Fashion jobs London - arguably the most sought-after work in the creative industry. London, New York, Milan and Paris, no matter which major fashion city you're in, the aim is the same. Fashion jobs cover an array of disciplines including fashion photography jobs, fashion styling jobs, fashion design jobs, right up to runners and dressers at fashion shows. Fashion jobs are also some of the hardest to land and often the worst paid. Here's our guide to the truth behind the application process and how to land fashion jobs in your sector.
UNPAID FASHION JOBS LONDON
It's a shame to say that fashion often plays on its glamourous appeal to convince freelancers to work for nothing. Whether you're based in London or New York, the allure of working in fashion can often be enough for freelancers to accept unpaid fashion jobs. Designers at London Fashion Week and more often off schedule shows generally 'employ' creative freelancers for 'experience' whilst famous fashion magazine publications have been found guilty of paying minimum wage for big jobs knowing there will be another freelancer willing to step to accept the job.
We understand the temptation of working for free and fashion jobs don't come up so often that you can turn them down but consider whether accepting the fashion job is going to benefit your career or not. In our experience, we've found that accepting unpaid fashion jobs generally does not lead to paid work in the future. In fact, the stats show that those who resist unpaid jobs tend to retain their value and are more successful in the long term.
PROFILE POWER
Another truth when applying to fashion jobs (and most jobs that involve content creation) is that your profile can be as important as your day rate. Let's say there's a fashion job to shoot a new collection in London. The fashion job requires a photographer, hair stylist, makeup artist and model. The production team want to get the final images out to as many people as possible to generate exposure for the label so if the freelancer has industry influence or a wide-reaching audience then they'll generally favour that professional over one who does not.
Your profile has a value and employers know this. The question is, do you? In fact, we've seen models who are blatantly unsuitable for the job get booked because they have thousands of followers on their social media platform. Consider this when applying for jobs.
DEFINE 'FASHION JOBS'
There are fashion jobs that everyone wants and many have a particular vision of a fashion job in their head. Jobs such as the cover of Vogue, shooting editorial in the streets of London or the lead at a high-end New York fashion show. These top end fashion jobs tend to be reserved for freelancers who are represented by top creative or model agencies or through PR firms. It's rare that top-end publications or established brands post fashion jobs on the open market.
There are also fashion jobs that pay well and exist in the commercial sector. The growing world of online retail has created a whole new sector for fashion jobs. New collections have to be shot and can't rely on stock imagery which means they require fashion teams to shoot them. Bloggers and online writers are looking to work with fashion teams more and more to shoot bespoke shots for their articles or social media platforms too. Even non-fashion related businesses often look to use models and fashion teams to shoot their latest product or service. Think about the sectors that require your skill set to open up new and exciting avenues of work.
