Having a career in fashion is always rewarding, as long as there is an equal amount of talent, interest, dedication, and commitment. It can open up avenues for you to channel and express your creativity and sartorial art in the form of actual designs or collection. So, whether you’re a fashion designer, stylist, fashion content writer or a fashion illustrator, being a part of the industry can give you the creative freedom to think outside the box and experiment to your best capacity. The sky is your limit!
But as we explore the good side of the industry, it is also important to acknowledge that every profession has its own perks and cons too. Although having a career in fashion may look fascinating, majestic and glamourous, there’s always more to it. It takes what every other successful career takes but also a little more than that because let’s face it – fashion is a fickle, competitive, and a tricky field to navigate as much as it is a rewarding one.
Source: Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
Now if you’re wondering what exactly does it take to have a thriving career in fashion, here are some of the tips that will get you going. You can thank us later!
1.Never stop learning
As an individual and as a fashion professional, it is almost impossible for you to be a know-it-all. Learning is always a work in progress. You may be great at your drawings but slightly less skilled when it comes to execution or you may just need to be a student again to reignite your passion. One way or another, learning as a fashion professional means polishing and upgrading your skills to fill certain gaps. Another way of looking at learning is to take it as a way to remain relevant with the needs of the changing times. Let’s also not forget that fashion trends change in the blink of the eye. So, it’s best to stay updated and keep learning to remain at the top of the game. Whether it is reading a fashion fiction, autobiography or an educative book, or attending courses and workshops regularly, there are various mediums of learning besides traditional education. Make use of the internet by researching on fashion e-books, articles, news, etc, or also by creating a fashion week calendar for the entire year. Mark all the important fashion events to keep yourself updated and informed of events/shows that you’re not supposed to miss. Another notable way of keeping up with fashion trends and news is to subscribe to all the noteworthy fashion magazines and also follow your favourite fashion designers/personalities on social media. Learning can be indirect or direct and may come in many forms!
2.Start before you are ready because you never will be
It’s always a good idea to prepare in advance and take the plunge before you’re ready. Practice and proper preparation can never go wrong, can it? But, at the same time, here is the catch. You will never have enough time and space to prepare and be completely ready. If you wait for the time you’re absolutely ready and set to take that leap of faith, you will always keep waiting. So, here is the advice you should follow every time there is a doubt, uncertainty, and to-do or not-to-do dilemmas – just do it and start when the thought first occurs to you.
3.Make networking a priority
Networking is not about collecting contacts but more about planting long-term relationships. Whether it’s your customers, your suppliers, your courier guy, a mentor, a co-worker or anyone from your industry, it’s always clever to network. Remember, your network is your net worth and it is more of an unwritten rule for success. Whether you’re a business owner, freelancer or an employee, networking and building a community of sorts will always come to your growth, rescue, and upliftment. The seeds you sow now through networking, will reap and turn out to be extremely fruitful over the years. All you have to do is constantly keep in touch, be humble, cordial and helpful to the people you meet through networking platforms. Clubs, seminars, events, and shows are some meeting points for you and your networking skills. Moreover, you can also resort to digital networking using LinkedIn, social media platforms, and online clubs/events, and so on, to follow relevant people and interact with them to build a presence in the industry.
Source : Pina Messina on Unsplash 4.Challenge yourself often We all get used to the mundane – following a typical schedule on a day to day basis. Chances are you might burn out sooner, end up degrading your creativity completely or even lose passion towards your fashion career. If finding little joys and short episodes of enjoyment in your daily work is difficult, then we are very sure that you are headed in the direction of boredom. Another disadvantage of getting used to the daily humdrum way of living and working, is getting way too comfortable with your expectations, hard work and achievements. So how exactly do you plan on making your perfectly tedious, monotonous work life a tad bit more amusing and delightful? The answer is super easy – by challenging yourself from time to time. If you seem to have less knowledge and expertise on a certain subject matter or task, doesn’t mean you should be saying no. Always take up new challenges to escape from the ordinary. You may sometimes succeed and fail, but there’s
nothing to lose. From every challenge that you take up in your fashion career, you always have something new to learn rather add to your experiences. The first step is to simply say yes!
5.Remember, it all adds up in the end
In life, especially in our careers, we come across a gazillion challenges. We fail at some of them while we succeed at the rest. The knowledge, learnings and experiences we gain from all of these events, someday and somehow it all just adds up. If we have the skill or ability to associate ideas from different fields and apply them in our work, then it’s all worth it in the end. So, no matter what kind of work you engage in over your initial years in the industry or the kind of internships/jobs you take up – every single event and phase of your life adds up and contributes to your long-term success, It’s wise to take a step back every once in a while, evaluate and jot down your learnings and experiences and think about how you can make great use of these noteworthy experiences, even from fields that are completely outside your current work profile.
Source : Salvador Godoy on Unsplash 6.Consistency is key Consistency is the key to success in any and every profession out there. Of course, it’s important to evaluate your performance, strategies and decisions from time to time. But, when it comes to fashion and your career, consistency is in doing what you do at the every beginning of your career or student life, every single day. Moreover, it means never giving up, come what may. The industry is surely full of challenges of all kinds but by allowing them to hamper your processes and your consistency is when you take it all down. So, remember to keep at it and keep it going even when the results don’t show up immediately. They will show up some day. The fashion industry may look glamorous but the reality is far different. Having a fashion career may seem fascinating from afar, but one needs consistency, hard work, networking and new challenges every now and then in order to survive, more so thrive. This most definitely doesn’t rule out the benefits of being a part of the profession because there is no limit to what and how you can do something for yourself. It’s all you and your efforts at the end of the day. Never let the fire AKA the passion die and keep going but take a step back whenever you feel like in order to seek for inspiration, whatever the source maybe.
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