Fashion Editor Job Description
A fashion editor oversees the creation of fashion-related content for a media outlet such as a magazine, television show or website. The website fashion-schools.org describes the responsibilities of a fashion editor at a magazine. "Under guidance of the editor-in-chief, they are responsible for deciding the creative influence and direction that their departments will pursue during a given season or issue." Fashion editors for television and websites have similar responsibilities to those of fashion editors at a magazine.
Other People Are Reading
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Working Relationships
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Fashion editors work with designers, merchandisers, photographers, stylists, models, writers and copy editors. Fashion editors for magazines report to the publication's editor in chief, while fashion editors for television report to the producer.
Research
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To stay informed of current and upcoming trends, fashion editors attend fashion shows, designer showcases and other events that showcase fashion. Each fashion editor must know the audience of his or her publication and choose content that will appeal to them. Fashion editors communicate with retail stores to gather information on which trends sold well. This helps them to decide what to feature in the future. Some fashion editors specialize in a particular area of fashion, such as couture, accessories or fitness, which further focuses their research.
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Timing
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Each issue of a magazine takes months to produce. Fashion editors have many overlapping deadlines as they create multiple issues. After meeting with designers and choosing a theme, fashion editors plan and execute the fashion shoot, choose photos, approve the layout and add a narrative. Fashion editors for television and websites follow a similar process but do not work as far in advance. Sometimes they broadcast live fashion shows with narration.
Education and Experience
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Most fashion editors have bachelor of arts degrees in journalism, fashion design or merchandising. Many complete internships at fashion publications. Next, they may work as production assistants at television shows or writers at magazines before being promoted to assistant editor or fashion editor.
Other Qualifications
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Fashion editors must be creative and artistic. They must have excellent written and verbal communication skills. They must be able to lead large groups of people and coordinate the work of designers, photographers, writers and other editors. They must work well in fast-paced environments and be able to meet strict deadlines.
Job Outlook
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Although there are no specific statistics on fashion editors, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded the highest concentration of editing jobs in New York, where the average salary is $78,880. In other parts of the country, salaries range from $38,000 to $62,000. "Employment of authors, writers and editors is expected to grow 8 percent, about as fast as the average for all occupations," according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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References
- Photo Credit Fashion image by Yvonne Bogdanski from Fotolia.com
