Fashion Programs

Your fashion career starts here

• Fashion Design Career: Getting Started
• Fashion Journalism: Write Your Own Career Path
• Fashion Marketing: The Trendsetting Business
• Fashion Merchandising: A Career in the Fashion Business
• Fashion Retail Management: Career Training in the Business
• Fashion Visual Merchandising: Career Training for the Style Business
• The Four Hottest Fashion Jobs and the Career Training Information You Need to Get Them

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Fashion Merchandising: A Career in the Fashion Business

Do you like spending your weekends sifting through flea market racks for those chic retro gems? Do your friends always ask to borrow your funky shoes and designer jewelry? If so, maybe it's time to walk your career down the runway. As a fashion merchandising student, you can learn about textiles, fabrics, and the culture of the way people dress--and you can graduate as a confident business professional at the heart of the fashion world.

In a fashion merchandising degree program, you'll learn how to manufacture, buy, promote, and sell clothing and accessories. This can include everything from clothing and jewelry to cosmetics and even furniture. You'll also learn about textiles, or the fabrics and fibers used to make these items.

How do you know if you have what it takes to succeed in this exciting fashion job? It's a good career for creative thinkers with a strong eye for color and design. You should also have strong math skills and enjoy working on long, detailed projects. If you love shopping, that's an extra perk!

Designer Training: Fashion Merchandising Degrees

Pursue a degree in fashion merchandising to obtain the skills you need to become a savvy business professional with your finger on the pulse of the fashion world. You'll study the history of fashion, learn about fabrics and textiles, and examine style and design in different cultures. You'll also master business accounting skills and get an inside look at the latest fashion trends and how to predict what's coming next. Typical coursework may include:

• Introduction to the fashion industry
• Fashion business practices
• Fashion merchandising principles
• Import buying
• Fundamentals of textiles

Many of these courses are hands-on rather than textbook oriented, including project work, field trips, and guest designers. You may visit successful fashion magazines or clothing companies, and even take in a couple of fashion shows. You can benefit from the experience of professors and designers who have spent years in the fashion business.

Fashion Merchandising Careers: The Style Business

Graduates of fashion merchandising programs are qualified to launch a wide variety of fashion careers such as:

• Fashion show coordinator
• Department manager
• Personal shopper
• Assistant fashion buyer
• Fashion consultant
• Marketing manager or assistant

No degree can guarantee a particular salary, but many of these jobs can lead to financial success. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, median annual earnings for a purchasing agent in 2007 were $53,580. The median income in the same year for purchasing managers was $90,430 and $113,400 for marketing managers.

With your degree in fashion merchandising, you can get moving toward one of these exciting and glamorous careers today.

• Bureau of Labor Statistics, Purchasing Managers, Buyers, and Purchasing Agents
• Bureau of Labor Statistics, Advertising, Marketing, Promotions, Public Relations, and Sales Managers