to work in fashion, but you have no idea how to get your foot in the door? You are in the right place! Our aim at Glam Observer is to help all the girls who want to start a successful career in fashion. 

Working in fashion is a dream of so many of us who have realized the desire to pursue a career in this industry (probably after watching “The Devil Wears Prada”). You may have realized that you love fashion more than for shopping shoes and clothes and that you actually want to work in the industry. Or you may follow an editor or a fashion professional on Instagram, and you are fascinated by their job and want to do the same. 

Whatever the reason, if you’re really passionate about it, we are here to tell you how to land a job in fashion with zero experience.

Do You Need A Fashion Degree To Work In Fashion? 

Thinking that fashion companies only hire people who studied at fashion schools is a common misconception. The truth is, they hire people from different backgrounds – both the ones who studied at a fashion school and those who have a traditional degree (for example in journalism, marketing, or business). So no, you don’t need a fashion degree to work in fashion. Don’t be afraid to apply: there is a fashion job for you out there for whatever you studied.

If you have been reading Glam Observer for a while, then you know how we like to say that an internship is your entry ticket to the fashion industry when you have no experience. In 90% of cases, internships do not require previous experience, therefore they are suitable for students or recent graduates, anyone with little experience, or even those who come from another industry.

There are internships at every fashion department; you can also do internships remotely or work directly with a fashion professional who works on their account, such as a stylist. Here are some ideas of full-time and part-time jobs that you can do as a beginner. 

Entry-Level Fashion Jobs

Fashion intern

If you dream of a career at a fashion magazine like Vogue, you will start your career as a Fashion Intern. Depending on the department, your activities can include managing the fashion closet, organizing returns, sending out emails, and helping to pull clothes for shoots. 

If you want to write for fashion magazines, you should email directly the editors of your favorite magazine and ask for an internship, or you can start as a freelancer by writing for multiple publications. Whatever path you choose, make sure to build a strong application, writing portfolio and pitch the editors. 

Stylist intern

If you are an aspiring stylist, you can look for styling internships online or even better, email stylists you find on Instagram, asking if you can assist with anything even for a couple of hours per week or just for one shooting. 

If you want to work for a magazine or a brand, you can send a cold email to them as well to ask if there is an internship available. You can support stylists with packing and unpacking clothes and accessories for the shootings, arranging deliveries, and communicating with the brand’s PR to request the products or looks that the stylist asked for the specific photoshoot. You can also help with more practical tasks, from ironing the garments to organizing the looks on racks and preparing everything to be sent back to brands at the end of the shooting.

Whatever stylist position you choose to apply for, make sure you attach your styling portfolio. If you have no or little experience to show, your portfolio can even include photos of the outfits you styled for yourself, family, or friends. 

Buying intern 

If you want to become a buyer, you can apply for buying internships at your favorite fashion brands or multi-brand stores and eCommerce such as Saks Fifth Avenue, Selfridges, Net-a-Porter, or Asos. 

Your job responsibilities will depend on whether you work for a single brand or a retailer, as well as the product category and the specific region you are buying for, but in general, as an intern you can accompany buyers to showroom appointments, oversee stock and deliveries and analyze the trends, among others. 

You can apply to buying internships even if your degree is totally unrelated to fashion, like business, economics, or finance. If you have no experience, your entry ticket to get an internship is your knowledge of Excel which is a skill always requested by recruiters since buying is an analytical job. 

These are just some examples of internships you can do as a beginner, but as we said, there are opportunities for whatever career you wish to pursue.

What (unconventional) strategies can help you land a job in fashion with no experience?

There are many ways to compensate for your lack of experience in fashion.

The first thing to do is to learn as much as possible about fashion.

You can do it by studying the history of fashion, taking an online course, reading fashion books, attending fashion events and exhibitions, and staying updated daily by reading fashion industry websites (not only Vogue which suggests most style ideas but websites like Business of Fashion and Glossy that share industry news). Our weekly newsletter is also a great source to learn about the latest fashion news and jobs. 

Social media and blogs have great power today, and you can use them to land your first job in fashion.

Use your Instagram profile as a portfolio to show your passion for the industry. Whatever fashion career you are pursuing, find ways to demonstrate your interest and knowledge of it. If you are an aspiring stylist, you could post pictures of your outfits and share tips about styling them. If buying or merchandising is appealing to you – try sharing trends or your insights from the fashion week reports you found online. Being an editor seems like a dream job? Showcase your talent by writing engaging posts and sharing articles you wrote for some magazine, or even for yourself. Talk about your dream career and why you like it so much. The possibilities are endless!

Use Instagram and LinkedIn to create connections with fashion professionals.

Follow them and don’t be shy to send them a message if you admire their work. You can get a job offer from a conversation, and the worst you can get is a NO. But if you’ll get just one YES, this could change your life. You have absolutely nothing to lose, and there is nothing wrong with reaching out to people, telling them you admire their work, and asking if they need any help or if there is a job opportunity even for a couple of hours per week. 

Ok, so you figured out what fashion internship you want to do, and you worked on the strategies that could help you land it. Now, what is the process of landing a job in fashion? 

1. Write an outstanding CV and cover letter
2. Get ready for the job interview
3. Start the internship (most of the time, you will do several internships before one turns into a job). Work hard and always try to do more than is expected of you.
4. After 6 months to a year, your internship could turn into a promotion, aka your first fashion job. Congratulations, you made it into the fashion industry!

See, you can absolutely land your dream fashion job with no experience. Just work hard and you’ll get to your dream point!

Want to learn more tips to apply for your dream fashion job? Click here to register for my free masterclass.