Introduction to Fashion Career – JSS1 Fashion and Garment Making Lesson Note (Third Term)

A career is a job or profession that a person does for a long time.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Define the terms career and fashion industry.
2. Name the three groups of fashion careers.
3. Describe the work of at least two careers in each group.
4. Explain the difference between a fashion designer and a fashion illustrator.
5. State four reasons for choosing a career in fashion.

What is a career in fashion?

A fashion career is a job in designing, making, showing or selling clothes and accessories.

• Wide industry: fashion has many branches, so it is more than sewing behind a machine.
• Different talents: there is a place for people who draw, talk, love mathematics or enjoy technology.
• Tailoring: being a tailor is a good job, but it is only one of many fashion careers.

What are the key terms in this topic?

• Fashion industry: all the people and businesses that design, make, show and sell clothes.
• Textile: any cloth made by weaving, knitting or similar methods.
• Pattern: a paper shape used to cut fabric to fit the body.
• Trend: a style that is popular at a particular time.
• Entrepreneurship: starting and running your own business.

What are the groups of fashion careers?

There are three groups of fashion careers: creative and design, production and technical, and media and business.

What are the creative and design careers?

Creative and design careers are jobs for people who come up with the ideas and looks we see in shops and on TV.

Fashion designer

• Work: the “architect” of the clothes who dreams up the styles.
• Tasks: chooses the fabrics and decides how the final outfit should look.

Fashion illustrator

• Work: an artist who specialises in drawing designs.
• Tasks: brings the designer’s idea to life on paper when the designer cannot draw it perfectly.

Pattern drafter

• Work: turns a drawing into a paper “map”, called a pattern.
• Tasks: uses mathematics so the shapes fit a real human body.

What are the production and technical careers?

Production and technical careers are jobs for the “engineers” who build clothes from paper patterns and fabric.

Garment constructionist (tailor or dressmaker)

• Work: does the actual sewing of the garment.
• Skills: uses sewing machines well and knows different types of stitches.

Textile designer

• Work: creates the patterns, colours and prints of the cloth.
• Nigerian examples: Adire and Batik are dyed cloths, and Aso-Oke is hand-woven cloth.

Quality controller

• Work: checks finished clothes before they are sold.
• Faults to find: loose threads, crooked zips and other mistakes.
• Importance: customers receive well-made clothes and the business keeps a good name.

What are the media and business careers?

Media and business careers are jobs in selling and showing clothes, and they do not always need sewing skills.

Fashion stylist

• Work: chooses which clothes look best together.
• Clients: dresses celebrities for red carpets and models for magazine photos.

Fashion model

• Work: wears clothes to show how they look on a moving body.
• Importance: helps designers sell their ideas during fashion shows.

Fashion photographer

• Work: takes professional pictures of clothes and models.
• Uses: advertisements, websites and magazines.

Fashion blogger or journalist

• Work: writes about fashion trends.
• Importance: tells the public what is “in” and what is “out” of style.

What is the difference between a fashion designer and a fashion illustrator?

A fashion designer creates the idea for a garment. A fashion illustrator draws that idea on paper.

Why choose a career in fashion?

People choose fashion careers because they give work, creativity, culture and service to others.

• Job creation: you can start your own business (entrepreneurship) and employ others.
• Self-expression: you use your imagination every day.
• Cultural pride: you promote Nigerian culture by making traditional styles for the world to see.
• Problem solving: you help people feel confident and comfortable by solving their “what should I wear?” problem.

Which fashion career fits you?

Your interests can point you to a suitable fashion career, as the table shows.

Class practical activity

• The interview: pair up with a classmate. One acts as a famous fashion designer and the other as a fashion journalist asking about the designer’s new clothing line.
• My choice: write down the career from this note that sounds most exciting to you. Explain why in two sentences.

Evaluation

1. Explain the difference between a fashion designer and a fashion illustrator.
2. Who is a quality controller, and why is the job important?
3. Name two careers in fashion that do not require you to sew.
4. How does a textile designer contribute to the fashion industry?

Assignment

Choose two fashion careers from different groups. For each one, write what the person does and one skill the person needs.