A multibillion-dollar global enterprise devoted to the business of making and selling clothes.The fashion industry encompasses the design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, retailing, advertising, and promotion of all types of apparel (men’s, women’s, and children’s) from the most rarefied and expensive haute couture and designer fashions to ordinary everyday clothing—from couture ball gowns to casual sweatpants.

The fashion industry consists of four levels: the production of raw materials such as fibers and textiles; the production of fashion goods by designers, manufacturers, contractors, and others; retail level which includes distribution and sales of goods to the consumer; and the auxiliary level includes various forms of advertising and promotion.

Associate's Degree

Bachelor's Degree

Master's Degree

Degrees can be earn with an option in Fashion Merchandising or Fashion Design.

Median Annual Salary: $67,314

Job Description: A retail buyer is responsible for planning, selecting and purchasing quantities of goods and merchandise that are sold in retail stores. As a retail buyer you have to take into consideration market demands, current style trends, price, quality and customer’s shopping habits when selecting products to sell. The retail buyer is responsible for ensuring the store’s stock stays competitive and relevant to customer’s needs. They also analyze buying patterns, forecast trends for their target market and develop plans to maintain inventory levels.

Skills/Duties: Retail Math, Strong Negotiation, Data Analysis, Forescasting

Median Annual Salary: $63,348 + commission

Job Description: An account manager is a person who sells products or services for a company. They are responsible for the management of sales and relationships with particular customers. Wholesale fashion companies sell their products to department stores and have account managers who develop and maintain the corporate relationship. As a wholesale account manager in the fashion insudstry you are responsible for selling fashion goods like cosmetics, clothes, and accessories for department stores, boutiques, chain stores, etc.

Skills/Duties: Customer Service, Exceeding Sales and Revenue Targets, Relationship Buiding, Strong Sales,Interpersonal Skills

Median Annual Salary $62,006

Job Description: A Retail Manager leads all operations at the location and is responsible for making sure the store functions smoothly while optimizing profits. The Retail Manager will direct restocking efforts, floor merchandising plans, as well as conduct hiring, scheduling and training. Retail Manager garner respect and motivate personnel to perform at their maximum capacity, keeping the store in good working order.

Skills/Duties: Working Knowledge of Sales, Staff training, Merchandising, Ordering,Marketing Strong People-Skills

Median Annual Salary: $82,553

Job Description: Merchandise planners plan and forecast for future merchnadise buys based on historical buys, reoccurring buys and current inventory levels. They are esponsible for reviewing stock to sales ratios, reponding to changing sales trends, and ensuring plan sales, plan markup, and plan markdowns are achieved by departments. They review current inventory levels, seasonal needs and geographical data to forecast the consumer demand for their product category. The merchandise planner is also responsible for allocating and distributing merchandise to warehouses and stores across the country.

Skills/Duties: Strong Anlytical Skills, Retail Math, Problem Solving, Forecasting

Median Annual Salary $40,614

Job Description: A visual merchandiser works in retail sales and develops creative eye-catching displays to attract the customer’s attention and increase sales revenue.They encourage potential customers to enter stores and purchase merchandise. Additionally, a visual merchandiser will create floor plans for retail space and situates displays in an ideal position to encourage sales. They use marketing strategy and a creative approach to sales in order to promote the company's image visually.The visual merchandiser will plan, implement, and document the window displays, signage, floor plan displays, and special promotions that align with company strategy.

Skills/Duties: Creativity, Sales, Marketing, Attention to Detail

Median Annual Salary: $51,581

Job Description: Stylists are responsible for creating outfits and advising various ways to wear an article of clothing. Stylists generally work for individuals, fashion houses, and clothing brands. A brand’s stylist creates outfits for photo shoots to show the customer how to wear their clothes and accessories. Personal stylists work with clients to help them choose styles that flatter their body type and fit within their budget.

