Fashion Design

When people think about entering the fashion industry, there’s one career path they always seem to look at: fashion design. But there are actually plenty of other jobs and professions in fashion that are as involved and important as designing clothing. Take, for example, fashion merchandising. Although this career path doesn’t get a lot of attention, it’s a vital part of the industry helping to get designs off of the runway and into stores.

Click here to check out some of the best fashion merchandising schools in the US

If you want to get into this career you’ll first have to get the right education and training with help from a fashion merchandising college. You’ll learn the ins and outs of the industry as you gain practical experience and make the connections necessary for entering the field.

Depending on the fashion merchandising college you attend, you may be able to pursue anything from a two-year Associate in Art degree or a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in the field. You may also want to couple this education with classes or even a major or minor in a related field like fashion design or fashion marketing.

Particular courses in your degree course will likely vary depending upon the fashion merchandising college you choose. You’ll like take a wide range of courses that include subjects like business law, fashion sketching, publicity and promotions, merchandising math, accounting principles, trend-spotting, merchandising, fashion development, salesmanship, and the history of fashion.

Click here to check out some of the best fashion merchandising schools in the US

Once you land a job in fashion merchandising, you’ll find that your days are spent attending fashion shows, speaking with designers, buying clothing and designs, overseeing advertising and marketing campaigns that deal with your store and its products, and managing the stores within your business network. You’ll also find yourself negotiating business deals with manufacturers and suppliers, and possibly arranging store displays depending on the size of the business you work for and the level of hands-on work expected of you.

The most important thing you’ll do in your fashion merchandising career, is perfect your ability to pick out the next big thing in fashion before anyone else does. This ability will be grounded in your new knowledge of past fashions and trends – something you will gain by attending a fashion merchandising college — and will hopefully be further bolstered by your own good taste in clothing.

As you can see, a fashion merchandising career puts you in touch with many different facets of the fashion industry. So if you’re looking for something that’s more than just designing clothes or attending fashion shoots, fashion merchandising may be just the ticket. Just don’t forget to choose wisely when it comes to the fashion merchandising college you want to attend; do your research early and often, and always check whether the school or program you’re looking for is properly accredited.

Click here to check out some of the best fashion merchandising schools in the US

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Before you make the big decision about whether to go to fashion merchandising school, it is a good idea to know exactly what is involved, what the curriculum is, how long it runs for and whether this type of career is really the best thing for you to focus on.

If you love fashion, you are probably a creative individual with your own ideas and inspirations. The whole fashion industry thrives on new ideas but with the best fashion designs in the world, if you do not know how to market them, no one will see your creations and this will ultimately lead to frustration.

The world of fashion design incorporates much more than simply design and production and it is a tough world to break into. There are thousands of aspiring designers and knowing what looks stylish is only a part of the battle for recognition. Willingness on your part to accept new ideas and study hard is absolutely essential.

In a fashion merchandising school, you will be taught how to promote your designs and arouse interest in potential consumers. You will learn how to recognise new trends and how to fine tune and improve your own designs.

There are many such schools to choose from so it depends what exactly you wish to learn. The most important things are to hone your merchandising skills to an art form and learn other relevant skills to help you attain success. When you are comparing schools, check their facilities, scholarship plans and the staff.

Unless you have plenty of money to spare, a scholarship can be crucial in covering your expenses. Nearly every fashion designer school can provide some kind of scholarship to help you out.

Before enrolment it is prudent to find out what sort of equipment and facilities the school in question has on offer. You can use your own equipment if you prefer (and if you can afford it) but you need to know what to expect when you get there. Do some research on the teachers available at your chosen school. Find out if you can their qualifications and credibility. A great teacher can make the difference between a struggling student and a successful one.

Another very important factor is the student to teacher ratio. How many students is each teacher responsible for? Obviously, in a very large class, each individual student receives less attention from the teacher. If the classes are very large, you have to wonder why the school is economising on staffing. On the other hand, if the classes are very small, you should question why so few students have wanted to enrol there. Hands-on teaching methods would suffer if the class was enormous and this could result in a great deal of frustration for the student. Try to strike a happy medium – an average sized class is your safest bet.

Fashion merchandising school graduates ought to receive sufficient guidance after their training to enable them to reach the next step of their career. When you leave the school, it is very important to know what you will be doing next. If it is not the school policy to give you some kind of assistance in finding a job when you have completed the course, this should sound alarm bells. It can be difficult to get your first placement without the school’s help.

Steven Henderson owns the Fashion School information website

http://4mostip.com/presents/Fashion

Passion for fashion?
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With over 250 accredited art and design institutions, choosing the right fashion design or fashion merchandising school can be a bit overwhelming. However, taking the time to match your needs with a complimentary program might just improve your chances of getting in. Here’s why.

Knowing What to Look For The road to the right college always begins and ends with you. What is your ideal college environment? How close to or far from home do you want to be? Which is a bigger draw for you–the academic potential or the social environment? These are questions that need to be answered well before you pack your bags for school.

There are several points to consider when you sift through fashion design and merchandising schools. Perhaps the most important is concerned with the prestige of your dream institution. You might want to go to that glitzy school in New York, Paris, or Milan–and that’s ok. But you need to keep in mind that a brand-name school does not guarantee your success.

What Schools are Looking For Stop fretting over the fact that you don’t have straight A’s. According to U.S. News & World Reports, colleges are typically more interested in the contributions you can make to their programs rather than accepting the cookie cutter application. Of course, academic performance is important. But so is being well-rounded.

When applying to fashion design school, use your application to paint a complete picture of your talents and abilities. Also, avoid the tendency to eliminate potential schools too early in the application process. They may eventually be your landing point if your first choices don’t work out as planned.

