Writing For A Living: Fashion Journalism

However, not many people think about forging a career in writing, despite the countless opportunities available. Breaking into the fashion industry as a writer is probably a thought that has never crossed your mind, but in a time where blogging dominates the online world — it’s never been a more realistic career path.

We’re now in 2019, and the fashion industry has never been more inclusive. If you previously wanted to break into fashion, you’d have to catch the eye of talent managers, have studied at a specialised university or come from a well-known family. While this often still applies, the fashion community has become less exclusive and recently welcomed more entry methods for driven fashionistas with a voice.

Is fashion a reliable career though? To give you an idea of the scale of work in the UK, there are 555,000 people in fashion, textiles and fashion retail — which is a market with a domestic value of £66 billion. In this article, we look at what it takes to land a position as a fashion journalist in 2019, and it’s not just jet-setting around the world to each country’s much-anticipated Fashion Week.

Opportunities available for fashion journalists

When it comes to fashion journalism, building your personal brand is essential; this can open you up to many more opportunities than you think. When you think of fashion journalism, your mind will naturally consider print magazines — the likes of Vogue, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and ELLE. This is the most dominant medium for fashion communication, followed by newspaper columns and books.

Although print is popular, and subscriptions still seem to be going strong, more publications are developing their online presence. Writing is a massive part of fashion journalism, especially for well-established publications. It’s a chance for those passionate about fashion to share their own experiences and opinions on the latest events and trends within the industry — building up a loyal community of readers who will likely return to read future pieces.

People care about what they can see visually too, especially in fashion — despite writing being the core part of this job. This in turn has allowed people to further their own career across a range of areas. When TV opportunities do present themselves, you will usually see fashion experts appear as correspondents on news shows where they can express their opinions on any topical areas, or as guest panellists on daytime programmes. As well as those routes of presenting, online video platforms that host interviews or Q&A’s are becoming more common too.

Because relationships are crucial as a fashion journalist, it’s important that you have strong people skills. Making friends with clothing brands is essential, so you gain all exclusive access to upcoming launches. Take QUIZ for example, they’ve built relationships with a lot of online bloggers and often send them going out dresses to review! Taking up new opportunities and gaining experience in an array of different areas will allow you to become one of the most powerful fashion journalists in the world — but drive, passion and attitude all play a significant role in success.

Entering the industry

For many people aiming to step foot into this industry, university is their main avenue as it can offer them the right skills they need to ensure a successful career. Today, courses will cover a range of print and digital skills, which allows graduates to easily adapt to any working environment and keep up with the constant changes that the industry is facing and making them more employable than any other applicant.

University courses around this subject last three years, but people who apply must have some sort of experience in the field. With this in mind, it’s crucial to gain as much experience as you can get in the area you’d like to focus on in the future and express this in your personal statement. For writers in particular, having your own blog where you can express your own views is essential. Aside from this, you could even reach out to major publications and ask them to host your work; building up valuable relationships at an early stage of your career.

Considered work experience for easy entry? Although the companies you work for will depend on your location — with many major brands and publications in London — there are still countless opportunities up for grabs. Check out your regional news publications and marketing agencies that work with big brands, where you could become a copywriter!

If you want to enter the fashion industry more naturally without a degree, it will take a lot of hard work and dedication, but if you’re passionate, this shouldn’t be a problem. It’s all about studying in your own time and developing your knowledge about the industry itself.

Setting up a blog to aid your portfolio is something that you should consider. By having a well-established readership, you’ll present yourself as someone who knows what they’re doing. You can create your own website for free on the likes of WordPress, Wix and Yola, which will allow you to test the waters and publish your work for the world to see. From writing reviews about your shirts for men to creating beautifully presented look-books, you’ll be flying! If you need inspiration for your articles I would recommend that you try out this random facts resource which will be sure to cure any writer’s block.

Social media is another place to develop your presence and generate more exposure for your work. As fashion-focused content is usually visual, Instagram could allow you to create a loyal audience if you’re able to post high-quality images for everyone to gasp over. If you want to create a strong image portfolio for everyone to admire, you should try and stick to a colour theme which allows your profile to look professional — think whites and pastel hues! From this, you’ll be able to direct your following to your website.

After you create more work, freelancing will become an option. This could be offering expertise on major fashion events for a range of different publications, or editing other peoples work; allowing you to maintain a stable income each month.

How will you enter the fashion industry in 2019?

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