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Four professionals engaged in different aspects of the fashion industry recently spoke at a presentation on their industry.

Vicki Busch is a Talent Agent who founded her own company, Vicki Busch Talent and Model Management, located in Danville, CA. Although her undergraduate training and degree were in nursing, it was her volunteer work at a theater company that launched her into the talent and entertainment business.

Emily Marzullo is a recent Cal graduate who earned her BA in Political Science and works as a Distribution Planning Analyst for the Banana Republic Division of Gap, Inc. The merchandising and financial planning team she is a part of handles women's accessories nationwide.

Tara Spivey has been with Macy's West for 11 years and is currently the Human Resource Manager for Sales Promotion and College Relations. After receiving a bachelor's in business, her career path at Macy's took her from retail to the human resource side of the company.

Simon Ungless is Assistant Fashion Director and Director of Graduate Fashion at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. As a designer who received his fashion degrees in London, he balances graduate teaching with ongoing fashion projects, including fashion shows, new clothing designs, and fashion advertisements.

What does a slice of the fashion life look like?

For a fashion designer like Simon, any given day involves working on creative projects, including design research, design development, color development, or producing runway shows. In his line of work, constant communication - with project collaborators, fashion students, models, ad agency representatives - is expected, so knowing how to deal with diverse people is key. Similarly, Vicki's job as a talent agent involves frequent phone and in-person interactions that introduce her to new and different people every day. Because she works with potential talent from babies to grandmothers, and manages clients interested in video, film, print media, and television exposure, she engages in continuous networking and negotiation.

On the fashion business side, Tara typically works with new employees participating in training and mentoring programs, or interacts with college students interested in career options in retail. She enjoys the leadership role her job requires and appreciates the opportunities she has to meet motivated young adults transitioning from college to career. Emily spends much of her work day collaborating with her team of merchandisers and planners on four fashion seasons simultaneously to determine the fashion trends in women's accessories for Banana Republic. Proposals for new looks of the incoming season are compared with the current and previous seasons to strategize how the group will proceed with their product distributions.

What kind of skills and/or training are helpful when trying to break into the fashion industry?

Across the board, the panelists agreed that interpersonal and networking skills are crucial to creating positive relationships with others they encounter on the job, whether they are a potential new modeling client or an assistant fashion editor. Learning to become a good, clear communicator by honing your writing and public speaking skills not only helps in possibly landing your first fashion job, but also makes it easier to give high-quality presentations of your work to an audience of hundreds who are attending a fashion show you are directing. One panelist's suggestion to develop stronger interpersonal skills was to become involved in a variety of extracurricular activities so you can meet new people and practice the art of networking.

Several panelists emphasized the benefits of gaining a solid sense of business and marketing either through classes or work experience. Because Vicki runs her own company, she finds herself having to deal with multiple aspects of the talent business, including financial management and marketing concerns. In Emily's case, when she interviewed for her job, she encountered a series of math tests because her analyst position is very numbers oriented.

Technical skills are also essential, whether the job involves spreadsheet work in MS Excel or artistic editing using software programs such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Specialized technical skills (in painting, drawing, or photography) are necessary for positions such as Simon's where hands-on creative work is integral to the fashion design process.

All the panelists stressed how important and valuable internships are in acquiring the necessary skills to prepare for a fashion-related job. Paid internships programs, such as the one offered by Gap, Inc., can be competitive and tend to have early recruitment periods during early to mid-spring semester. Another alternative is to arrange for a non-paid internship by approaching creative agencies, stylists, fashion editors, or fashion producers to say you have the time and want to learn. Although you may not earn a stipend, you will definitely gain experience and exposure to the industry.

What job search advice is there for the fashion hopeful?

If a corporate fashion career is what you desire, you may want to follow Emily's example and attend one of the several Career Fairs organized through the Career Center. After meeting a Gap recruiter at one of the campus fairs, Emily decided to follow up on her networking contact by registering for On-Campus Recruiting (OCR) so she could interview with the recruiter. After several interview rounds, she was hired.

Another strategy to get into corporate fashion is to work in the field (in the stores) as a sales associate at your fashion retailer of choice. Oftentimes, employers will hire from within and look favorably upon any experience you've had in the store dealing directly with their products and customers.

If you prefer the non-corporate career path, you can get your foot in the door through volunteering, internships, networking, and persistence. As one panelist encouraged, "Speak up, be heard, and find experiences to help you get to where you want to be."

Additional Resources

Fashion Net - Online guide to fashion that covers fashion news, designer bios, career information, and job listings

Fashion Group International - A global nonprofit association of over 6,000 professionals representing all areas of the fashion, apparel, accessories, beauty, and home industries

Career Field - Fashion / Textile Art

CareerMail - Arts & Entertainment