The fashion industry is a huge and diverse sector that is changing and growing everyday along with the latest trends. Success within the fashion industry hugely relies upon how it is managed and marketed within the brands, and with every new craze, there will always be careers in demand to keep everything afloat. Studying for a fashion communication qualification at Middlesbrough College will prepare you for this exciting and fast-paced industry! You’ll gain the skills and knowledge you’ll need to succeed in the sector, which you can then later develop as you pursue your future career in the fashion industry.
However, you may not be completely sure about which specific route you want to go down, so that’s why we have put together this blog detailing four possible careers you can progress to with a Fashion, Business and Communication qualification!
Fashion PR (Public Relations)
A career in fashion PR involves promoting the fashion product/products specific to the brand to engage potential customers, and to create a positive brand image. This role is a highly valuable communication tool to its potential audience and determines the attitudes and perceptions consumers have towards the brand and its products.
Typical duties will involve planning PR campaigns like runways and press days, creating press materials to release during the entire season and engaging with celebrities or digital influencers to generate a brand association to its custom. You’ll need good communication and organisational skills to succeed in the industry, which you will begin to develop during your studies on the fashion communication course here at Middlesbrough College! This career has a great mix of both creativity and networking and can often begin by becoming a PR assistant and working your way up the career ladder as you gain experience.
Visual Merchandiser
A visual merchandiser promotes retail brands, products, and services in-store or online and uses visual methods of attracting and entertaining the target market. This role usually takes place in a company head office but can also be freelance, making the career more flexible with different lifestyles. As a visual merchandiser, responsibilities will include liaising with teams within the brand about the design and marketing to create designs for displays and signage. To succeed in this role, you must be creative, and you’ll need to master different merchandising techniques.
You’ll also need to work well within different teams, have commercial awareness and be imaginative. A degree is not essential to fulfil this role but higher education courses such as fashion buying, and merchandising can help to further develop your skills and knowledge to this role specifically.
Fashion Marketer
Fashion marketing has similar qualities to fashion PR; however, the focus is more centred about bringing the product to the market rather than how it is perceived to the public. There are many specialised roles within fashion marketing such as strategy creation, social media, digital marketing consumer rights and creating marketing materials. These roles are focused on the communication and analytical side of the fashion industry however, the best marketers match this business approach with a generous amount of creativity. Skills that suite best to this role are being business-minded, imaginative, adaptable, and creative.
Though it is not compulsory, studying marketing and communications for fashion at University level can help to progress in this role.
Fashion Journalism
Fashion journalism is the process of researching fashion trends and stories to create written content. This can include writing for: a magazine, newspaper, or online blog. As the online industry grows more, fashion journalism is growing on social media platforms. Video content on TV, YouTube channels and podcasts are also forms of fashion journalism, making it a very versatile career to go into! Responsibilities of a fashion journalist include researching, interviewing, writing, and networking. Fashion journalism is a very multiskilled career involving completing several types of work to create a piece of content from scratch.
Skills you’ll need to succeed in this role include communication, being personable, carrying out interviews, creating connections, creativity and writing skills.
To progress into fashion journalism, completing our Level 3 Fashion Communication course will be a great way to start building your knowledge and gaining an insight into the industry. As you go along, building your knowledge and skills through work experience and dedicating your spare time to a fashion blog will help you for your next steps. Gaining a degree is not a necessity but University study may help to improve your skillset. Alternatively, after completing your Level 3 course at College you could progress to employment, working as an intern or an entry level position for a fashion journalism company. This is a great way to gain on the job experience and start to work your way up the career ladder.
If one of these careers sounds like the perfect role for you, then starting your journey off at Middlesbrough College will set you on the right path to success! We still have places available on our fashion communication courses to start in September! Find out more and apply online today: https://www.mbro.ac.uk/career-choices/fashion-business-and-communication