Fashion is a beautiful and fascinating industry to be in. Even though from the outside it seems just a very glamorous industry, behind the scenes there is much more than beautiful clothes, shoes, bags, glossy covers… it’s a complex system that, if you want to get involved by starting a career or your own fashion brand, is necessary to understand.
If you read my book Your Fashion [Dream] Plan, you know that one of the skills I suggest mastering if you want to have a successful career in fashion is knowing about the industry.
You may also remember that I say that attending a fashion school is not necessary to work in this industry, but still having a knowledge of the industry is important. The good news is that you can learn everything on your own. Learning as much as possible about the fashion industry should be not only a duty but also a pleasure! I guess you want to know everything about what is happening in your favorite sector, how each department works, and become an expert in it! Studying this industry and getting informed about it should therefore be easy and not stressful as we are talking about one of your favorite topics.
In addition to personal interest and passion, being well informed about the industry is one of the skills that will be useful for you to demonstrate to future employers and recruiters or in case you wish to launch your own fashion brand.
Do you want another reason why you need to know more about the fashion industry? Knowledge brings self-confidence! So the more you know about the industry, the more confident you will feel at work, in the job application phase, but also in the conversations you will have with any fashion professional, from your fellow interns to your boss, to recruiters during a job interview.
Thankfully there are plenty of resources today to learn more about the fashion industry and I think you should grow your knowledge in two ways: on a daily basis and something more in-depth ideally once a month. Fashion is a very fast and dynamic industry, so it is absolutely necessary to stay up to date on what happens every day. The best way to keep up with the industry on a daily basis is through websites and podcasts. Read the latest news of the day on websites like BoF, WWD, Vogue, Vogue Businessā¦ and listen to a fashion podcast when you take a walk, clean your closet or do your makeup.
However, even though reading BoF or Vogue every day helps you understand what’s happening in the industry and stay up to date with the latest news, it doesn’t grow your CV and can’t actually learn you a new skill. So in addition to daily websites and podcasts, once a month or so, you should add to your daily news, something more in-depth such as books and online courses.
I want you to reflect on something.
Simply writing that you are an “organized” person on your resume without giving any explanation, and writing instead of being an organized person because you took care of the organization of the school library or the closet of a magazine, has two different weights. As you can imagine, the second is viewed much more positively than the first by a recruiter, because it gives the actual proof of having acquired that competence. We can all write a nice list of skills on our resume, but what really matters to companies is being able to understand that you actually have those skills and that you haven’t just put down nice words on a paper. Resumes that are explained with concrete examples through short descriptions or clarifications in the cover letter, are much more likely to be successful in the job application phase.
It is always important to demonstrate your skills through the experience of past jobs or through what you have studied.
When I graduated, my resume seemed (and was) totally empty and I had no idea how to fill it and how to show companies that I had a passion for the fashion industry even though I had no experience yet. This made me feel insecure in the application phase. So I signed up for two online fashion courses and immediately felt more confident because I had added concrete examples that demonstrated my passion for fashion. During my first interviews with fashion companies, a recruiter asked me about those online courses I took, what I had learned, and above all, why I decided to enroll. Although I had a master’s degree in luxury and fashion management on my CV, the attention fell on those online courses and she explained to me: “A traditional degree is a standard path that society has turned into the norm. While you can decide whether to graduate or not, it is almost like you have if you want to find a job. But online courses are a 100% personal choice, therefore, when they are present on a CV they show real interest in that subject which is so profound to the point of having decided to invest money and time to grow your skills. I see many resumes every day from people who have masters or degrees from prestigious universitiesā¦ it is now the norm, I like to see that something more especially for an internship when you have no other experience to consider.ā.
An online course certification can be added to the education section of your CV right next to your degree or any other diploma. Especially after the pandemic that has also led traditional courses to be conducted remotely via a computer and a connection, online courses are increasingly recognized by companies, if they are of quality. Also, the great thing about online courses is that you can learn things quickly, faster than any traditional course, you can study when you want, so when you have time, in the evening, during your lunch break or on the weekend. So to sum up, online courses are excellent for updating your resume and giving a real demonstration to potential recruiters that you are learning more about the fashion industry. Books are also fantastic (but without a certification issued) so if you can make reading books a daily habit and read more than one book a month is fantastic, but starting with just one book a month will really make the difference in your personal and professional life.
If you want to understand how the fashion industry works, the NEW online course Inside the fashion industry is coming very soon! The lessons will be available on February 3, 2021, and teaching you all her insider knowledge will be the teacher of the MA in Fashion Studies at the famous New York Parsons School of Design, Emma McClendon! Emma is also the curator of the museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology, a fashion historian and author of fashion books, in short, a brilliant mind and super expert in this sector. When I thought I wanted to launch this new course to give all of you the opportunity to understand how different areas of the fashion industry work, I spent months looking for the right person, then I watched this video and I read about her experience, I immediately realized that Emma would have been the perfect person to provide the best experience and knowledge! The course will be totally online, all lessons will be available immediately from February 3, the day until which registration will be possible and at a special launch price. If you are interested click here to find out more. (PS the lessons will be available from February 3rd but once registered you can also decide to start it in the future when you prefer. Everything is immediately available so you can choose when to start and when to finish, you don’t have to show up live).
So to sum up having a knowledge of the fashion industry is essential to work in this sector and in addition to daily updates, it helps to read books and take online courses from time to time that you can add to your curriculum to give proof of your knowledge of the industry!
