The Hothive Textiles guide to careers in the textile industry

Article Added: 09/07/2009 17:12:40
By Natalie Fulcher

If you are considering further study in textiles, currently undertaking your degree or have recently graduated, you may need a little help to guide you or to get you thinking about the career most suitable for you. This article aims to outline the many job prospects available and offer advice for potential students, current students and graduates on how to get ahead in the textile industry.

Creative opportunities as a textile designer:
There are many creative opportunities within the world of textile design. The most common courses offered at universities include:
Print – creating surface pattern and designs on fabric with manual and digital printing techniques.
Weave – working with colour, texture and structure to create fabrics from yarns by using a hand loom or digital jacquard loom.
Embroidery and mixed media – using stitch, mixed media and embellishment to adorn fabrics.
Knit – using yarns with knitting machines to design and construct fabrics.

Design Areas:
The main design areas in textiles fall under three main categories.  Within these categories are even further opportunities.
Fashion – specialises in creating and designing fabrics to be worn as garments.
Interiors – specialises in fabrics intended for soft furnishings, wallpaper, upholstery and carpet design.
Accessories – extends and applies textile design and processes to a range of materials including card making, surface pattern and jewellery design.

Other areas related to textiles:
You might already know, or discover during your studies, that the design side isn’t quite for you. It is a very competitive field to succeed in, yet, persistence, hard work and patience can help you achieve the role of a designer. However there is a wealth of opportunity within the arena of textiles which, although not directly related to design, are all important and appealing careers! Here are just a few:

Colourist – if you are particularly good at creating colour palettes and working with colour there are opportunities to work as a colour forecaster – to predict colour trends and create mood boards for designers to work with. Textile manufacturers use colourists to select the dye ranges for their colours and to indicate the direction of colour within the trends of fashion and textiles.

Trend forecasting – researching and predicting future concepts for design is an important part of textiles. Trend forecasters source information from the world of fashion, textiles and lifestyle trends in order to evaluate current styles and to predict successful future design directions.

Marketing – involves communicating between the designer/company and consumer. This role often involves conducting a great deal of research to understand consumer behaviour and to consider various factors to ensure the right product is in the right place at the right time. Mainly through the processes of advertising, branding and PR, goods are promoted, distributed and sold throughout the market.

Public Relations PR – is the practise of managing a range of media and communication between an organisation and the public. By communicating key messages to specific target audiences, organisations can establish and maintain reputations by understanding and influencing their customers.

Styling – a stylist creates the ‘look’ or creates a statement for fashion or interiors. Stylists mainly work with fashion/interior magazines, photographers or advertising agencies. It is important to keep up-to-date with emerging trends from catwalk shows, trade shows and magazines, to source clothes and soft furnishing items to style. In addition to the products, stylists collect props and set pieces to aesthetically promote the image and portray a theme that the brief requires.

Visual Merchandiser – similar to a stylist, a visual merchandiser is responsible for creating a ‘look’ in the window spaces and interior displays of shops and department stores. Various themes and events throughout the year in addition to researching lifestyle trends influence the presentation of the displays.

Buyer – a buyer purchases new fabrics, cloth or merchandise and reviews existing stock to ensure that the correct products are selected and sold to the consumer. Buyers interact with the design team and manufacturers. They work with trends and budgets to ensure they provide a range of appropriate goods to their consumer while making a profit from competitive prices.

Retail Merchandiser – retail merchandisers liaise with buyers to ensure the correct quantities of stock are bought and distributed for stores. They also analyse and monitor sales, promotions and markdowns.

Journalism – journalists provide a gateway to trend forecasters and designers to what is going on in the world of fashion and textiles. Reporting on designers, catwalk shows and exhibitions are all important to promote the industry.

Teaching – after completing your degree you may wish to consider sharing your skills, either through part-time private tuition or as a secondary school/college teacher. Guilds and groups are often looking for bright and enthusiastic tutors for their workshops and you may decide that this is something you could offer alongside a full-time role if money is tight when you first begin your career.
 
Working routine
The type of work you do will depend upon your career choice. For example you may choose to become a freelance designer and be self-employed, or work in-house as part of a team in a design studio. Agents and contacts in the industry are a good way to get work, especially if you are freelancing.

You will need to be very flexible with your hours of work, especially if you are hoping to become a designer, as there is no such thing as a 9-5 routine and you will be expected to work late evenings and some weekends. Exciting opportunities such as travelling abroad are also common, especially when making seasonal trips to trade shows.

Work experience and networking is also very important in the industry and a great deal of work can come through friends or ex-workers so it is a good idea to keep in contact with people. If you decide to freelance it is also a good idea to gain experience working for companies before you set up. This will give you a clear idea of how things work in the industry, not just in design, as there are many other less exciting things to consider – such as managing your own accounts and marketing your work!

Work experience
Work experience is extremely valuable! Not only because it will look good on your CV but also because getting a taste for a variety of work will help you decide what you do and don’t like to do in the industry. The experience you have may not be what you expect, or it could be even better than you had ever anticipated! Having a go at a few different careers will narrow your options down if you don’t know what you want to do. It can also open up opportunities and lead to permanent and paid work. Of course most positions are voluntary and will inevitably cost you money however in the long run it will definitely pay off. Some companies may pay for your travel expenses – particularly if you are commuting around London. If you are looking for work experience in London during the summer, it is worth looking on the websites of various Universities in London to see if they rent the halls out at a reduced rate during the summer term.

Finding a placement can be competitive and even once you’ve got one it may not lead you straight into working in the design industry. As with most things it takes time to progress and you have to work your way up from the bottom to prove yourself, sometimes through mundane and repetitive tasks. If you secure a placement which you enjoy and would like to progress further, the working hours may be longer than your average 9-5 job. The advice from people who have been on placements before is to offer to stay as late as possible – even if you only offer to sweep the floors! If you are willing to work long and hard hours this will stand you in a good position to get noticed from employers.

Further resources
Here at Hothive Textiles we have our own webpage which lists companies who are willing to take people for work experience. Click here to take a look at some of the places on offer.

The following websites may also be useful for further information about careers within textile design:

Prospects:
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_job/textile_designer_job_description.jsp

Connexions:
http://www.connexions-direct.com/JOBS4U/index.cfmpid

Career Descriptions:
http://www.career-descriptions.co.uk/textile-designer-career-description.htm

Careers advice:
http://careersadvice.direct.gov.uk/helpwithyourcareer/jobprofiles/JobProfilecode

The following websites are also useful for gathering information about trends and trade fairs:

Pitti Filati – www.pittimmagine.com
Expofil – www.expofil.com
Premier Vision – www.premierevision.com
Indigo – www.indigo-salon.com
Peclers Paris – www.peclersparis.com
Worth Global Style Network – www.wgsn-edu.com students require a pin code from their university or college