Everything you always wanted to know about fashion industry (but were afraid to ask)
April 13, 2004
Imagine this: you are a fashion designer, just graduated, you have your beloved portfolio in your hands and you are officially looking for a job. Let me guess: 'where do I go???' is probably your first and only question, before starting to cry and going to the closest restaurant to apply for a job as a waiter..
or you could send a copy of your CV to FLORIANE DE SAINT PIERRE & ASSOCIES, Executive Search Company specialising in Fashion and Luxury Goods, based in Paris but with connections everywhere.
Your CV will probably end up under the expert eyes of Valentina Maggi and Elisabeth Dieupart and they will contact you in order to ask for some example of your work.
This is how it would sound like (English with a lovely goose bumps-giving French accent if it is Elisabeth, as lovely a English but with a slight Italian touch in case is Valentina):
"hello John (yes, this is you!!!), we received your CV, it is very interesting, but as you can guess we need a few sketches, with technical description, colour palette and samples of fabric; they have to be very clear and well explained, we need your inspiration and concept, the research process, you know, it is more than just clothes! Could you send it to us? Thank you so much! "
They will analyse the porflio under market criteria, beside looking at it with their sensibility and personal taste. Market criteria are very strict and hard: extremely creative, yet feasible, likely to be liked (and bought) by 100.000 people, innovative, sustainable... and more...
If your work seems interesting, they will call you and fix an appointment at their office: because being a fashion designer it is not only about talent, you need to have personality, which again has to be a mix of remarkable qualities: you have to be strong and express yourself clearly, you have to be ready to make some serious team work, you have to be flexible, you have to be self confident but never arrogant, ready to learn from other people criticism, ready to teach and to train people you will work with; you have to be your own PR and manager and you must have the holy fire in you, because you will need to swallow so much shit you can't even imagine!
So in a warm 'parisienne' morning (?!?) you will meet the shiny duo in their beautiful office of fancy rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, they will do everything to make you feel comfortable and then you'll have your first big shot: you manage to convince the 2 wonderful ladies that you have got all this qualities.
Think with us John, let's say that your favourite designer is Zipper Seamless and Lizzie and Vale (you will call them like this by now, they are sooo nice) got the intuition that you could fit right in his atelier, and before you know it, they will schedule a work interview.
Eventually you will seat in front of your youth idol and try to convince him that you are good enough for him.
You will have to tell him your story, the motivations that pushed you towards fashion design, explaining your work and so on, but be ready to use your summarising skills, because you will probably need to fit everything in 15 minutes!
(Take your portfolio with you, prepare copies and keep the original: it happened once that a young designer handed in his original work, and a few weeks later it happened that the famous fashion designer's dog ate the portfolio; you don't won't this to happen to you, do you John?)
Vale & Lizzie will sit next to you, they know that you could freeze big time being questioned by Zipper and they will help you in taking out what good you have in.
And then this is it, you have got a golden pen in your hands and a contract in front of you and Zipper Seamless is smiling at you and....
