Diverse career pathways for fashion designer

Fashion a word that evokes an image of glamorous fashion de-signers, fashion models, catwalks and grand fashion runways. However, the world of fashion offers a plethora of diverse career pathways, catering to various interests and skill sets. With the everevolving fashion industry the opportunities have grown manifold.

A fashion design graduate may choose to be a part of the design team of a fashion house or can embark on their entre-preneurial journey after gaining relevant experience. ‘

Here are some of the prominent career options:

1. Fashion Designer: A fashion designer is the creative mind behind any fashion brand / label. They play an im-portant role in shaping a brand’s aesthetic by creating the visual identity for collections every season. With an overall understanding of fabrics, they can also explore deigning textiles / fabrics to compliment the collections.They plan for developing fashion-focused products keeping a close look on the current market trends. They also work closely with the traditional craftsmen to develop innovative textiles and products, hence contributing to the traditional design ecosystem.

2. Fashion Consultant: A fashion consultant always keeps abreast of the latest trends. The advice clients on fashion choices based on a deep understanding of the clients likes and dislikes, profession, lifestyle and latest trends.

3. Fashion Stylist: A fashion stylist collaborates with fashion designers to curate an impactful image of the brand for var-ious marketing campaigns, fashion shows & photoshoots.

4. Social Media Trendsetters: This profile requires knowledge in data analysis and a flair for fashion. Theyare responsible for curating creative, eye-catching social media posts. Usingdata insights theycustomize styling choices, create collaborations with designers and influencers to strengthenthe brand’s presence and connecting with the audience on a personal level.

5. Trend Forecaster: A trend forecasterpredicts future fashion trends based on their understanding and analysis of the global trends which enables the fashion houses to plan and design their collections ahead of time. This help brands to stay relevant.

6. Retail Buyer: A buyers play a very important role in the retail sector. They need to understand customer preferences, analyze economic and fashion trends, thereby, pre-dict what customers will want to buy in the future. This role involves making strategic decisions related to production & purchasing.

7. Technical Designer: A Technical designer is responsible for planning and taking care of resources and raw materials for improving and maintaining high product quality and ensuring a good fit. This requires aligning with cross func-tional teams, monitoring and handling regular inspections in technical areas, preparing documentation for all tech-nical activities and department wise procedures.

Design is a vast field, and many professionals develop an interest in new arears while gaining experience in multiple roles. This has been witnessed on many occasions like fashions designers collaborating with architects and interior designers to develop living spaces. They are also getting involved in the retail sector and create an elevated in-store experience by helping plan the visual displays and design the customer journey. Recentlyindus-tries like the aviation, hospitality, automobile and game design are looking at fashion designers being a part of their team. Each of these roles requires a unique set of skills and offers different opportunities for growth and creativity. The fashion indus-try is vibrant and continually evolving, providing ample opportu-nities for those passionate about fashion.

(The author is

Assistant Professor, Alliance School of Design & Creative Arts)