Unit G

Workplace Readiness
7.03
Summarize careers in
the fashion industry.

The fashion industry as a

career
A self-evaluation and guidance
testing will help to determine
Interests: Things one likes
and/or enjoys doing.
Aptitudes: Talents or things
one is naturally good at doing.
Skills: Specific tasks one has
the ability to perform well.
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Sources of fashion
industry information
Trade publications
Internet websites
Industry experts
Library materials

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Personal characteristics
needed for success in the
fashion industry
Ambitious
Willing to work hard
Pleasant in appearance and
manner
Genuinely interested in people
Energetic
Inquisitive and willing to learn
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Education and experience

requirements
*EXPERIENCE IS ALWAYS AN
ADVANTAGE!
Work-study program or
internship: An educational
program in which a school
teams with employers to provide
students with on-the-job training
toward an anticipated future
career.
Apprenticeship: Training for an
occupation under the direction
and guidance of a skilled worker.
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Post-secondary training
Associate degree: A two-year
degree usually earned from a
community college program.
Major: A specific field of
study in college.
Bachelor degree: A degree
earned at the completion of
most four-year programs.

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Forms of compensation
Compensation package: A
combination of wages or salary,
vacation time, and other
benefits.
Salary: Payment based on a
fixed dollar amount for a
specified period of time.
No overtime paid
Based on a persons education,
experience, and job
requirements
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Forms of compensation
(cont.)

Fringe benefits: Employment

rewards in addition to pay.
Examples: sick leave, medical
programs, company discounts

Bonus: Monetary reward

offered as an incentive by
certain companies at various
times and for varied reasons.
Examples: high sales, meeting
deadlines, year-end
accomplishments
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Steps toward a career goal

in the fashion industry
Career planning: The process of
outlining the steps to be taken
toward reaching a career goal.
Job: A specific work assignment
or position within an industry.
Career: An occupation that is
undertaken for a substantial
period of a persons life and that
usually includes a series of jobs
leading up the corporate ladder.

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Levels of Employment in
the Fashion Industry
Fashion career opportunities
can provide satisfaction for
all levels of workers.
Entry-level jobs: Positions
that offer beginning
employees a chance to prove
themselves and learn about
the business.
Retail sales clerk
Stock clerk
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Levels of Employment in
the Fashion Industry
(cont.)

Management-level jobs:
Positions that involve handling
the administrative and
supervisory duties of running a
business.

Know how to analyze information

Communicate effectively
Think clearly
Entry level employees with a college
degree may begin in lower
management and work their way up
the career ladder.
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Career Opportunities
in Textiles
Range from developing the
initial fibers to selling the
finished fabrics
Best opportunities are for
people with strong education,
continually developed and
updated skills, and bilingual
communication skills.

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Research and Development
Employment opportunities
Fiber manufacturing
Textile mills
Testing labs

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Research and Development
Aptitudes, skills, and knowledge
required
Love of science
Patience in working towards a
solution
Creative imagination
Curiosity
Strong attention to detail
Good communication skills

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Design
Work ahead of current
season to research and
forecast upcoming trends
with proper yarns, blends,
textures, and performance
characteristics

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Design
Market analyst: Conducts
market research to discover
future textile needs.
Print/repeat artist: Creates
original textile surface
designs which may include
color combinations and
repeats.

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Design
Motif artist: Designs an idea
or theme (a motif).
Colorist: Creates color
combinations for designs.
Strike-off artist: Arranges
prints on fabrics after motifs
and colors have been
established.

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Design
Fabric stylist: Serves as
the bridge between the
creative and business
aspects by coordinating
fabric design, production,
and sales.

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Design
Aptitudes, skills, and
knowledge required
Imagination
Creativity
Artistic ability for different
design careers

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Production
Largest segment of the
textile industry
Employees operate machines
that perform manufacturing
procedures.

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Production
With the advancement of technology,
most production operations have
computerized equipment. The
computer skills needed to perform
tasks in this work environment can be
learned on the job or through formal
education.
Production jobs in America are
decreasing due to decisions by textile
companies to outsource work to other
countries, resulting in the downsizing
or closing of many plants in the U.S.

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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Sales
Salespeople are the
communication link between
their company and the
market, selling to yarn
producers or fabric
manufacturing firms. Firms
with finished fabrics sell to
apparel designers and
manufacturers.
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Career Opportunities
in Textiles (cont.)
Sales
Aptitudes, skills, and
knowledge required

Ambition
Knowledge of fashion
Good communication skills
Integrity
Stamina and pizzazz

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Career Opportunities in
Apparel Manufacturing
Ready to wear apparel is
mass-produced in large
quantities.
The number of apparel
industries in the U.S. is
decreasing due to imports,
higher technology, and
lower retail sales.

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Career Opportunities in
Apparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

Fashion designer: Creates new

ideas that combine function and
beauty.
Top fashion designers create their
own custom designs or ready-towear lines two to six times a year.
Success depends not on creativity
buy on whether customers accept
and purchase what the designer
has created that season.
Examples: Armani, Liz Claiborne,
Mary Quant, Tommy Hilfiger.
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Career Opportunities in
Apparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

Design stylist/copyist: Adapts

and mass produces high-priced
fashion styles for sale within the
price range of their customers.
Qualifications include technical
knowledge of fabrics, expertise in
pattern making, manufacturing
costs, awareness of changing
social and economic trends and a
strong sense of color, line and
proportion.
Personal traits such as creativity,
drive to succeed, and enthusiasm
are very important.
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Career Opportunities in
Apparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

Sketchers: Draw
freehand illustrations of
ideas designers have
created with fabric draped
onto mannequins.

