How to Get a Job in Fashion

All I can say is if you want to truly break into this industry: Network! Network! Network!

Volunteer everywhere and anywhere you can. (The TFI is looking for volunteers for their upcoming New Labels show.) Talk to the people you meet in the industry - find out what they do - get their business cards. Print your own business cards and keep them handy at all times. (A customized fashion figure by Danielle Meder on Moo cards would be perfect! See mine on the left.) Make a list of the careers you are interested in and contact those people - ask if you can job shadow them for a day or have a ten-minute information interview.

You may also want to pick up Jeanne Beker's new book Passion for Fashion. (Yes, it is the most over-used term out there, but it gets the point across.)

As noted on Amazon.ca: The dynamic author-illustrator team of Jeanne Beker and Nathalie Dion again work their magic in this comprehensive career guide, with a detailed resource section at the back, for those who dream of working in fashion. The famous Coco Chanel said that fashion “is something in the air … you feel it coming,” and this book captures the excitement, inspiration, and passion of the whole industry. From agent to designer, model, photographer, stylist, makeup artist, retail fashion director, publicist, journalist, fashion illustrator, creative director, editor-in-chief, trend forecaster, fashion show producer, color specialist, and personal shopper to all the people behind the scenes, Jeanne Beker informs, entertains, and inspires. Discover the ins and outs of fashion production, the players, and who deciphers what’s hot. In this common-sense career guide, Jeanne Beker’s down-to-earth approach, peppered with quotes and mini profiles of successful fashion people, lets us explore what we love about fashion while receiving practical advice on how to break into this diverse and creative industry.

Happy fashion networking!

How Luxury Lost It's Lustre

I'm reading Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre by Dana Thomas. I can't guarantee on when I'll be finished. Between work and trying to read it on crammed subway cars in rush hour, I've only just gotten about a third through, but I will try and squeeze in some time to share my thoughts.

If you want a history of the luxury industry definitely pick it up. It's a really interesting read (well, so far anyway) and it's chock full of facts and stories about all the major luxury brand labels.

I've never been a label whore and I've never understood the draw to the Louis Vuitton handbag that everyone seems to covet - real or fake. But I do love that she brings it all out to the forefront about most luxury brands being owned by major publicly traded companies and mass-manufactured in the same factories as Walmart. Just check out the LVMH website to see who they own.

Seems like Thomas is making quite a scene in the international fashion community. A recent clip from Fashion Television interviewed the author on the book and tried to get many of fashion's influencers to voice their opinion on the topics discussed in the book - many kept their mouths zipped tighter than their grasp on their $3,000 Balenciaga purse. Check out the clip here.

If you do decide to read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.