I have been asked many times in the past whether it is imperative to major in fashion to work in the fashion industry. Although I have many feelings about this from my personal and professional perspective, here are my unfiltered thoughts. First, you don’t need formal education from a university or school in order to study fashion or work in the fashion industry. Unless you are doing something along the lines of supply chain management or actually studying the art of design because you plan to create clothing, the fashion industry is really built around networking and hands-on experience.
Do you need a degree to work in the fashion industry?
A lot of other skills in the fashion industry can be acquired through both transferable skills as well as hands-on experience. When I was in school, I double-majored in English in Greek. And I can say that being an English major helped me step into editorial roles and in media as a whole. Because I knew how to read write and research. I could have gone the route of majoring in something such as broadcast journalism, print journalism, or digital media. However, I wanted to make sure that my major was in something a bit more holistic, and something that I could tap into no matter what I decided to pursue as a career.
My master’s, on the other hand, is focusing on the business of fashion, which is where I get a lot more technical experience working on the business side of fashion entities in industries. This was a personal decision that I made because after working in the industry for almost a decade, I have noticed a lot of changes that can really make or break an editor an influencer, and a media publication, such as mine. Because of that, I wanted to broaden my experience by learning a bit more about the specificities that happen in our industry, which is why I am pursuing formal education.
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However, I want to urge people to understand that I had already been in the industry for almost a decade, before capitalizing on formal education in fashion. I’m not saying that you need to get a master’s degree, or even that your master’s degree needs to be any fashion-related category. There are pros and cons to each. But one thing I will say is that the industry is constantly changing and evolving. And so getting a formal education or a degree in something that is too niche can silo you for future advancement and possibilities. But then doing something too broad may not give you the specialized training that you’re seeking.
In any case, I think it’s very important for you to evaluate the pros and cons of your education. But specifically ask yourself, if you will acquire information that you cannot get with hands-on experience. That leads me to my second and another point, which is that hands-on and real-life experience will always trump any formal education.
When you look at different designers, editors, and stylists, many of them can attest to actually getting their hands dirty being the reason how they were able to grow their personal brands, as well as grow in the industry. It does not matter how much formal education you have if you cannot work for a specific publication or publications and if no one can vouch for you, the art of networking, building key stakeholders, and even finding mentors in the industry will allow you to grow personally and professionally, but also will set you up for success in ways that a school name or major cannot.
Now, I believe that this is another example of how two things can feed into one another because you may go to a top tier fashion school and be in a top tier fashion program, which may open you up to new networking opportunities and the right people to network with that, in turn, It may result in job opportunities upon graduation, which might spearhead you a little bit further along than someone who goes to a no-name school in the middle of nowhere, and is starting from the bottom. However, as someone who started from the bottom and built her way up, I can say that there is no real solution or one answer to this question. There are pros and cons to each. But it’s all about your individual journey and what works for you. So in conclusion, I think that you have to look at an individual level what it is that you want. Do you want an immediate network and a strong name?
Or do you want to get some work experience under your belt and figure out what is transferable in your industry? For me, I am really proud of the fact that because of my work experience and the various jobs that I have held, it has made me a stronger student in grad school, and has also allowed for me to see my role in my community and in my industry from a more holistic viewpoint. That is what works for me personally. But what I do know is that you should not let your education be the reason why you do not pursue what it is that is on your heart. At the end of the day, step up and show up and the world will work around you!
