When it comes to talking about careers in fashion buying, the conversation is usually centred around about how do you become a fashion buyer and what does a fashion buyer do. Less spoken about are the soft skills a fashion buyer should possess, the buyer’s eye for spotting trends and developing or selecting products, along with a touch of great instincts and technical knowledge or critical.
Soft skills are the secret ingredients that turns a good fashion buyer into a great one. Mastering soft skills can significantly impact your effectiveness and as you develop your career and enables you to cope with the different scenarios and challenges the face in the role. The buyers eye for spotting trends and developing or selecting products , along with great instincts, technical skills and industry knowledge are critical, but these alone do not ensure success
During a recent masterclass I was asked a question about confidence and if it is necessary to have confidence as a buyer. …particularly as they had to negotiate with suppliers.
In short the answer is Yes Confidence is essential for fashion buyers as it enables them to make decisive choices, negotiate effectively with suppliers, and present their ideas convincingly. A confident buyer inspires trust from colleagues and managers, but to gain that trust is usually the result of previous actions.
Confidence is the foundation upon which all other soft skills are built. For fashion buyers, confidence is crucial in making decisive choices, whether selecting products, negotiating with suppliers, or presenting to stakeholders. It enables buyers to assert their vision, back their decisions with conviction, and influence others effectively.
While I won’t be qualifying for any official Olympic sports event any time soon there are a few events I love to watch and one of these is the gymnastics. The gymnasts exemplify the pinnacle of confidence. Their jaw dropping performances, characterized by precision, grace, and strength, are the result of years of dedicated practice and training. They need unwavering confidence to execute such complex routines.
The routines that we see performed during the Olympic competition range from 30 to 90 seconds duration approximately on different apparatus. It has taken years of intense discipline and meticulously planned training and practice to reach this level of excellence.
Mental preparation plays a huge role as gymnasts are expected to perform under significant pressure at competitions. Staying mentally sharp yet calm during the biggest meets helps them nail routines when it matters most. Developing such mental resilience takes time.
If you’re a fan of gymnastics one of the most amazing gymnasts out there right now is Simone Biles. Simone Biles, with eight Olympic and 30 World Championship medals and counting, she is the most decorated gymnast in history and is widely considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. She’s known not just for her incredible skills, but also for her resilience and mental strength. It is well documented that she bravely stepped back at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health.
If anyone understands the mental and emotional toll of gymnastics, it’s Simone Biles. She knows what it feels like to be overwhelmed by pressure especially given her experience with the twisties, where gymnasts lose their sense of space and direction while in the air. Taking time off to focus on her health must have been incredibly challenging, but her return to competition proves just how resilient she is.
While Fashion Buying is not an Olympic event there are many lesson to be learned from sports. To become a good fashion buyer, it does not happen overnight nor upon graduation from fashion college. It is necessary to put in the time to build your knowledge, go through multiple buying seasons to accumulate experience and build on the learning blocks gained from each. All together this is how you develop confidence in fashion buying and in making confident commercially sound decisions.
The levels of self-assurance, confidence and resilience needed to excel in the fashion buyers role comes over time. Developing mental resilience helps buyers to stay focused and enables them to make sound decisions even under pressure.
For a fashion buyer at the start of your career you will not necessarily be confident in all aspects of the role. Initially you will be focused on understanding the buying process and understanding the deadlines, managing the various tasks you are assigned and generally getting familiar with the business processes of the company you are working with. Some of these tasks may come to you more easily than others depending on your prior experience. At this early stage it is a good opportunity understand your strengths and areas for improvement
There are differences between professional and personal confidence, developing self-awareness, leveraging transferable skills, and seeking balance can help in cultivating confidence across both domains.
Being confident in your personal life is often about self-acceptance and resilience, in the professional world, it’s more about competence and assertiveness. In personal settings, confidence helps you for example to navigate social interactions, build relationships, and pursue personal goals. Professional confidence on the other hand enables you to take calculated risks, make informed decisions, and influence others effectively.
For fashion buyers, personal confidence can bolster professional confidence. The assurance gained from personal achievements can translate into the workplace, enhancing your ability to handle high-stress situations, such as negotiating with suppliers or presenting new collections to senior management and key stakeholders.
Here are some ways to think about how you can bridge the gap between professional and personal confidence:
- Transferable Skills: Skills like communication, problem-solving, and resilience can boost confidence in both professional and personal life.
- Consistency: Being authentic and consistent in both areas can help build overall confidence. Aligning your values and behaviour across professional and personal contexts fosters a unified sense of self.
- Self-awareness: Understanding your strengths and areas for improvement in both domains can help you leverage your professional confidence to enhance personal confidence and vice versa.
- Support Systems: Building supportive networks in both professional and personal life can provide the encouragement and feedback necessary to boost overall confidence.
- Balanced Life: Striving for a balanced life where professional and personal achievements and challenges are acknowledged and addressed can lead to a more holistic and sustainable sense of confidence.
Buyers build confidence through thorough preparation. This includes understanding their customers and market trends, knowing their products inside out, and anticipating potential challenges particularly when managing the critical path for product development. The more organised and prepared you are as a buyer, the more confident you will feel no matter what unexpected event or challenge arises. This can be when making presentations or negotiating prices and orders with suppliers or in juggling and prioritising the every changing lists of daily tasks.
Here are some additional techniques for Building and Developing Confidence as a Fashion Buyer
Self-Awareness Understanding one’s strengths and areas for improvement is the first step toward building confidence. Fashion buyers should regularly reflect on their experiences, both successes and failures, to gain insights and enhance their self-awareness.
Continuous Learning The fashion industry is ever-evolving, and staying updated with the latest trends and technologies is crucial. Fashion buyers should invest in continuous learning through courses, workshops, and industry events. Knowledge boosts confidence, enabling them to make informed decisions.
Preparation: One of the things that I have found have really helped in terms of confidence are being thoroughly prepared. If you have ever been in the Brownies or the Girl Guides, the motto that we learned was always to be prepared. Prepare thoroughly for meetings, presentations, and negotiations. The more prepared you are, the more confident you will feel. Research, practice, and anticipate potential questions or challenges.
Seeking Feedback from peers, mentors, and lines managers can help you to identify areas for improvement and build confidence. Constructive criticism can be a powerful tool for building confidence and embracing feedback with an open mind allows them to refine their skills and grow professionally.
Positive Affirmations and Visualization Incorporating positive self-talk and visualization techniques can enhance confidence. It helps sometime to visualize a successful outcome to negotiations or delivery of your range plan presentation, which in turn can reduce anxiety and improve performance.
Networking and Mentoring Building a strong professional network and seeking mentorship can provide valuable support and guidance. Interacting with experienced professionals and peers can boost confidence and provide new perspectives.
The more that you are exposed to different situations, particularly in the world of fashion buying, the more confident you will become. Whether this is through internships when you are starting out ,or part time jobs, or even volunteering opportunities in the fashion industry, Gaining exposure to real-world industry situations, each experience, whether successful or challenging, contributes to your growth.
For fashion buyers, it is not just about personal self-assurance; it’s about making decisive choices, negotiating effectively, and presenting ideas convincingly. As the Olympics captures global attention, it is interesting to draw parallels between the confidence displayed by athletes, particularly gymnasts, and that required by fashion buyers.. By drawing lessons from the world of sport and other industries, fashion buyers can develop the self-assurance needed to navigate the complexities of their roles. Through continuous learning, self-awareness, and the support of a strong professional network, fashion buyers can build and maintain the confidence required to excel in the dynamic world of fashion.
