Languages Are "A La Mode"

When I was growing up, my mother was working in the fashion industry for a French knitwear company. Her glamorous lifestyle would take her off to Paris for all the shows and there was no doubt that her ability to speak German and French had landed her the job in the first place. 

With NZ Fashion Week in full swing in Auckland last week, the eyes of the international fashion world were on New Zealand fashion and for some of the models and designers this will mean opportunities overseas.

According to a recent article in the Guardian newspaper, designers that speak another language are going to have an added advantage and will enhance any budding designer’s visual and verbal communication skills.

In fact, this is so important now, that London College of Fashion students are encouraged to make use of the university language centre and Erasmus links to study textiles in Lyon or design in Denmark.

Being multilingual in the fashion industry will stand any aspiring model or designer in great stead and help them extend their world-wide reach.
These days, the top fashion buyers are not just from Paris or Milan, but China, Japan and Russia. And although English is widely spoken in the fashion industry, foreign language skills have become increasingly important for those young hopefuls looking for a spot on the top rungs of the fashion ladder.

The better their ability to communicate across language barriers, in any industry, the more trust and success a young hopeful will earn.

Me, I'm off shopping!

First published on LCF Fun Languages Australia blog