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Career Opportunities in
Apparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

Production
Plant manager: A person in charge
of all operations and employees at
a manufacturing plant.
Pattern makers, graders, and
markers are pre-production
employees that complete their
functions either by hand or using
computers.
The production process includes
jobs such as spreaders, cutters,
assorters (or assemblers), and
operators.

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Career Opportunities in
Apparel Manufacturing
(cont.)

Sales
Showroom sales: In-house sales
employees who present the goods
to visiting potential buyers.
Merchandise coordinator: Verifies
that merchandise is visually
presented as effectively as possible
within the retail stores.
Traveling sales representative:
Sells away from the showroom to
established accounts and new
customers within a designated
sales territory.
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Career Opportunities
in Retail
Aptitudes and skills
required
Ability to work well under
stress
Ability to get along well
with others
Ability to think quickly
Good organization skills
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Career Opportunities
in Retail (cont.)
Retail sales associate:
An entry-level employee
who sells goods directly
to the customer.
A job that can lead to other
positions in the retail
industry.

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Career Opportunities
in Retail (cont.)
Retail buyer: A merchandising
professional responsible for
selecting and purchasing
goods for the company.
Must adapt to a variety of price
lines and types of merchandise
Travels often
Performs a great deal of
research, planning, and record
keeping
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Career Opportunities
in Retail (cont.)
Fashion Director: A person
that creates and
coordinates the fashion
image and buying program
for one or many stores.

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Career Opportunities
in Retail (cont.)
Management Opportunities
Merchandise Manager:
Coordinates the merchandise of
several departments within a
store; oversees a group of buyers
using creativity in developing new
merchandise ideas.
Operations Manager: Oversees a
department or group of
departments; acts as a liaison
between the buyer and the sales
staff, providing feedback
regarding sales and inventory;
works to maximize profit and
maintain effective customer
service.
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Career Opportunities
in Retail (cont.)
Additional Retail Opportunities
Stockkeeping: Responsible for
receiving goods, protecting
them, and controlling their
movements.
Distribution planners: Keep
track of all aspects of
merchandise through
computerized systems at
central or regional distribution
centers.
Trainer: Responsible for giving
orientation classes to
salespeople on equipment,
procedures, and soft skills.
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Auxiliary Services
Career Opportunities
Promotion: The process of
communicating fashion
information to the public.
Modeling: The combination of
advertising and performing
whereby someone wears
garments or accessories to
show how they look.

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Auxiliary Services
Career Opportunities
(cont.)

Photography: Taking still pictures

showing fashionable clothing and
accessories and using creative
props, backgrounds, and special
settings to create a specific mood
and image.

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Auxiliary Services
Career Opportunities
(cont.)

Writing: Creating, editing, and

sharing fashion information
through the mass media.
Visual merchandising:
Responsible for creating and
setting up walls, racks, and
displays to show the merchandise
being offered and to reflect the
desired image of the store.

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Auxiliary Services
Career Opportunities
(cont.)

Advertising: Responsible for

formulating approaches to
attract and inform potential
customers about a product or
service.
Account executive: Serves
as the liaison between the
advertising agency and the
client and is responsible for
selling to and handling
specific advertising
accounts.
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Auxiliary Services
Career Opportunities
(cont.)

Advertising
Media buyers: Selects and buys
the best media for the clients
advertisements after negotiating
for times, positions, and the
lowest rates.
Art director (advertising
designer): Creates the concepts
of advertisements for all forms of
media including newspapers,
magazines, and flyers, radio,
outdoor media, and television.
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Auxiliary Services
Career Opportunities
(cont.)

Fashion forecaster: Highly-skilled

consultant who predicts future
trends based on observation and
work with fiber producers,
colorists, and researchers.
Public relations: Helps a company
project a specific image through all
forms of media using publicity and
special events and by anticipating
problems and handling
complaints.
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Auxiliary Services
Career Opportunities
(cont.)

Entrepreneur: Organizes and

launches a new business
venture and assumes the
financial risk and uncertainty
of the enterprise.
Home-based business: A
business operated out of the
home. With the increasing
use of the Internet, homebased business are
becoming more common.
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Auxiliary Services
Career Opportunities
(cont.)

Entrepreneurship
Retail owner: The owner of a
small fashion retail store or a
franchise.
Mail order business: A
company selling goods
manufactured personally or
bought from another source by
using warehouse space for
inventory, toll-free telephone
numbers, and a rented post
office box.
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Auxiliary Services
Career Opportunities
(cont.)

Entrepreneurship
Freelancing: Selling of expert
skills to accomplish a particular
task. Example: An individual
designs fashions and sells them
to a manufacturer.

Theatrical costuming: Creating

wardrobes for performers in a
stage play, opera, circus,
commercial, or television show
taking into consideration the
script, lighting, and budget
limitations.
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Internet-Based
Opportunities
Research fashion retailing
websites for job opportunities.
Research online trends related
to fashion.
1999 marked the introduction of
Internet companies marketing
themselves as malls as opposed
to search engines.

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Internet-Based
Opportunities (cont.)
E-commerce: The buying and
selling of goods and services
over the Internet. (business
on the Internet)
In 1998, 31% of website users
purchased online regularly or
occasionally.
In 1999, 42% of website users
purchased online regularly or
occasionally (1999 Cyberstudy
of U.S. Internet Users).
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Internet-Based
Opportunities (cont.)
From 2000 to 2002, online holiday
shopping for apparel increased by
13%. The ever-increasing popularity
of shopping online for apparel has
surprised those who predicted that
customers would be reluctant to buy
what they could not first try on.
The typical shopping pattern among
new users is to first browse e-tail
sites, buy low commodity items such
as CDs and books first, then gradually
purchase more products and those of
greater value.
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