The Doom Inclination: Why I Chose a Career In the Fashion Industry

By: Emma Braun  

Fashion is a beautiful thing. An industry born from creativity turned tangible using sketches, fabric, and stitching. Whether it is at the forefront of one’s mind or not, fashion is important to each person in a very different way. But why then, is there such a stigma around wanting to pursue a career in the fashion industry? There’s no question that it is booming, popular and consistently growing. Disregarding technological advancements, advancements made in fashion are happening at an almost atmospheric rate. What’s in today is out tomorrow without so much as a look back.

For that very reason, it infuriates me, and many of my cohorts with interest in the fashion industry, that we are discredited for our goals in both social and academic climates. Weren’t we all told as kids to follow our passions wherever they may lead? That a high paying job with no meaning simply isn’t worth it is you dread going to work every day? Please, will someone tell me what’s true and what isn’t.

My brother is a recent college graduate who earned his degree in Finance. He chose that degree for the very reason that he’s be guaranteed a well-paying job in any industry. While that is extremely valid for him, to me, I could never validate such a life-altering decision solely around money. Yes, family, friends, whomever it may concern, I am aware that I will start at the bottom. That fashion is “a hard industry to break in to.” But by that very reasoning, you should be proud of me. I am pushing myself to follow what I love, what I excel in, and not letting fear lead me astray. I’m working just as hard as any other major I know because, though you won’t find me currently sitting in Biomedical Engineering or Advances Calculus, my focus isn’t solely directed to the classroom as I search for any way to get my foot in the door, and my future is as vague and murky as they come.

Despite the eye rolls, despite the doubts I hear from my peers every day about my own life, I know that in the long run, I’ll be happier on set than I ever could be sitting in a cubicle filling out spreadsheets.