Fashion Industry Careers Sam Hosac

The first job I chose to write about is the position of model booker. A model booker’s job

is to locate new models for a certain agency and also to book assignments for existing models.

Model bookers recruit new models to join their teams by holding events like open calls and then

sometimes after an open call holding smaller invitational events. Sometimes though they find

models just by running into them through a chance encounter, or through a referral. They look

for modeling candidates based on how they look and how photogenic they are and also how

teachable they are and how well they will work with the agency and clients. Once a model

booker finds a good candidate for a modeling position they are in charge of their work with the

agency, basically helping to represent them as a model. They’ll help models find jobs to do and

sometimes need to negotiate their models’ pay and contracts. The kinds of jobs that bookers find

for models include promotional modeling for events, television commercial modeling or

photograph modeling. The average salary for a model booker is around $50,000 per year, with

the top earners making upwards of $70,000 a year. Being a model booker would be cool because

as a model booker you really are “the man.” If women know that you’re literally recruiting

models, well, a lot of them would love to have that job so they’ll love hanging around you for the

chance to become a model. You also get to work with a lot of different companies and designers

as clients who need modeling services. This one can be done from home, as a lot of bookings

nowadays happen through digital interactions. A booker needs to be present for some things but

can comfortably work from a home office.

 The other job is chose to write about is the purchasing agent position in the fashion

industry. This one is kind of a funny one honestly because while a degree in apparel

entrepreneurship can be helpful, what you really need is a degree in business. Typical

qualifications would include a bachelor’s degree and good sales and negotiation skills. So it’s

good to have a little bit of fashion experience but an FCS college course portfolio won’t help you

get this job. A purchasing agent needs to be skilled in contract negotiation, client and supplier

relations, and logistical duties in order to cover all the different aspects of the job. As a

purchasing agent in the fashion world your main job would be to meet with suppliers, selected by

clothiers in your company, to go over purchasing agreements and negotiate terms that include

contract duration, price, and other terms. In addition, it’s a purchasing agent’s job to help

facilitate logistics between their company and the client’s. This might mean as little as putting

logistical managers in touch with each other or as much as making a schedule for deliveries and

pickups then coordinating the transportation between the two companies. A purchasing agent in

the US makes an average of $67,000 and can make up to $100,000.