You are going to read a magazine article in which four fashion designers write about their careers. For questions 47-56, choose from the extracts (A-D). The extracts may be chosen more than once.
Which designer…
set up a business despite feeling
unqualified? 47.-____
found a job through a personal
contact? 48.-____
has broadened the range of
products they manufacture? 49.-____
found that their early success did
not continue? 50.-____
regrets accepting a job they were
offered? 51.-____
mentions impressing other people
with their enthusiasm? 52.-____
was surprised by the help they
received from more experienced designers? 53.-____
has found that working in fashion
is different from what they expected? 54.-____
realised the need to develop
skills that were in demand? 55.-____
learnt how to run a company
before starting their own? 56.-____
A career in fashion
Four fashion designers write
about their careers.
Fashion designer A
Fashion wasn't my first choice of
career: I only thought of it when I threw in a disastrous job in advertising,
and sat wondering what to do next. A friend pointed out that I'd always been
keen on fashion , and that made me realise that was what I wanted to do. I
managed to get a place on a fashion course, and the tutors were very positive
about my designs. I even won a couple of awards. Of course that made me think
that when I left college I'd just walk into a job, but I soon found out my
mistake! Eventually, though, I managed to talk my way ínto an interview with a
fashion business, and they took me on - they told me afterwards that I seemed
over-confident, but my saving grace was that I was so eager to learn more about
clothes design. It wasn't a very good job, really, but at least it gave me good
experience for the next one I got.
Fashion designer B
As a child, l loved the glamour
of the world of fashion and daydreamed about being the person whose designs the
models were wearing. I took a fashion course, then begged for a job with a
small fashion business. I think they took me on as a favour, really, because to
be honest I had very little to offer them. Still, it was invaluable for me. It
was a great introduction to the manufacturing process, and the boss seemed
happy to teach me all about the business side of things. That really stood me
in good stead when I eventually left to start my own fashion design business.
Since then , we've branched out into household goods like tablecloths and
bedding. It's still early days, so we’ll wait and see how that goes. But don't
let anyone tell you it's an easy life. There may be a touch of glamour
occasionally, but ninetenths of the time it's sheer hard work, long hours and a
lot of stress.
Fashion designer C
In my first job interview after
leaving college, they wanted someone with strong skills in computer-aided
design - CAD - and my college hadn't offered that as an option, so I didn't
have a chance. That made me realise I needed to learn CAD, and I enrolled on a
course, and got a job in a supermarket to finance it. When I finished, a tutor
on the course put me in touch with a fashion business she knew, even though
they weren't advertising for designers. Her recommendation must have swung them
in my favour, because they took me on. It wasn't ideal, though, as it was a
very inward-looking firm , and I didn't get the chance to go to fashion shows
or network with other designers, which you need to do if you want to start your
own business. In retrospect, I think I'd have been better off setting up on my
own as soon as I got the CAD qualification, even though it would have been very
hard work.
Fashion designer D
There are lots of people chasing
very few jobs in fashion , so it's hard even to get as far as an interview -
and a lot of firms don't even advertise: they can find staff more cheaply
through contacts or unsolicited applications that people have sent in. After
college, I applied to dozens of firms, but got nowhere. It was very
demoralising. So I took a chance and started a firm with a couple of friends
who were in the same boat. What we knew about running a company you could write
on the back of an envelope - we all saw ourselves as designers, not business
people - but somehow we muddled through. Toa great extent , that was down to
contacts we met at networking events: a couple of established designers gave us
some invaluable advice on how to market our designs. Without that, we'd
probably have gone under in the first six months. And given that we were trying
to compete with them, it was remarkably generous of them.
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