Misha Kaura – Designing Your Way Into The Fashion Industry
If you fancy yourself as a fashion designer then you’ll probably already be aware of just how tricky it can be to get into the fashion industry. This is notoriously a difficult industry to break into but it can be done if you are committed and dedicated, and if your designs are worth wearing. To find out more about how you can forge yourself a career as a fashion designer we spoke to industry expert Misha Kaura who had some excellent tips to share. If this is your dream, here is how you can make it a reality.
Nailing Your Designs
Before you even think about starting to showcase your designs you need to work extremely hard on getting them right. Ask yourself what is it about your pieces that people are going to like, are you creating something different? Do you have a signature style which people will instantly recognize? These are the kind of questions which you need to ask yourself because once you get a foot in the door, you need to ensure that your designs will hold up to the scrutiny which they will be put under.
Creating a Buzz
Creating a buzz around your designs used to be far more difficult than it is now but since the dawn of the internet this has been made far easier, although much more competitive. In order to create a buzz around your products you need to create social media channels and be heavily active in showcasing your designs on there. Many designers have never actually ‘entered’ into the fashion industry through the front door, because social media channels like Instagram have created something of a back door. Start canvassing on social media and get your designs out there.
Influencers
The next step in creating a buzz is to have people wearing your designs who have a large following. This will cost you some money but if you do it right then you will see a huge bump in popularity of your products. You can seek out fashion influencers online and pay them directly to wear your clothes and upload photos, alternatively you can send your clothing to people for free in the hope that they will wear them. A photo is worth a huge amount of exposure so don’t overlook this part of the process.
Jobs and Cold Calls
Fashion houses are always on the look out for new designers and whilst they do look to people on social media who show talent and flare, they do still follow the traditional route. If you are going to apply for a position then you will need to have a qualification in fashion design, or you will have to be a great talker and a brilliant designer. If you can’t find jobs which are readily available then you will need to start calling up some fashion houses and selling yourself over the phone.
Remember just how difficult it is to enter this industry, focus hard on your designs and make sure that they do the talking, not just you.