Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Fashion Merchandising: Where Fashion and Business Meet


If you have a passion for fashion and a talent for business, than the exciting world of Fashion Merchandising may be just what you are looking for. The term Fashion Merchandising can sometimes be confusing because it involves certain processes or steps. It’s not just about the creation and design of clothing; it also includes thinking outside the box and creating a fashion empire of your very own. 

What is Fashion Merchandising? 
It goes without saying that the fashion industry has evolved over the years to become a highly competitive market. For most people, the way we dress and stay on top of growing trends has become more popular in the 21st century.  Fashion truly defines us and we have talented fashion designers and merchandiser to thank for it.

Fashion Merchandising extends into several different career options. Depending on what aspects of business and fashion appeals to you, you can choose many options to express your talents. You can focus on the manufacturing, selling or even buying fashion merchandise. 

Fashion merchandising usually involves at least to some degree, the creation of the item and when the item is bought and brought home by the consumer. It is a well balanced blend of creativity and acute business principles. By choosing a specific career path in fashion merchandising, you may find yourself responsible for getting the right fabrics from other marketplaces or suppliers. In other instances you may find yourself working with major designers; making sure the fashions they create will actually sell through marketing and targeting. 

Business Principles 
In general, fashion merchandising involves selling clothing to people who love fashion. Like stated above, fashion truly defines people and it is up to you to convince them of how and why they should dress to impress. To truly be successful in the industry you have to find the perfect balance in creation. This means that you must have the creativity, or ability to think beyond the conventional, while not travelling too far beyond the norm. 

Understanding the business principles involved also becomes very important. Budgeting is actually a huge factor. Spending just the right amount of money on particular items, then getting that money back takes knowledge and appropriate research. Avoiding an excess of unsold items is the key to great success. 

Deciding
If your passion for fashion comes with a knack for business then the next step is simply deciding what courses or fashion school is right for you. Courses in fashion merchandising will help you excel and perform the job accordingly. Breaking down the right sector is also an important decision.

A true passion for fashion gets right down to the ‘nitty gritty’ – shoes, undergarments, clothing and even accessories. Your talents must cover an ability to easily choose fabrics, then mixing materials, having an eye for color and even the talent to predict the next big thing to hit the fashion world.

This is why it is important to think outside the box; creative minds do incredibly well in this profession and help define clothing for everyday people. 

Here are some good resources to learn more about Fashion Merchandising
Get More Information From BLS: http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos291.htm
Read About a Major in Fashion Merchandising : http://www.collegeboard.com/csearch/majors_careers/profiles/majors/52.1902.html