​Career in Fashion: 7 Practical Ways to Make It Big

As with anything worth having in life, success in the world of fashion takes determination and hard work. If you firmly believe that you have the potential and vision to make it big in the fashion industry, start your journey by setting realistic goals for your success. If you’re just starting out, don’t expect to suddenly come out on top—you’ll have to do your best and pay your dues before you can move up the ladder, so to speak.

The good news is that fashion is such a huge global industry that there’s plenty of room to succeed. It earns $3 trillion worldwide as a whole and is worth 2 per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). With such a vast field for you to play in, becoming the next Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Louboutin, or Coco Chanel isn’t that farfetched. Boost your employability, create an attractive, and well-organized portfolio, and gain as much industry insight as you can. Most of all, don’t be afraid to start small. And with that, here are 7 practical tips to make a name for yourself in fashion.

Choose a specific area of fashion to excel in

As mentioned, the fashion industry is huge and includes everything from designing, illustrating, sample making, photography, and trend forecasting, not to mention the business side of things such as merchandising, PR, account management, and so on. It’s important for you to pick a specific fashion area, hone your talent and skills in that department, and then branch out from there. Fashion CVs/ resumes that show focused education and experience are more attractive than those that simply gush about their love for all things chic and stylish.

Develop your portfolio

Whether you want to be a photographer, designer, stylist, etc., it’s never too early to start creating a portfolio that showcases your best work. As an industry that demands proof of what you’re capable of, a proper portfolio can get you far. Here’s what you need to do to make sure your it not only catches people’s eyes but also captures their attention.

• Research – before sending your portfolio, make sure you follow the requirements of the school or company you’re sending it to. Requirements will vary, so follow them exactly. The quality of your portfolio won’t matter if it’s not what they want to see.

• Use good quality images – this is where your talents on Instagram can be put to good use. If your photography skills aren’t up to snuff, investing in a professional photographer to showcase your creations can be a good idea. You can shoot as many images as you can, but you’ll need to handpick the best ones and limit your portfolio to just 20 to 30 snapshots max.

• Start and close strong – Place your best look or work at the forefront, and save the second best for last. Create a flow with your portfolio that tells a compelling story. Above all else, let your portfolio express the beauty and uniqueness of your personal style.

Get the most out of work experience

Getting relevant work experience is an essential step in kick-starting your fashion career, and a good old-fashioned apprenticeship/internship is a tried-and-tested method of getting your foot in the door. Although an apprenticeship/internship won’t help your wallet, it gives you the double advantage of learning first-hand from an industry expert while enhancing your portfolio and resume. Once you get an apprenticeship/internship, make the most of it by doing the following:

• Know what you want to learn – before applying, identify the skills, methods, or techniques that you want to acquire and set a schedule to ensure you’ve mastered them all by the end of your work placement.

• Don’t be afraid to ask questions – if there’s anything you find confusing, ask for clarifications. Seize the opportunity to gather as much knowledge as you can during your training period.

• Know yourself– be clear about your abilities and limitations. This will make it easier to find your place in the wide and wild world of fashion.

Maintain good relationships

Even if your internship doesn’t expose you to your dream work environment, it can still open up plenty of networking opportunities that you can use to connect to established names in the fashion industry. Each good relationship that you nurture can be used to share knowledge, explore opportunities, and obtain valuable career advice, now and in the future. Of course, just as you must maintain the good ones, don’t be afraid to sever the bad ones. Sometimes, it just needs to be done.

Expect to make massive sacrifices

Whatever your goal or aspiration may be in life, one thing is for certain: you’ll need to make sacrifices to get where you want to go. Whether it’s giving up comfort, extracurricular activities, or some other important aspect of your life, success demands that you pay the price. If you want something bad enough, you need to put in the work. You may not achieve the results you want as quickly as you want to, but don’t give up too easily. Remember, fashion is your dream, after all.

Keep your eye on your goals, not someone else’s

Aside from setting realistic goals, make sure they are what you really want. If your accomplishments are not producing the feelings you expected, it could be because you are achieving other people’s goals and not your own. This doesn’t mean that you should have your way with everything, but rather, make sure that the things you pour your heart and soul into are bringing you closer to your goal. To stay motivated, once in a while, look back at where you’ve been and what you’ve achieved, not just how far you have to go.

Write a creative resume

The fashion industry is a creative industry, and so you need to write the type of resume appropriate for it. When building a creative resume, make sure you don’t go overboard with visuals, backgrounds, fonts, alignment, spacing, etc. Use creativity to add dimension to your resume, but keep the elements to their simplest form. Be smart about your color, arrangement, and design choices, as they reflect your personality.

Our writers can help you craft a creative resume that captures all the “do’s” and loses all the “don’ts.” We will work with you to come up with a resume that not only looks attractive, organized, and professional but also showcases your uniqueness and helps you stand out. Get in touch with us today and let’s start working on your fashion resume.