Like many industries today, employers look favorably upon the entry level job applicant who has pursued at least an associate’s degree and more favorably on the applicant with a baccalaureate. Because much of the learning process in the fashion industry comes as on the job training, an associate’s degree may be enough to get a foot in the door. It is also worth noting that twenty five percent of the nation’s fashion designers are self employed. If you are seeking entry level work with an entrepreneur, the personal chemistry will be more important.
American InterContinental University has a number of campuses in this country and abroad that offer degrees in both fashion design and fashion marketing. Here is an example of a school that has segmented the industry in a pragmatic fashion. While the glamour of the business may be in the runway shows, designing a marketing program around the fashion industry’s seasonal introduction of products is just as critical as designing them.
Marketing concepts, planning promotion and advertising, business strategy and retailing are at the core of success in the fashion business and should be a critical part of any fashion industry education. Fashion design creates the products – but in the process of assembling your curriculum in the fashion industry, don’t neglect the engine that drives the industry – product sales.
