In today’s competitive fashion industry, landing a job with a prestigious brand or company requires more than just a passion for style. Fashion brands seek candidates who have a unique blend of skills that not only align with their vision but also contribute to the success of the business. 

Whether you want to work in fashion design, marketing, retail, or management, having specific skills can significantly enhance your chances of securing a coveted position. Style Nine to Five Founder, Christie Lohr, recruits for roles with top fashion brands across the country—from Lululemon to Loewe—and she’s sharing her insider secrets on what skills fashion brands really want when hiring new employees. 

Let’s explore the key job skills that fashion brands look for in potential candidates and actionable tips for developing and showcasing your qualifications.

6 Job Skill Areas That Fashion Brands Look For

The skills you need for a job in the fashion industry are largely dependent on your role, whether you’re working in apparel design, operations and logistics, or eCommerce. Niche skills aside, there’s a set of capability areas that can apply to a wide range of fashion jobs, and being well-versed in these qualifications can help you stand apart from other applicants and set you up for success. 

Christie’s employer clients post a variety of roles on the Style Nine to Five job board and enlist her recruiting services for many positions, but she sees a few trending roles that come up again and again. “I’d say the roles I’ve specifically been recruiting for are eCommerce, digital marketing, and social media marketing,” she says. 

If those positions are in your wheelhouse, you’re in luck. If not, there are plenty of other opportunities in the fashion industry. Either way, you’ll want to have skills in these six areas to ensure that you’re a top candidate for any role with a fashion brand.

1. Fashion Industry Knowledge

Strong knowledge of the fashion industry will position you as a strong contender for open jobs. Beyond enjoying reading fashion magazines or shopping hot brands, true industry knowledge encompasses these areas:

• Brand Knowledge: Familiarity with luxury fashion brands, competing brands, and different labels’ fit, target audience, and strengths

• Sustainable Fashion Practices: Knowledge of ethical manufacturing practices, textile recycling technologies, slow fashion ideology, and circular economy principles

• Trend Awareness and Forecasting: Analytic understanding of the current trend landscape and the business impact of emerging trends

• Textile Knowledge: Understanding different fabrics’ composition, materials, sustainable textile innovations, and production processes

2. Technical Proficiency

What digital skills do you need for the fashion industry? There are tons of software platforms to learn and the list changes quickly as new technology enters the fashion industry tech skills landscape. Like any other industry, technology is increasingly important and necessary for completing tasks. These are some of the most common technologies that fashion brands are looking for in candidates:

• CAD Software: Mastery of computer-aided design (CAD) software to create detailed technical drawings for manufacturing purposes like Clo3D, or Lectra

• Adobe Suite: In-depth familiarity with software like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop

• Google and Microsoft Suites: Proficiency in Excel or Google Sheets and Powerpoint or Google Slides for analytic, logistics, and business communication purposes

• Marketing Software: Aptitude in email and social media tools like Canva, Klayvio, Mailchimp, Hootsuite, and Buffer

• Content Publishing and eCommerce Platforms: Experience with applications like WordPress, Squarespace, Shopify, etc. 

• Computer Languages: Knowledge of languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

• Analytics and SEO Tools: Skills with Google Analytics, SEMrush, Ahrefs, 

• CRM Software: Capability in customer relationship management (CRM) systems like HubSpot, Salesforce, Monday.com, or Zendesk

• AI: Ability to create AI content through generative software like ChatGPT, Drift, and Apollo

3. Business Acumen 

Fashion brands are businesses—bottom line. Whether you work in the warehouse or are part of a brand’s C-suite, strong business knowledge will take you far in the industry, especially when your qualifications include these skill areas:

• Fashion Marketing: Understanding consumer behavior, branding, and marketing strategies specific to the fashion industry

• Retail and Merchandising: Knowledge of retail operations, customer service, inventory management, and visual merchandising

• Supply Chain Management: Awareness of sourcing, production, and distribution processes

• Entrepreneurial Mindset: Willingness to take calculated risks and explore new ideas and revenue opportunities

• Business Management: Adept in business development, financial and budget management, and performance projections

• Project Management: Skills in full-cycle management and logistics from concept to completion, timelines and budget management, risk analysis, and cross-functional team collaboration

• eCommerce Knowledge: Understanding of online sales logistics including warehouse processing, shipping, returns management, online payment systems, and awareness of new operational developments

• Retail Math: Proficiency in pricing strategies, profit margins, and inventory management is vital for merchandising and buying positions

4. Analytical Skills 

Analytical abilities are more important than ever as brands measure success from every angle. Expect to see these skills in fashion industry job descriptions and be prepared to flex your knowledge in these core analytics areas:

• Data Analysis: Interpreting market research data, sales figures, campaign success, audience engagement, ROI, website performance, and more

• Competitive Analysis: Profiling and analysis of competing brands’ strategies, products, and campaigns

• KPIs: Setting clearly defined, measurable objectives and monitoring performance against company benchmarks

• eCommerce Analytics: Analyzing sales data and consumer behavior metrics like conversion rates and UTM parameters for digital traffic

5. Communication and Interpersonal Abilities

Part of having the right skill set to work for a fashion brand is knowing how to communicate your knowledge. Being able to articulate, present, and discuss your ideas with a variety of stakeholders and team members is key and these skills will help you do just that:

• Presentation Skills: Ability to articulate and present ideas to a variety of audiences with confidence

• Negotiation Skills: Essential for dealing with suppliers, manufacturers, and business partners

• Team Collaboration: Working effectively within cross-functional teams, in agile team environments, or in a team leadership role

• Networking: Building relationships within the industry to open doors for opportunities and collaborations.

6. Digital Content and Social Media 

In this digital age, nearly every piece of a fashion brand exists online in some form. Being familiar with your own social media is a start, but you’ll need to level up your skills to professional-level status if you want to be a contender to work at a fashion brand. These digital content skills are a must-have for jobs with fashion brands:

• Social Media Marketing: Understanding the role of social platforms in fashion branding and engagement and knowledge of creating and executing social media campaigns

• Digital Marketing Skills: Familiarity with digital marketing strategies, trends, and practical applications 

• Content Creation: Ability to ideate and generate compelling visual and written content for digital channels

Key Soft Skills for Fashion Jobs

Unlike hard skills, which are tangible, specific competencies and abilities, soft skills are interpersonal traits that aren’t necessarily measurable and can be applied in a variety of situations. We asked Christie what soft skills are the most relevant for fashion brands and these are her top picks for candidates to possess:

• Critical and Innovative Thinking: Identifying challenges and proposing innovative solutions with creative problem-solving

• Leadership: Learning the fine art of motivating others and being fair but firm in decision-making and delegation

• Positive Attitude: It doesn’t matter who you are or what your role is, a great attitude will set you far above anyone who brings negative energy to the workplace.

• Adaptability: Flexibility, agility, and being quick to pivot in a fast-paced, ever-changing industry 

• Empathy and Cultural Sensitivity: Learning an empathetic approach and employing techniques to work respectfully with diverse teams, partners, and vendor groups

• Resiliency: Ability to handle stress as calmly as possible and think clearly in difficult situations and unforeseen circumstances

• Attention To Detail: Precision matters in every aspect of a fashion industry job from designing a garment or executing a marketing campaign

Transferrable Fashion Job Skills From Other Industries

Christie says that many fashion brands will consider applicants who are making a career change from other fields. Generally speaking, fashion companies are open to candidates coming from other industries, especially if they have hard skills or tech skills or can demonstrate ongoing education and learning fashion-related technology, marketing, operations, or project management.

In addition to tech capabilities, other important transferrable skills are leadership, customer service, cross-functional teamwork and communication, data analysis, and being knowledgeable about the fashion industry. 

