Fashion Buyer

Fashion buyers decide the fashion items that a store carries each season.

If you work for major retailers like ASOS and Shopbob, chances are you will get invites to every happening fashion show in town, and sometimes out of town. It’s exciting, sitting front row with fellow socialites, fashionistas and elite magazine editors like Anna Wintour, getting first hand preview on what is to come in the fashion industry, taking photos with international designers etc, you get the idea, it’s glamourous. But that’s not the full picture.

The fashion industry is very high paced, you need to have the fashion intuition to predict what designs or features will set the trend for the upcoming season. The selection process can be done well if you have in depth understanding of your targeted customers. That aside, you always need to introduce new elements to keep things fresh. What you do is critical to the success of the company because if visitors don’t like what they see in store, chances are they won’t come back again. It gives great job satisfaction when your collection is well received by public.

You will be working very closely with your clothing suppliers and designers, so excellent interpersonal skills are a must. You may also need to travel a lot to trade shows for buying trips. Be numerate as you need to balance the budget. Outside the standard working hours, you also need to attend fashion shows or other related events in the evenings or weekends.