Last updated: 4th September 2020
If you are interested in embarking on a career in Fashion Event Planning it is important to understand that largely there are 3 types of fashion events that exist which are as follows:
A fashion week is a fashion industry event, lasting approximately one week, which allows fashion designers, brands or “houses” to display their latest collections in runway shows and buyers and the media to take a look at the latest trends. Most importantly, these events let the industry know what’s “in” and what’s “out” for the season.
The most prominent fashion weeks are held in the four four fashion capitals of the world:
Other important fashion weeks in the world include Australia, Bangalore, Bangkok, Barcelona, Seoul, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires, Singapore, Toronto and Madrid.
In the major fashion capitals, fashion weeks are semi-annual events. January through April designers showcase their autumn and winter collections and September through November the spring/summer collections are shown. Fashion weeks must be held several months in advance of the season to allow the press and buyers a chance to preview fashion designs for the following season. This is also to allow time for retailers to arrange to purchase or incorporate the designers into their retail marketing.
Some fashion weeks can be genre-specific, such as a Miami Fashion Week (swimwear), Rio Summer (swimwear), Pret-a-Porter (ready-to-wear) Fashion Week, Couture (one-of-a-kind designer original) Fashion Week and Bridal Fashion Week, while Portland (Oregon, USA) Fashion Week shows some eco-friendly designers.
In 1943, the first French Fashion Week was held, with one main purpose: to attract attention to French fashion during World War II, when workers in the fashion industry were unable to travel to Paris. This was an opportune moment – as for centuries designers in America were thought to be reliant on the French for inspiration.
If you want to break into fashion events then the easiest way (other than through your own networks) is to do an internship. It is increasingly how companies choose to hire new staff as it is chance for both parties to ‘try before they buy’. You may get asked to assist with general company events initially which will then likely lead onto major fashion events.
In the world of event management fashion event planning is often seen as very glamorous and cutting edge. In reality there are aspects of it which involve a lot of hard work and pressure behind the scenes that is often unrecognised. By training with Event Academy we will help you break into the fashion events industry and increase knowledge and understanding of the fashion world.
If you’re already a graduate and interested in working in the world of fashion, check out some of Give A Grad A Go’s Graduate Fashion Jobs in London and across the UK.