Skills/Duties: Creativity, Sense of Style, Interpersonal Skills, Detail Oriented

Median Annual Salary: $67,420

Job Description: Fashion designers use creativity to design new styles for their target customers. Most fashion designers work in street fashion, where clothing is mass-produced at an affordable price point. As a designer you gather inspiration from the previous season’s top sellers, runway shows and seasonal trends to design marketable styles for their customers. Responsible for choosing colors, fabrics, styles and managing of new design and fit styles while also maintaining corporate standards for bulk production.

Skills/Duties: Creative, Trend Forecasting, Fabric Sourcing, Sketching

Median Annual Salary: $45,677

Job Description: Graphic designers combine hand drawing and computer-aided design to create individual images that are printed on garments. Graphic designers have a strong sense of color and design cohesiveness and use these to develop visually-pleasing graphics. They primarily develop designs in CAD programs but can start by hand drawing and transferring it into the CAD software. Graphic designers also use creativity to create a feasible design by selecting colors, fonts, photographs, layouts and other design elements.

Skills/Duties: Visual Creativity, CAD Skills, Innovative, Technical Skills

Median Annual Salary: $55,055

Job Description: Textile designers are involved in coming up with innovative ideas and developing commercially-appealing designs and prints for a variety of fabrics, clothing and non-clothing materials, furnishing materials, industrial fabrics and other related materials, using both natural and manmade fibres.Textile designers hand illustrate or use CAD software to create designs that can be printed on fabrics like wovens, knits, etc.

Skills/Duties: Technical Skills, CAD Skills, Creativity, Innovative, Forecasting, Fabric /Material Knowledge

Median Annual Salary: $124,070

Job Description: The creative director is responsible for determining the overarching theme, color palette and styling of an apparel season’s collection. They can work for an apparel company or fashion magazine. The creative director must be able to generate fresh ideas that are appealing to the target market.An apparel creative director conducts trend research and reviews high-level sales data to determine what trending colors and styles their customers will likely purchase. At the beginning of each season, they meet with senior designers to establish the color palette, theme, inspiration sources and any key design elements they want to see in the collection. Throughout development, the creative director ensures the designs are staying on track and maintaining cohesiveness

Skills/Duties: Techinical Skills, Creativity, Planning, Leadership Skills, Analytical, Trend Research and Forecast

Median Annual Salary: $71,531

Job Description: Product developers oversee the apparel process from design conception to production completion. They are the apparel company’s primary contact with the factory and are responsible for choosing appropriate factories to produce each product. The product developer handles the cost and timeline negotiations with the factory. They also develop or source the fabrics, buttons, zippers and trims that the designers want to use in the product. The product developer must ensure all materials and the final garment meet the brand’s quality standards.

Skills/Duties: Retail Math, Strong Negotiation, Data Analysis, Forescasting

Median Annual Salary: $65,291

Job Description: The Technical Designer works closely with the Head of Development and Design to manage a variety of projects, including creation of design sheets, tech pack submissions, and sampling.The design team gives the technical designer the creative vision for each garment, and they determine what stitches and hem finishing will be used. The technical designer is responsible for communicating these sewing details to the factory, along with the garment measurements.Their primary responsibility is fitting the garments when the samples arrive from the factory and revising the measurements, pattern or sewing methods as needed to make a high-quality, well-fitting garment.

Skills/Duties: Attention to Detail, CAD Skills, Technical Skills,Production

Median Annual Salary: $75,940

Job Description: The quality assurance manager is responsible for ensuring garment quality standards are maintained throughout production.Responsible for the design and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure that quality standards are met during production. Oversees testing of processes and products.An apparel brand’s QA manager oversees the stock as it arrives in the warehouse and randomly checks pieces to ensure quality standards have been met.

Skills/Duties: Attention to Detail, Communication Skills, Leadership, Problem Solving

Median Annual Salary: $63,550

Job Description: The production manager is responsible for overseeing all elements of the garment manufacturing process, including fabric testing, cutting, sewing, final garment appearance and packaging.They ensure the manufacturers are complying with all legal and ethical requirements. The production manager is also responsible for ensuring the timeline negotiated by the product developer is met during production and shipping. The production manager and product developer roles can be combined or duties interchanged depending on the company’s structure.

Skills/Duties: Production, Planning, Problem Solving, Leadership, Attention to Detail