If the mere mention of the word ‘fashion’ teleports you to a the Devil-Wears-Prada-esque world of runway models, designers, and celebrities – a career in fashion might be your inner calling. However, the world of fashion isn’t all glamour and glitz. It’s as cutthroat as any odd on the Bombay stock exchange, minus all the shoddily-dressed, loud men and the sound of a million phone calls.
Scope in the Fashion and Lifestyle Industry
Fashion industry roles seem to be limited to fashion designing and styling. But in recent years, it has grown to be much more than that. With the incorporation of other fields – technology, journalism, marketing, etc. – fashion has become a versatile industry with numerous possibilities.
Now, the question naturally comes to mind – what career options do I have? Well, read on to find out.
Fashion Designer
Fashion designers are the heartbeat of the fashion and lifestyle business, and only the creative best can come out on top. Nevertheless, you can’t resist its allure as your flip through the glossy pages of Vogue, Elle, GQ, or Harper Bazaar.
As a fashion designer, it will be your job to visualise garments, right from conceptualising to draping and styling. You can either work with an established design or create your own line of clothing. Irrespective of the path you take, you must possess skills like sketching/drawing, communication skills, contextual understanding, and technical skills. If you are open to experimenting, it’s a bonus.
Visual Merchandiser
When you walk into an aesthetically designed showroom or walk past a stunning window display, you are almost always tempted to empty your bank balance on the assortment of apparels and merchandise in front of you. This unquenchable desire is evoked by none other than the genies of the retail fashion industry – Visual Merchandisers.
Visual merchandisers usually work in two areas – Window display and in-store design. As a visual merchandiser, you will be tasked with enhancing the look and feel of a retail store. There’ll be a lot of tinkering around with lights, props, colours, graphics, and of course, clothing. If you have a dormant marketer within you, you can wake it and put it to work, as the job’s all about luring the customer in.
Fashion Journalist
Journalism, in itself, is one of the most exciting fields out there. Add fashion to the mix, and you get double the drama and triple the fun. If you have a penchant for following the latest fashion trends and have a knack for writing as well, the role of a fashion journalist might be right up your street.
As such, fashion journalists are involved in writing or reporting about fashion. From writing for Vogue, GQ, or Elle to covering the latest Lakme Fashion Week or the Met Gala, the role of a fashion journalist can take you anywhere.
Costume Designer
What did movies like Jodhaa Akbar, Bajirao Mastani, Phantom Thread, Haider, and Lagaan have in common? Dazzling costumes that infused the movie sets with emotion, drama and fashion, while bringing the script to life. That, along with the talented actors, of course!
As a costume designer, you must be adept at understanding what the script demands, reflect upon it, and visualise the costume requirements of various characters scenes. During the entire process, you’ll be brainstorming and collaborating with the actors, directors, make-up artists, hair artists, set designers, and other creative personnel on board.
Parting Thoughts
The fashion and lifestyle industry might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But if you find it to be up your alley, you should muster the courage and take the career leap, for you can’t explore new lands if you are afraid to lose sight of the shore. To that end, a good starting point might be to enrol in a lifestyle business management course in India.
