Careers in Fashion: Trend Forecasting and Textile Design
Explore the different positions available in fashion forecasting, textile design, and sales, and how to start your fashion career.
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
2 hours
Careers in Fashion: Trend Forecasting and Textile Design
Learn the best routes for a career in the primary level of fashion
When people consider careers in fashion, they often forget about the primary level of the industry where fashion products begin.
On this four-week course from Bloomsbury Academic, you’ll look at the beginning of fashion product conception and production, and explore the roles that supply the information, components, production, and support needed to manufacture fashion products to bring them to the retailers.
Discover the realm of fashion trend forecasting
Fashion products often require weeks, months, or even years of lead time for the intricate planning, purchasing, and production steps.
You’ll start this course by delving into the many roles involved in fashion forecasting as well as the sources of information that these forecasters use. You’ll then finish by exploring the career path and job market for trend forecasters.
Explore the many roles within textile design and development
There are designers and design houses who have made their places in fashion history with their textile designs, and there are many creative forces behind each of those designs.
You’ll explore the differences between textile roles such as designer, stylist, and colorist, as well as the technicians and engineers. For each position, you’ll look at what they do, the qualifications needed for the role, and the challenges involved in that particular career.
Delve into production and sales careers to get hands-on with fashion products
Whether construction, manufacturing, numbers, computers, or creativity appeals to you, there is a career path in production that relates directly to each area.
The final week of this course will take you through the expansive area of production and sales, exploring the many careers in this field and how you can best approach a career path for your chosen role.
Syllabus
Week 1
Trend forecasting
Course welcome
In this activity, you will be introduced to the content that will be covered during this course. You will also get an overview of the topics covered during the first week of this course.
The job of a trend forecaster
In this activity, you will learn more about the position of the trend forecaster as we describe the different types of forecasters, and find out where trend forecasters go for information.
The career path of a trend forecaster
During this activity, we discuss the career path of a successful trend forecaster, looking at the suggested qualifications required and exploring the job market and career challenges of this role.
Week wrap up
In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight on what to expect in the new week.
Week 2
Textile design and development
Weekly welcome
Moving into the second week of this course, this activity will give you an overview of the topics that will be covered during this week.
Directors, designers, stylists and colorists
In this activity, we explore some of the key career tracks in the creative sector of textiles include fashion director, textile designer, textile stylist, and textile colorist.
Technicians, engineers, resources and accounts
In this activity, we explore other career options in textiles which include positions such as technicians, engineers, resource room directors, reference librarians, and account executives.
Companies employing textile designers and product developers
In this activity, you will see examples of companies that employ textile designers and product developers.
Week wrap up
In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight on what to expect in the new week.
Week 3
Sourcing
Weekly welcome
Moving into the third week of this course, this activity will give you an overview of the topics that will be covered during this week.
Planners and buyers
In this activity, you will learn how design companies locate the fabrics and other product parts necessary for producing their lines.
Sourcing, merchandising and importing
In this activity, you will learn more about the role of the sourcing manager, the merchandiser and import production coordinator.
Licensing
In this activity, we explore licensing which refers to an agreement in which the manufacturer has exclusive rights to produce and market goods of a designer.
Week wrap up
In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight on what to expect in the new week.
Week 4
Production and sales
Weekly welcome
Moving into the final week of this course, this activity will give you an overview of the topics that will be covered during this week.
Products and production
In this activity, we take a look at the various production roles involved in the manufacturing of the end products that are eventually purchased by the customer.
Fabric
Pattern development, fit, and production require sharp focus and strong attention to detail, and we will learn more about the different career paths in the area of pattern production.
Sales
In this activity, sales careers in the wholesale sector of the fashion industry are explored.
Merchandising, sustainability and transparency
In this activity, we take a look at merchandising in the fashion industry, and learn about the importance of sustainability and transparency.
Course wrap up
In this activity, you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge of the topics covered during the week. You will also be provided with a summary of the week's learning, and some insight into other courses in this series.
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Explore the firms and people supplying the information, components, production, and support needed to manufacture fashion products to bring them to the retailers
- Identify departments of manufacturing firms that support the people and profitability of fashion lines including sales, human resources, finance, and accounting
- Identify the textile designers and developers who use color, texture, pattern, and finishes to create the foundation on which fashion products are built
- Explore the careers of sourcing professionals, who locate the components of products
- Evaluate the careers of employees who work together to manufacture the final product
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for anyone thinking about a career in the fashion industry, especially one in the inspiration and conception area of fashion.
Who developed the course?
Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury Publishing is a leading independent publishing house, established in 1986, with authors who have won the Nobel, Pulitzer and Booker Prizes.and is the originating publisher and custodian of the Harry Potter series. Bloomsbury has offices in London, New York, New Delhi, Oxford and Sydney. Within Bloomsbury’s Academic division, it publishes under Bloomsbury, as well as under a number of prestigious and historic imprint names.
Fairchild Books
With a history stretching back over more than 100 years, Fairchild Books is a world-leading publisher in the fields of fashion and interior design.
FutureLearn
FutureLearn is a leading social learning platform and has been providing high quality online courses for learners around the world over the last ten years.
What's included?
This is a premium course. These courses are designed for professionals from specific industries looking to learn with a smaller group of like-minded individuals.
- Unlimited access to this course
- Includes any articles, videos, peer reviews and quizzes
- Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you're eligible
- Download and print your Certificate of Achievement anytime
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Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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