THE YOUTHING MAGAZINE FASHION PASSION ISSUE | Page 19

CAREERS IN THE
FASHION INDUSTRY
Naturally a career in fashion is a
glamorous idea. The industry is
diverse with many different roles –
a fashion job can be anything
from running exotic photo shoots
in far-flung corners of the world, to
managing a trend-spotting blog in
the fashion media.
1. Fashion Illustrator
A Fashion Illustrator creates
clothing designs by hand or with
computer programs. When you're
a Fashion Illustrator, your drawings
are usually the first things that
Fashion Stylists and Fashion
Buyers will look at in order to
make decisions for their clients.
They are also used for ads and
sales for the fashion house. To suit
these purposes, your drawings
must represent the clothing well,
and be both marketable and
visually appealing.
As a Fashion Illustrator, you
typically work for a Fashion
Designer or design house. The
higher up the fashion ladder you
go, the more amazing the Fashion
Designers are that you’ll get to
illustrate for. Depending on what
the Designer wants, you may work
by hand, in a variety of artistic
mediums (pencil, charcoal, pastels
or paints), or through a computer
program like Photoshop.
To do your job well, you must stay
on top of current trends in the
fashion world. This industry is
constantly changing, so staying
current on style and
knowledgeable on fabrics will be
essential for you.
BY SHARON MUENI
2.Retail Buyer 4.Garment Technologist
Retail buyers are the
brains behind which
products or garments are
sourced and stocked in
advance of a coming
season for retail outlets.
Purchasing decisions for
the company are based
on customer demand,
market and seasonal
trends, store brand, and
budget. A garment technologist is
responsible for the correct fit and
performance of a garment.
Working closely with the design
team and factory, a garment
technologist instructs on garment
measurements and construction
to enable the production of
prototypes. An important role, the
garment technologist also liaises
directly with factories all over the
world to communicate feedback.
Here are example job descriptions
and skills that fashion companies
are looking for in a garment
technologist.
3.Fashion Designer
Designers conduct fittings
and adjustments on
prototypes of their
designs, and the end
product is then marketed
to clothing retailers. They
oversee the entire
garment production from
their initial sketch to final
manufacturing.
The nature of the job
varies among the different
types of fashion designers;
most designers are
employed by design and
manufacturing firms and
work regular hours, while
some designers are
freelance and work longer
hours under more
stressful conditions.
Key duties and required skills:
Work closely with Buying, Design,
Merchandising and supply base.
Risk assess products in terms of
safety and analyse test reports.
Evaluate quality of materials and
checking of the final product.
Learn through fit days, wearer trials
to ensure product is competitive
and ahead of market trends.
Experience in pattern cutting and
grading is essential.
Establish and maintain
relationships with suppliers,
sourcing regions and technical
labs.
A good understanding of
manufacturing capabilities and
ability to conduct factory
production assessments.
Familiarity with PLM (product
lifecycle management) systems
and Adobe is desirable.