Career opportunities for MBA Fashion Management graduates

Key takeaways: 

•  An MBA in Fashion Management can help you attract great career opportunities in the fashion industry. It may also help you set up your independent fashion and apparel brand in the near future.

• In the fashion industry, the brand manager and the brand play important roles in product sales.

• Creative marketing, novel fashion management practices, trend forecasting, and other business practices observed during internships and site visits are all part of the fashion management curriculum.

The focus of an MBA in Fashion Management is on managing the advertising, branding, and retail of fashion goods, as well as creating a positive public perception of a company’s brand. An MBA in Fashion Management is ideal for those with a background in the arts, design, commerce, or administration who want to specialise in the fashion industry at the managerial level. An MBA in Fashion Management will teach you not just the business side of things but also the history and philosophy of fashion.

Why MBA in fashion management?

There is constant change, fierce competition, and a wide range of options in the fashion sector. Therefore, it necessitates the participation of all those experts who can properly adapt to the ever-evolving and demanding trends in fashion with cutting-edge business methods that ensure maximum success.

Companies in the fashion industry, including design studios, boutiques, and periodicals, are constantly on the lookout for talented individuals who have an excellent eye for style and the ability to make strong business and strategic planning. A career after an MBA in fashion management is a great choice for people interested in the corporate world of the fashion industry rather than the creative approach.

It’s a course with a worldwide emphasis that may boost any company’s competitive edge by fostering originality and leadership. Here you may build a resume of experiences and insights that will prepare you for a career in the fashion industry and the commercial application of creative thought.

It pays well to be a fashion marketing manager. Assuming they have the necessary qualifications and work experience, they may expect a respectable salary and benefits package. They deal with a mix of strategy, imagination, and analysis, which breaks the monotony and keeps things interesting.

The talents that fashion marketing managers acquire in their work are very applicable and will benefit them much in their personal and professional lives. The scope of jobs with an MBA in fashion management is vast.

ALSO READ: MBA in Fashion Management course details

Career opportunities in fashion management

Degree programmes leading to a MBA in Fashion Management emphasise business acumen, a global perspective, and an in-depth understanding of the fashion industry. You will be challenged to try something new and apply that learning as you develop your management and creative chops to become a formidable company leader.

Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MSc), and Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees are all on the table for those interested in the fashion industry. MA Fashion Management programmes, on the other hand, emphasise the importance of creativity in business, with an evaluation activity that may require students to create their fashion magazine.

Learning the ins and outs of the fashion industry is the focus of a fashion management course.

However, the field of fashion management extends much beyond this surface level.

You’ll learn everything from the basics to advanced techniques in sourcing, merchandising, retail, forecasting, global marketing, international business practices, and venture design, creating a giant career scope for MBA fashion management jobs.

You can explore career opportunities in innovative merchandising / marketing, managerial techniques, emerging fashions, and the inner workings of a firm via on-site experiences and externships.

Job roles after MBA in Fashion Management

There is a wide range of job roles to choose from with an MBA in Fashion Management, and some of them are as follows:

• Fashion marketing manager 

Managers in charge of marketing and sales play a significant role in the success of any firm. The responsibilities of a fashion marketing manager span the whole gamut of a company’s methods of dissemination of information and may even lead to a transformation in the public’s perception of the brand. Learn all about the marketing management field and understand what it takes to advance your career as a marketing manager.

You would oversee a group of marketers if you took on the role of the marketing manager. If you respected your boss in the past, your subordinates would do the same.

• Design manager

Managers in charge of designs for building projects do so under their direction. They oversee the creation of blueprints and construction drawings.

They develop and implement effective design strategies by outlining how the design team will create the project’s deliverables. They oversee the work of many designers and provide constructive criticism, both on individual and team levels.

• Brand manager 

A brand manager oversees the public’s perception of a business, celebrity, or other entity. Job requirements include looking into the market to see how the client or product fits in.

A Brand Manager is responsible for the creation of the company’s brand strategy. Managers of brands are responsible for many different aspects of a company’s operations, including their brands’ identities, methods of communication, product creation, marketing campaigns and market research.

Frequently, they are tasked with doing market research on behalf of a corporation. This includes conducting surveys and polls among target populations, as well as gauging product demand and doing any other necessary field research. 

