Master of Science in Fashion Buying and Management Technological University Dublin - Aungier Street Campus, Ireland

Being a fashion buyer is one of the most sought after careers in fashion. Behind the glamorous image of a buyer who is travelling the world to select the latest pieces off fashion week runways is a job that requires a combination of skill sets to be successful. Solely responsible for selecting and ordering what is sold in stores to ensure maximum profit, in this demanding role you’ll need to be constantly trend spotting, have a strong business sense and be a great communicator.

Trend forecasting and brand discovery

Taking from their knowledge of fashion together with business sense, fashion buyers decide what to buy, which mix of brands to buy and need to know what their customer is looking for. Besides maintaining strong relationships with top brands, buyers constantly stay on the lookout for new brands, designers and trends. Before the rise of Instagram, brand discovery would mostly be done via trade shows, networking, a magazine editor’s referral or simply from designers sending samples. Today, Instagram plays a large part in how fashion buyers discover and reach out to emerging brands.

Quantitative and analytical skills

The role of the fashion buyer is where art meets science, meaning being analytical and comfortable with math as well as fashion savvy will put you ahead. The fashion buyer uses EXCEL spreadsheet and should be familiar with the formulas in the program. One minute the buyer could be talent scouting the latest brands, the next minute he/she could be presenting to the board why the buying decision has been made to purchase a budding designer’s collection based on consumer insight.

Planning and working with merchandisers on buying

What is the difference between a fashion buyer and merchandiser? Buying is a specialization in the merchandising field. Together with fashion merchandisers, they plan and make buying decisions. Based on the customer’s buying patterns and company budget, they analyze how much of each item to buy, the mix of brands and what to buy for each location that will drive profit. Through this meticulous planning process, a framework for what to purchase will be in place for the buyer to follow.