Fashion Merchandising: More than Selling Clothes

by Candice Mancini
Fashion Design School Review Columnist

When one thinks of fashion merchandising, clothing and dollar signs often flash in the mind. Of course, fashion merchandising includes clothing sales, but, as you should learn in fashion school, much more is involved.

Practical and Passionate Fashion Education

College graduates often complain that their classroom experience taught them nothing practical. Unfortunately, many don’t realize this until they’re out looking for work, when potential employees are murmuring something about their lack of useful experience. Fashion schools often avoid this predicament for their students.

Of course, fashion schools also allow students to pursue their fashion passions. But a little in-school practicality should not interfere with that.

Fashion Merchandising College

Even with the practical knowledge gained, most college graduates should expect to start at entry level and work their way up; still, such knowledge should improve any job prospects. In fashion merchandising college, what you learn should reflect what you’ll do later on the job. Contrary to what many believe, this includes a lot more than selling clothes. Fashion merchandising college should teach students the following industry-specific expertise:

• How to manufacture fashion goods
• Buying and selling fashion goods
• Promoting fashion goods
• Accounting
• Facts about fabrics and textiles

Your fashion merchandising college professors should be insider fashion-industry experts and offer students plenty of hands-on experience. This will not only teach you useful skills, but it might introduce you to valuable contacts for when you’re out of school.

Fashion is more than Clothes

Many people enter the fashion industry because they love clothes. But fashion, including fashion merchandising, involves much more, including jewelry, cosmetics, furniture, and crafts. Such diversity will be good news once you are a fashion school graduate facing those murmuring potential employers.

About the Author

Candice Mancini has an M.A. in education and a B.A. in English and history.

Source(s)

Fashion Merchandising

Posted on September 18, 2007 at 04:04 PM