To make the move to fashion from another industry, use your cover letter to make a clear case for how your skills can directly translate to the role you’re applying for. Providing tangible examples on your resume and in your cover letter will strengthen your candidacy, as will metrics or career highlights that you can relate to the fashion industry.

Less Important Skills for Fashion Industry Jobs

You might be surprised to learn that some skills that you think are must-haves are actually not important when working in the fashion industry. For starters, while having a strong sense of personal style can say a lot about who you are, fashion brands are more interested in the skills you can bring to the table rather than how stylish or trendy your outfits are. 

Having a passion for fashion is also something that fashion brands are less concerned with. Yes, it’s great to love your professional industry, but brands are more interested in whether you can bring your A-game to your fashion marketing job or work your data analysis wizardry at work, rather than what you thought of the latest issue of Vogue.

Fluency in multiple languages can come in handy but it’s not necessarily something that brands are seeking out. Additionally, there are obvious soft skills that are a given in any industry that you can leave off your fashion industry resume skills like professionalism—it’s a given that you should be professional, punctual, and willing to work under pressure, that’s part of any job.

Instead, focus on what you can bring to the role like the tangible, hard skills you can contribute to a fashion brand’s team and your unique experience that makes you qualified for the job.

How to Develop and Showcase Your Skills for Fashion Jobs

Learn the ropes and keep your skills sharp to position yourself as a top candidate for sought-after fashion industry jobs. These development tactics will help you stay current in your skillset and allow your qualifications to shine.

Education and Training

• Pursue relevant degrees or certifications in fashion design, merchandising, marketing, or business.

• Take specialized workshops, courses, or online tutorials to enhance specific skills in areas that are relevant to your job, or new skills that you want to acquire.

• Invest time learning industry-standard software and take courses or workshops to enhance your technical skills.

Internships and Work Experience

• Seek internships or part-time roles with fashion companies to gain practical, hands-on experience.

• Volunteer for fashion events or assist independent designers to facilitate building industry connections.

Build a Strong Portfolio

• Showcase your best work in a professional portfolio that highlights your skills and creativity.

• Include diverse projects that demonstrate your range and versatility.

• Keep your portfolio updated regularly and ensure all links are working so when it comes time to apply for a job, you’ll be ready to send it off to potential employers.

Networking and Industry Engagement

• Attend industry events, fashion shows, and networking meetups to meet professionals and learn from their experiences.

• Stay informed about industry news, market trends, and consumer preferences through industry publications, websites, and networking events.

• Join professional associations or online forums to stay connected with the fashion community.

Continuous Learning

• Stay curious and keep learning about emerging trends, technologies, and practices in the fashion industry.

• Seek feedback from mentors or peers to continuously improve your skills.

• Share your knowledge on fashion news or relevant learnings with others on your team to foster a learning-friendly environment.

Red Flags That Make Any Candidate an Automatic “No”

We asked Christie what deal breakers make a candidate a “no” for fashion brands. She shares that you can have all the qualifications in the world but your skills will fall flat if you commit these career sins:

• Talking negatively about a previous boss or company

• Lack of knowledge about the brand you’re applying for—do your homework!

• Poor email communication (you aren’t texting!)

• Inability to roll up your sleeves to get the job done—you’re never “too good” to pitch in. 

• Showing up late—your job should be a top priority and being on time shows that you’re taking it seriously

The Bottom Line

Working in the fashion industry can be incredibly rewarding for those with a passion for creativity, innovation, and style. By learning and flexing the essential job skills outlined in this guide, you can position yourself as a strong candidate for roles with top fashion brands. 

Are you a fashion brand looking to fill a role on your team but are having trouble attracting the right talent? Style Nine to Five’s Employer Branding package gives your job posts, LinkedIn page, and career page a much-needed makeover so you can find the best candidates to join your team.

 

Jeanine Gordon is a freelance content marketer with a passion for creating stellar strategies for global brands and small businesses alike, specializing in fashion, beauty, and lifestyle.