The fashion industry is highly influential for cultures around the world. It can change the way an entire generation dresses and behaves. When a high profile celebrity is seen walking down a red carpet or a city street in a specific style of clothing, the entire country takes notice. This makes the industry a meaningful part of the country’s culture. Beyond that, it’s also an economic boost that the U.S. needs.

The fashion industry is one of the most economically beneficial industries in the U.S. and it’s been creating high paying jobs more and more over the years. Some jobs creating average apparel have been shipped overseas in recent years, but the fashion industry is still booming.

Not only are jobs in the U.S. being created to manufacture and sell high-quality clothing, but the industry employs people from a wide variety of professions. Lawyers, computer programmers, accountants, social media experts, copywriters, and project managers all benefit from the fashion industry directly.

More than two-thirds of the high-profile fashion designers in the U.S. live in New York or Los Angeles and they’ve created a massive amount of income for their communities and the U.S. as a whole. In fact, the fashion industry brings in approximately $250 billion dollars for the United States alone. On a global scale, the fashion industry is worth a staggering $1.2 trillion.

People are rushing to get degrees in fashion merchandising to take advantage of the booming industry. There is enough interest in the fashion industry that it’s expected to grow by 50% within the next twelve years at a rate of three to five percent each year.

Fashion and its Benefits in New York and Los Angeles are Spreading

New York and Los Angeles are home to two-thirds of the fashion industry’s top designers. This means massive financial impacts for those two areas because of the fashion industry. On its own, the fashion industry generates $98 billion for New York. Los Angeles sees similar benefits and the fashion industry is believed to earn at least $18 billion every year for Los Angeles.

As great as that is for New York and Los Angeles, other cities are starting to see massive benefits, too. The fashion industry is booming in cities like Dallas, Oakland, San Diego, and Nashville. That means there are more jobs being created outside of the two major fashion hubs and opportunities in the industry are becoming a lot more widespread. The industry is even booming outside of the U.S. and it’s creating quite the stir there, too.

These high paying jobs have an enormously positive effect on the states they’re created in. Workers are paid wages that allow them to live the lives that they want to and the state receives more money through taxes and an increase in consumer activity.

What Opportunities Does the Fashion Industry Create?

The fashion industry doesn’t just include runway models and top-tier designers. There are a number of jobs that are available in the fashion industry that pay extremely well.

Fashion public relations workers are a key part of the industry. They handle all of the social aspects involved in building a fashion company’s brand, coordinating with the media for new releases, and they create a good public image for the company. This job is best for people who are extremely outgoing and good with people.

People who want to be in the fashion industry and consider themselves fashion experts, but are not into creating clothes, can be a personal stylist. A personal stylist gets to take their expert knowledge of fashion and use it to help consumers find the right clothes for any occasion. Personal stylists know what fashion trends are in and what to keep consumers away from. All of this work is done in retail, so people skills are an absolute must.

For those with an artistic talent, fashion illustration is a huge part of the industry. Fashion illustrators help create the concept sketches for new clothing designs and they work closely with designers. Beyond their work in creating concept art, fashion illustrators create promotional images for fashion companies to use on their websites or magazines.

Of course, there also the designer positions. Fashion designers are probably the most recognized people in the fashion industry. Designers are the ones that create the clothing with nothing more than their own creativity, so a creative mindset is highly important for this occupation.

Anyone who is reading this is probably interested in the fashion industry. Where do you start and how do you make it in the industry? Well, Forbes has recently published an article on just that. The fashion industry is exciting and always changing. It might be the right fit for you!