What It Takes To Be A Fashionista!!!

by Salma Moustafa

Not knowing what you want to do or be when it comes to pursuing a career path in fashion can be very confusing and at times stressful.

You might get into fashion school with a dream of becoming a fashion buyer,but after after taking a few classes, you shift gears and realize you want to work in a magazine or perhaps,even become a designer.

Confusion no more, here are a few tips to help you get your foot in the door,gain as much experience as possible and help you figure out what exactly your passion is:

• Take on as many internships and volunteer opportunities as possible so that you can gain extensive experience within the industry.Volunteer at events like LG Fashion Week and Fashion Group International. Intern at stores like Anthropologie,Holt Renfrew, The Bay, as well as showrooms and magazines.Contact showrooms and Canadian-based fashion designers and ask them if they are looking for interns,and usually they are.Magazines are also a great opportunity for experience,like Flare,Elle Canada and Fashion Magazine, which are always on the lookout for passionate interns so keep your ears and eyes peeled.Also,sign up for Magnet Creative's,intern newsletter. Magnet Creative is a Toronto based fashion Boutique PR,Marketing and Event Management company which brings you the best in fashion.
  


• Networking is key.Establishing and forming contacts is essential to make it in this industry,or any industry for that matter.Make business cards and hand them out.Set up a Twitter and Facebook account and follow people in the fashion industry to stay abreast on fashion trends and opportunities that arise.Always be in the know.Social networking is the next big thing and you want to be able to gain exposure and brand yourself.
  
  
• Join the Toronto Fashion Incubator,a non-profit organization,with an amazing resource center, that helps promote the growth and promotion of the Canadian fashion community by helping young entrepreneurs and people entering the fashion industry a chance to learn more about the business side of fashion through private consultations with experienced mentors and educational seminars.
  
  
• Work in Retail.It is no secret that working in retail exposes you to a wide array of the fashion industry because you get to take on as many tasks from sales, to visual merchandising, to the planning and promotion of events and so on.Take working in retail as an opportunity to learn more about the fashion world and the key players within the industry.A good newsletter to sign up for is Style Nine to Five, a fashion career website that provides a list of fashion jobs in Canada giving you the chance to get an inside scoop of jobs available within the industry.
  

Keeping these pointers in mind, keep an open mind and try and get involved in as many areas of the fashion industry as possible. Don't just limit yourself to one are, but rather explore various roles and in this way you will eventually realize your true calling and know exactly what your heart is set on.

Fashion is about having the passion to strive, succeed and do whatever it takes to get you to where you eventually want to be. As the famous Coco Chanel once said, "Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky,in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening."