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You want to become a fashion editor... so many of you have written asking how to make that happen; what you can study, whom you can call. There is no one answer to this question, so I'll share with you the paths of three fashion editors including myself, and you can decide how best to approach the process for yourself. What does a fashion editor do? In print, she (or he) creates themes for stories to be shot by a photographer - showing off the best clothing currently available in local stores. For Fall we shoot from May - June, and during December - January for Spring, choosing clothing from designer "Look Books" or after visits to New York to see the shows during fashion week - you can see what we do on Style.com. A visit to showrooms to choose the clothing is also a fun way to see everything up close; in my view, you don't want to recommend clothing you think is ill-made or wildly impractical (unless is it so beautiful it is worth the pain and effort). A fashion editor develops relationships with photographers, with stylists and local designers. Attending retail events, meeting with visiting designers and constant forays into the specialty and vintage boutiques, mass merchandisers, and department stores keeps you abreast of what is selling. It is also important to develop a fashion point of view, and to keep an open mind. It helps if you love photography, and have collected a library of fashion books and magazines for reference. You might also want to work with like-minded friends to create your own fashion story. As far as writing, it helps to have some skill; I developed the concepts, wrote the copy and created the titles for all of the stories I created for Chicago. Here is how it happened for me and for two other fashion editors: I majored in English, minored in History and graduated from the College of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station, NJ after spending two years at the University of Maryland. I took a year off in between to work at Young & Rubicam Advertising in New York, following a passion for marketing and advertising which I still incorporate in my work. My first job after graduating college was as an advertising copywriter at a small NJ ad agency; after six months I moved to NY to work as an assistant media planner at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising. Fired after six months (to my relief; media planning is a very statistical/mathematical process) I worked as a temp until meeting a contact at Sotheby's Luxury Real Estate in Manhattan, and became their listings and marketing manager before answering a New York Times ad and moving from New York to live a bucolic life in Vermont, selling paper to printers. I moved from Vermont into my Midwestern paper sales territory and met my husband, Wayne, in Chicago. I left the company we both worked for to sell finer grades of paper to graphic designers. Leaving the paper industry, I pursued a passion for discovering and sharing retail resources by publishing a shopping guide to "Chicago's hidden shopping treasures" called "The Source", -- which evolved into "The A List", a glossy, black-and-white award-winning magazine on fashion and retail in Chicago. I used my copy writing, sales and print production knowledge to put both publications together - I even used the excruciating media planning skills, so none of the time I spent in all the my former industries was wasted. As editor in chief and publisher of The A List, (and often, as stylist) I networked with other industry professionals and met the editor-in-chief of Chicago magazine, who called me after I closed the magazine (although it won awards, it never became profitable, and a girl has to know when to close the books!) And asked if I knew of someone who could become the first fashion editor of Chicago magazine. I offered myself and became a free-lance fashion & style editor in 1998, a gig that lasted for four and a half years. Chicago magazine has always been a good client and I continue to edit the monthly Style Sheet column (go to www.chicagomag.com to see!). Through Chicago magazine I met with CBS 2 Chicago and became contributing style editor and continue to appear on air to dish about post-Emmy and Oscar fashion. I also consult on retail marketing and work to develop this web site. Another story: Stacey Jones worked as a stylist on photo shoots with me at Chicago magazine for a year when I recommended her to take my place as fashion editor. Stacey has an engineering degree from University of Kansas, and once out of school indulged her love of fashion by becoming a stylist - the person who does most of the work before the cameras start shooting. A fashion photostylist must be up on the latest trends and be driven to bring great resources and a strong personal style to every photo shoot; he or she is chosen because the look of their "book"; a large volume of tearsheets from published magazine work and Polaroids or tests with different photographers or models. Stacey's style is distinctive, sophisticated and very fashion-forward (how would you describe yours?). She has a very personal approach to fashion and is herself never seen without an fabulous accessory (often her Italian greyhound, Bianca, along with an amazing handbag or Martin Margiela split-toe boots). Her strength is in styling, and she is currently working on her first feature story for the magazine. One more example: Thakoon Panichgul is the Associate Fashion Features Editor at Harper's Bazaar, whom I met when he was doing the public relations for the designer Yeohlee in New York. He majored in Business Marketing at Boston University to develop a strong professional base, and augmented his education with internships in fashion PR houses (public relations companies that specialize in fashion; many of the designer houses - Gucci, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tod's, etc., have their own in-house PR staff). Internships are always great - you develop not only a new set of skills, but also start to build your own professional rolodex. Thakoon was able to make the transition from a merchandising manager position at a J. Crew store, then went a more fashionably upscale with Yeohlee. He then parleyed his PR job to developing relationships with editors at, then working with, Bazaar, where he is very happy. You can see the path is not always straight; you need to dip into the opportunities that are at hand unless you are willing to move to New York, where there is more work in fashion (and also more competition). Working in retail is a good way to start, you'll see if you really like the world of fashion and the often extremely unglamorous side of the business. The gorgeous pictures you see in Lucky, or Jane, or Vogue, are the tail end of a long process. And it is often a labor of love, especially in small markets. Anna Wintour and Glenda Bailey's salaries are an anomaly in the fashion world; most of us are paid freelance salaries, no benefits. It's a different case if you become an employee of a company. I recommend going the employee route first, to receive a structured background before you branch out. Good luck in your search. |
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