1. Interrelationship of the fashion careers fields
FM A

2. Career fields in the fashion industry
Apparel
Fashion Advertising
Public Relations
Retail
Retail Buyers
Special Events
Textile
Textile and Apparel Sales and Distribution
Visual Merchandising

3. 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

4. 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.

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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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.

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

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

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. Career Opportunities in Textiles (cont.)
Sales
Aptitudes, skills, and knowledge required
Ambition
Knowledge of fashion
Good communication skills
Integrity
Stamina and pizzazz

16. 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.

17. 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-to-wear lines two to six times a year.
Success depends not on creativity but on whether customers accept and purchase what the designer has created that season.
Examples: Armani, Liz Claiborne, Mary Quant, Tommy Hilfiger.

18. 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.

19. Career Opportunities in Apparel Manufacturing (cont.)
Sketchers: Draw freehand illustrations of ideas designers have created with fabric draped onto mannequins.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. 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

23. 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.

24. 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

25. Career Opportunities in Retail (cont.)
Fashion Director: A person that creates and coordinates the fashion image and buying program for one or many stores.

26. 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.

27. Career Opportunities in Retail (cont.)
Additional Retail Opportunities
Stock keeping: 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.

28. 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.

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. 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.

32. Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)
Advertising
Media buyers: Selects and buys the best media for the client’s 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.

33. 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.

34. Auxiliary Services Career Opportunities (cont.)
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.