We all know that the idea of a career in fashion can be daunting. The media tells us that the fashion industry is glamourous, exciting and well, scary (have you seen The Devil Wears Prada?!) But for some of us, that fear is enough to handle for our dream career, the question on our lips is, how on earth do I get involved in working in the fashion industry?
Enter Stephanie Finnan with her fantastic book How to prepare for a career in fashion.
The focus of this book is in the title; preparation. This is not a quick-fix guide. This is practical advice for those willing to work hard and how to put this hard work into action. There are no interviews with people whose Dad's-best-friend's-brother's-boss knew someone who worked at Vogue and bam they were in. This is for real people who just want an opportunity to do what they love, and get paid for it. The book is described as “easy to follow” and consists of “tips on what you should be doing now and how to stay one step ahead of everyone else.” It is an exciting premise.
The book is organized into clear sections, beginning with a general Q&A about fashion careers and then entering into different chapters depending on which area of fashion you're interested in going into. The final few chapters are dedicated to general advice on work experience, useful resources and a helpful little glossary.
Stephanie covers almost every aspect of fashion you could ever be interested in; Design, Graphic/Textile Design, Trend Forecasting, Styling, Fashion Journalism, Make-Up, Fashion Marketting/PR, Fashion Buying, Visual Merchandising, Production and Technical and Fashion Show Production. There literally is something for everyone.
For me, my first flick was too Fashion Journalism, as this is the career I hope to pursue. Each chapter is organized in the same, easy to read form. It begins with a job profile and essential information- all the important things you want to know, from the best things about the job, to the skills you'll need, educational achievements required to of course, how much you'll get paid. Each chapter then has an interview or two with someone who actually works in the job you dream about, with helpful advice and stories, an ask-the-expert page, tailored specifically to each job, and perhaps most importantly, a To Do list of things to get on with to help your chances of landing this career.
The final sections on work experience and resources are particularly helpful to a young journalist like me. Magazines and newspapers and notoriously overloaded with students begging for experience. There are four pages of questions and answers on work experience here, which is wide-ranging without being too general.
I was really impressed with this book. The tone and layout was informal and fun, making it an enjoyable read as well as a fabulous resource for anyone, whether you're still in school, working on a degree, or just fancy a change of career. Stephanie makes no bones about the fact that getting into the industry is hard, but thanks to this book I feel much more confident that I am on the route to success. Let me just double check that To Do list...
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love it...thanks for sharing this will really help a lot..
ReplyDeleteKisses
Sweet
PensandLens