Program and Course Requirements Program specificity typically dictates coursework and requirements. That means the opportunity for you to personalize your studies, better preparing you for career longevity. For example, a fashion design school may offer more generalized classes in the field–textiles, colors, sewing, and fashion history. On the other hand, fashion merchandising schools may be grounded in retail operations–so mathematics and economics may come into play.

Short-Cuts and Time Savers Some things to do to keep yourself ahead of the curve:
•    Save Application Materials. Chances are that your admissions essay can be used at whichever school you apply to. Save this and other app materials, such as transcripts to cut down on the time it takes to apply to each school.
•    Get Those RSS Feeds. Some fashion design schools offer RSS feed updates of new services and programs. Subscribe to be kept in the loop automatically.
•    Apply Early and Often. Your chances of acceptance increase greatly when you keep your mind, and options, open.

The right fashion design school or fashion merchandising school is out there. With some research and persistence, you can find it.

Kelli Smith is the senior editor for www.Edu411.org. Edu411.org lists colleges, institutes, and fashion merchandising school that offer fashion dgree programs.

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If you love fashion and design, and are considering a career or further education in the field, you may want to take a closer look at fashion merchandising. Fashion merchandising combines various aspects of design, marketing, sales, and even accounting skills. If you like moving at a fast pace with a variety of duties, there are many opportunities in the field of fashion merchandising that a college or education program can prepare you for.

A fashion merchandising education involves marketing fashion lines to retail stores, or even working with the stores themselves to market products directly to consumers. Fashion merchandising is a broad field, and can encompass positions such as fashion buying, where you will select merchandise for a retail store, and event coordination, such as fashion shows. Another growing field is visual merchandising, which involves designing the way the actual clothes and products are displayed, such as window displays and floor layouts.

While the fashion industry as a whole is very competitive, there is a lot of growth and opportunity in the merchandising field, because of the wide variety of assignments available. Although clothes may be manufactured all over the world, many of the sales related aspects take place right at home. This is also the type of career that may involved a variety of different job descriptions over the years, so if you crave change and excitement, it could be a good fit.

The best way to get started in fashion merchandising involves related education. A quality fashion merchandising program will be comprehensive and involve a large variety of courses. In addition to design, you will learn other key concepts, such as marketing and advertising. You will also learn how the fashion business works, and how clothing is manufactured and delivered to retail outlets.

There are a number of choices available when choosing a fashion merchandising education. Many colleges offer fashion merchandising as an associate degree, and some that even offer it as a bachelor’s program. There are also many schools that embed fashion merchandising within a more traditional marketing degree, which will give you a broader course of study in basic business.

Other options include attending a strictly fashion design school, which will offer merchandising as one of their programs. In addition, you can also study online, as many of these schools will also offer an online or distance education program, as well.

Choosing which type of school to attend will depend partially on your educational goals. Are you looking to make a quick transition into the field, and want a career-oriented education, or do to have a strong basic business and marketing foundation? Most schools will offer internships in fashion, so you can have an opportunity to get your feet wet in the industry. Whatever type of school you choose, you can be assured that you will be learning a great deal about fashion and the fashion industry, and will be preparing for a fast-paced, quickly evolving career in fashion merchandising.

Amy Wells writes about fashion education. Thinking of attending Fashion
School? Get the facts first, find out where to go and how to save money on Fashion
School.

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The Internet has revolutionized education. Distance and online learning is one of the fastest growing segments of the educational field. If you are thinking of attending fashion school for a fashion merchandising degree or certificate, you may want to consider an online fashion design program. These online programs have evolved and are more comprehensive and sophisticated to meet student needs.
As a fashion merchandising student, you’ll learn the nuts and bolts of fashion design and marketing. You’ll study the whole cycle of fashion creation, concentrating primarily on the manufacturing, buying, selling, and promotion of items to retail and other outlets. You’ll also learn about the actual textiles that create fabrics, and their manufacture.
There are many advantages to studying fashion merchandising online. You will have a more flexible schedule, and can study around your job, or other responsibilities. A great way to get even more prepared for working in the field is to take a fashion-related job while you are attending school online. This will help you get real world fashion experience that can enrich your online education, and help qualify you for your fashion merchandising career once you graduate.
There are a number of schools that offer online programs. Many respectable and respected fashion campuses also offer an online component. Its better to enroll in an online program that is well-known and has a presence in the fashion industry. Many schools offer a two year associates degree or a certificate, and some schools offer a four year bachelor degree. Whatever degree program you choose, you want to make sure that your online program has the appropriate accreditation, so that when you graduate, your achievement has merit in the industry, and is recognizable.
Another factor to consider is the job placement assistance offered after you graduate. Most schools will have statistics regarding the number of graduates working the fashion merchandising industry. Before you enroll, you should review the school’s job assistance program, and make sure it is comprehensive as possible.
A fashion merchandising career is one of the most flexible and varied in the fashion industry. Once you have achieved your diploma or certification, there are a wide variety of positions available. You could work in retail as store manager, or store owner. You could also work as a fashion buyer, merchandiser, fashion event planner, and that is just a small number of the variety of positions available.
If you live too far away to attend an on campus fashion school, or need more flexibility with your schedule, an online fashion merchandising program may be a good fit for you. More and more schools are catering to the needs of their students by offering online degree and certificate studies, and there are now a number to choose from. Your fashion career could be just a few mouse clicks away.

Amy Wells writes about fashion education. Thinking of attending Fashion
School? Get the facts first, find out where to go and how to save money on Fashion
School.

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