• Apparel merchandiser 

An apparel merchandiser acts as a link between retailers and the manufacturing sector. He’s responsible for everything from sourcing the necessary components to actually sewing the garments, pressing them, creating tags, packing them, and sending them out the door. 

In reality, they are the ones who must produce the product on time. Because of the significance of this topic, a thorough description of a merchandiser’s many obligations has been offered in this article.

• Visual merchandiser

A Visual Merchandiser is an employee whose job is to ensure that things are presented in a way that would entice customers to buy them. They also monitor market developments to ensure that their products remain useful.

They devise store layouts, create signage, and position things in prime viewing areas. Visual merchandisers often have an eye for aesthetics and a talent for constructing eye-catching windows and in-store displays.

Visual Merchandisers will not only be able to draw from recently received stock to showcase new products, but they will also be aware of what goods to pull from the store’s existing inventory.

• Business development executive 

When it comes to running a successful business, the fashion sector is where the rubber meets the road. The commercial practices of designers, including garment construction, fabric sourcing, merchandising, product development, trend forecasting, and public relations, are the primary topics of study here.

An individual interested in job roles after MBA in fashion management should be well-organised, capable of handling problems and making sound decisions, as well as creative, up-to-date, and knowledgeable of current and emerging fashion trends.

• Export sales manager 

The job of an export sales manager is to expand and grow sales in international markets. By studying consumer preferences and designing sales methods to satisfy their demands, they make sure the items are distributed to foreign markets.

A company’s bottom line may be bolstered by the efforts of an export sales manager, who is tasked with finding new markets and generating revenue from outside of the country’s borders. They do this to keep their current clientele happy. Therefore, the duties of an export sales manager are crucial for any company seeking to grow its customer base and revenue.

Salary range of the above job roles in fashion management

Below is a table containing job roles for those with an MBA in Fashion Management, as well as the typical yearly earnings associated with each position –

Designation	Salary
Fashion Marketing Manager	INR 9.3 LPA
Design Manager	INR 12.3 LPA
Brand Manager	INR 12 LPA
Apparel Merchandiser	INR 3.6 LPA
Visual Merchandiser	INR 6.7 LPA
Export Sales Manager	INR 9.8 LPA

Leading recruiters

After finishing a fashion design programme, graduates can enter the corporate world or find an internship with an established designer.

Following are the top companies that often recruit recent fashion designers –

• Spencers
• Royal Sporting House
• WestylesInt’L
• Planet Retail Holdings
• SAP
• SnapDeal.com
• Shoppers Stop
• Reliance Retail
• Piramyd
• Zodiac
• Reach Technologies
• Zara
• Tesco
• Puma
• Reliance Brands
• Orient Fashion
• Ogilvy & Mather
• Prateck lifestyle
• Raymond
• YKK

Key skills to excel in the fashion management profession

The following are the essentials that any fashion designer needs to have to be successful in this area.

• Keep abreast of the most recent developments 

To succeed in fashion design, you must keep up with current trends. If you’re into fashion, it’s a lot of fun to see how styles come and go from day to day. Keep looking at things to figure out how you can improve them.

• Continual inventiveness 

Creativity might be one of your greatest strengths if you’re always trying to come up with something new. Improve your drawing and sketching abilities and explore new colour combinations and pattern making.

• Ability to recognise and use resources 

Knowing which fabric will function best in your design will allow you to go on with making the outfits. You need to be able to choose the proper materials, including the fabric, colours, patterns, labels, and more. Learning this thoroughly will set you apart from the competition.

• Careful observance of specifics 

The fashion business places a premium on attention to detail. A fashion designer must have a keen eye for even the smallest details. A skilled fashion designer will have an eye for detail and know how to tweak things like colour, pattern, stitching design, and even the model’s cosmetics to get the ideal look.

• Determination to excel 

You need to be fast-paced to survive and excel in the fashion business. Being enthusiastic about what you do is essential for a career in fashion design. This kind of passion may set fashion designers apart from the crowd.

Final word 

The fashion industry will continue to expand if more people are passionate and enthusiastic about learning about fashion. The Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) with Online Manipal offers an excellent MBA program for all of those that are intrigued by the subject of fashion, and are eager to learn more.