Fashion marketing and management people work throughout the industry. They are busy marketing collections for designers, creating fashion ad campaigns and filling the ranks of retail merchandising and management. Whether working for designers, ad agencies, fashion journals or retail establishments, their responsibility is to move fashion.
1. Attributes *
Marketing and management requires a great deal of fashion savvy. Understanding trend cycles, the ability to read numbers and create projections and possessing an affinity with the targeted consumer are basic requirements. Duties *
Marketers are ultimately responsible for making the consumer want the product. Expectations are high as marketers create brand desirability, stimulate sales and set fashion standards. They read consumer trends assuring adequate supplies without excess. They are responsible for what we see on the racks at retail establishments, and when they fail, what we see on the clearance rack. Fashion Trends *
Reading trends requires a look at the times. Is the public ready for a shorter skirt? Will women wear stilettos? When will fur make its comeback? Based on observation, fashion marketers determine what the public will accept. They wager on a new style "making it," and determine when a fad is on its way out. Numbers *
Past sales provide further clues. Numbers tell when a style is on the rise or decline. If the marketer works for the designer, production will be geared up or slowed down based on projected sales. When the marketer works for a retail establishment, orders are also made by projection. Retail Fashion *
In-store event personnel, promotional fashion coordinators, buyers, division forecasters, the sales floor, department managers and assistant managers are all a part of retail