There was a time when people were convinced that attending a fashion school was the only way to get into the fashion industry.
Fashion schools are definitely not affordable and living in a fashion capital where usually are based these famous fashion schools, is neither cheap. So only lucky ones were able to afford fashion school + living costs of a big city such as London, New York, Milan or Paris.
I’m happy to tell of you that this is not a rule anymore. I interviewed many fashion professionals, and talked to many other and when I ask people what do they prefer in candidates they all reply with experience and passion.
Experience aka internships is for many fashion professionals, more important than coming from a famous fashion school. I also know about people who didn’t attend college and jumped into the working world and now have amazing fashion jobs.
3 internships in fashion are more valuable than a fashion school, people in fashion said to me. And I agree. You’ll never learn in school what you can learn at work and these are the skills that you’ll really need for your career.
I’m not here saying you that studying is completely useless because fashion companies require at least a bachelor degree, but if you’re still in school and you start doing some internships and moving from one to another, you could find yourself with a job and you have neither started your college yet!
Education is super important, but to work in fashion education doesn’t mean attending necessarily a fashion school. You could get a degree in economics, communication, marketing and work in fashion with no problems. Very few companies look for people who come from fashion schools.
Two are the key factors to get a job in fashion and none of them is a fashion school: internships and networking. Internships because they are the easiest way to start working at a fashion company when you’re young and with no or just very few experiences. I hear so many students or young girls who say they can’t get a job in fashion. Most of the time is because they are not looking for internships but for full-time jobs. You can’t apply to manager roles or jobs that require 3+ years of experience if you’re just out of school, that’s why internships are your only way. I know it could be frustrating and that you want to get a good salary instead of accepting an unpaid internship, but unfortunately, that’s how it works.  Lots of fashion companies have summer internship programs made for students, so you could start working even you’re still in school and if that internship goes very well you could find a new one or that one could turn into your new full-time job.
The other key factor is networking. I think you’re maybe bored to read how important is to grow your network in fashion because this is something I underline in almost every post here on Glam Observer, but that’s true. The more people you know, the more opportunities you’ll have to find a job, getting involved in a cool project, moving to another company…
So start networking today! I created the Glam Observer membership because I know that it can be hard to network at the beginning of your career, so by joining our community you’ll get to know many girls who work in fashion through our Facebook and WhatsApp group, our events and you’ll also get access to exclusive job offers career advice to get into the fashion industry. Have a look at our members-only archive
