Want to Develop Your Career Within Luxury Brands? Here’s How

Working for a luxury brand offers prestige, bountiful opportunities, and room for progression. If you’re looking for ways to enhance your career, it may be worth considering taking this big leap. Whether you have a penchant for merchandising or luxury brand management, there are plenty of ways to dip your toes into the water here. 

Whether you’re working for a high-end brand such as Louis Vuitton or buying and selling a variety of designer products, this career path can be extremely fulfilling. Within this guide, we will take a look at how you can swiftly develop your career in this interesting and vibrant sector.

The first step in this process is to consider what you have to bring to the table. If you’ve already been working in the retail sector, you may be able to swiftly pivot to a higher-end brand. There are plenty of boutiques specialising in luxury retail.

Starting from the bottom at a small-scale store may mean that you can work your way up and gain work experience. Many of the skills you use in sales and ecommerce will transfer well to this particular career path. For example, if you have a good grasp of social media, digital marketing, and customer services, you can bring all of the above to your next endeavour. 

The luxury business sector is as vast as it is interesting. That means that there will be plenty of career opportunities out there for you. Understanding how your skill set transfers to the fashion industry is the first step in making the move. As a baseline, you will need to have excellent communication skills, an understanding of merchandising, and knowledge of various luxury brands. Aside from that, you can learn many of the core skills you will need when you’re working in the industry or undertaking an internship.

Knowledge is power. How much do you know about specific luxury brands? Whether it’s Chanel or Hermes, you need to have an in-depth understanding of the company you wish to work for.

Each of these brands has a specific tone, style, and vibe. The more you know about it in advance, the more likely you are to land a job amongst the company ranks. Take the time to research the main luxury companies out there and understand them. 

Don’t merely scratch the surface here. You can research everything from the luxury companies’ specific hiring practises, what they expect of their staff, and how progression may look.

Of course, if you’re applying for roles with brands that fall under the same umbrella, you may only need to submit one application.

Many of the leading luxury brands are owned by conglomerates. That means that there is one company that oversees all aspects of the business, which may well extend to the hiring and firing processes.

Next up, let’s talk about work experience. It matters when you’re entering the fashion industry. Recruiters will be looking for professionals with experience in the sector and an understanding of the latest trends.

If you are out of the loop, you may be doing yourself an injustice. For that reason, it’s worth looking for your first role in the fashion sector. That could be working for a large department store or interning in a smaller boutique. 

Failing that, you may want to get involved with a startup luxury brand. While there’s unlikely to be a huge salary offered here, the work experience that you will gain could prove invaluable over time. It doesn’t end there.

When you choose to work with a new business, you may have the opportunity to work in all areas of the company. Whether you hope to become a dedicated PR specialist, a marketing manager, or a fashion retail buyer, working with a fledgling company will give you the much-needed know-how you require.

Whether you’ve been to business school or worked since you left high school, there are plenty of ways to get into the fashion industry. Be open to the opportunities that come knocking at your door. Every bit of work experience you gain will contribute towards you stepping into your dream role in the future. Keep moving forward and you will succeed.

Now that you know what it takes to make it in the big, bad world of luxury retail, you need to think about qualifications.

While you don’t necessarily need to gain certificates to work with luxury companies, the more you can bring to the role, the better. With that in mind, you may want to undertake a specific online qualification that gives you unique insights into the world of fashion retail buying, product development, and merchandising.

Having a background in luxury fashion can be helpful and a Fashion Design qualification can be a great way to get started in this area. 

Meanwhile, an MBA in Luxury Fashion Management is a great option for those who want to get an understanding of digital marketing, entrepreneurship, social media management, relationship management, developing brand strategies, and so much more. If you are a postgraduate or have more than five years of experience, you can apply to undertake this prestigious and valuable qualification. 

Should you get accepted on the course, you can undertake your studies online. There’s a wide variety of learning styles that will suit you. Much of the work is project-focussed and designed to bridge the gap between education and industry-specific experience. 

After you’ve become qualified you should also take a look at the range of roles you could be qualified for. Working within luxury brands can open up a wide variety of different roles, so it’s a good idea to find out a bit about the potential jobs you could apply for or become qualified in. Working within the luxury industry can be lucrative, as you’re likely to be working with companies who are well-established and have high profit margins. Below, you can see the average salary ranges for typical roles within luxury brands, according to data from the UK Government’s National Career Service.