10 tips to succeed in fashion
Designers such as Juan Vidal, Miguel Becer or Daniel Rabaneda offer their recipes for success for this industry
Ana Muñoz VitaMadridAt this time of year many young people must decide where to direct their professional career. A time to explore all options and give passions a chance. Fashion has traditionally been seen as an unconventional career path, but industry insiders say that's not the case and that it has a wide variety of career paths. This was stated during the CSDMM Must Go On Master Talk event, a meeting held in Dimad in which designers and professors from the Superior Center for Fashion Design of Madrid (CSDMM) of the Polytechnic University of Madrid detailed their advice for getting started in the world of fashion. Here are some of them:
- Identity. In a world as competitive as fashion is, it is vital that each professional have their own stamp that sets them apart from the rest. A maxim emphasized by designer Daniel Rabaneda, who recommended students to try to “find their own path and their own identity beyond the work carried out by their peers”.
- Training. Creativity is a fundamental pillar, but it must be based on technical knowledge. This was stated by the designer Miguel Becer, founder of the Mané Mané firm: “I teach scientific and creative methods so that they can turn their ideas into fashion. They must know the tools to be able to fit them into their style later.”
- Lose fear. "After spending basic education studying subjects such as mathematics or English, delving into creative processes gives you a bit of vertigo," acknowledged Rabaneda, who recommended working to lose shame. “Only in this way can we truly see what is inside.”
- Respect. Although it is a creative career, it is also very serious. This was made known by the designer Juan Vidal, who recommended that future professionals have a lot of respect for fashion. “It's a very competitive industry in which you can't relax for a moment,” he said.
- Stick to the street. Fashion professionals must be very close to the street to know what is happening at all times, in addition, this art is also a channel through which to relate a changing context. “The creative has to transfer to fashion what he is observing in reality”, pointed out the creator of Mané Mané.
- Take advantage of the new formats. One of the transformations that the fashion industry is undergoing, accelerated by the pandemic, has been the proliferation of new platforms. These formats are much more accessible for those who are still taking off. “There are ways of making fashion that are not so different from what the big brands are doing,” Becer recalled.
- Communication. Taking into account the new platforms is essential. This was pointed out by Juan Vidal, who recalled that "everyone must choose their format based on their business model, but today communication is almost more important than the product itself."
- Open to all the options. Within fashion there are many different professions that go beyond being the visible head of a brand. "Fashion is not based only on the figure of the creative director," recalled Rabaneda. Along these lines, the designer encouraged surrounding himself with a good, varied team and starting to weave a network of contacts from the outset.
- Move. Competitions and practices are the best way to break through. “You should enter as many contests as possible, attend all the events, let yourself be seen... Being connected to the industry is the only way for them to get to know you,” Vidal summed up.
- Sustainability. Beyond training –both regulated and unregulated–, the way in which a brand is built is also relevant to its future. Thus, in the current context, any new idea must also incorporate current values such as the concept of sustainability. “More than a communication and marketing strategy, this will be an obligation for brands”, summarized Vidal.
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