A inside look at building a career in fashion buying, from someone who's hired, trained, and promoted buyers for over 25 years.
Picture this: You’re sitting in a buying office, three weeks before a major season launch. The senior buyer you’re meant to be shadowing has just called in sick, the supplier is on the phone from Bangladesh with a production delay, and the merchandiser is asking for your input on markdown strategy. Your degree didn’t prepare you for this moment—but somehow, you need to make decisions that will impact thousands of pounds worth of inventory.
When I started my career in Fashion Buying I realised that being a fashion buyer isn’t just about having good taste or understanding trends. It’s about mastering a complex jigsaw of creative and commercial skills that most people learn through trial and error—if they’re lucky enough to learn them at all. And when I say learn – I mean pick up and not necessary the best practises or skills. It can be really hit or miss depending on whom or where you are acquiring this knowledge.
If you’re wondering how to become a fashion buyer, you’ve probably been told to get a fashion degree, do some internships, and work your way up. Whilst that’s not wrong, it’s incomplete. Let me share what I learned during my 20+ years in buying and wish I knew or that someone had told me when I started my career..
The Reality Check: What Fashion Buying Actually Involves
Before we talk about how to get there, let’s be honest about what the role actually entails. Fashion buying isn’t shopping with someone else’s money (though I’ve heard that description andhw Amazing that must be countless times). It’s a strategic, numbers-driven role that sits at the heart of a fashion business.
On any given day, a fashion buyer might:
- Analyse sales data to identify which products to reorder or mark down
- Negotiate with suppliers on price, delivery dates, and payment terms
- Plan next season’s range based on market trends and current / past commercial performance
- Manage budgets that run into millions of dollars
- Present range strategies to senior management for review and sign off.
- Collaborate with designers and suppliers on product development
- Make split-second decisions about inventory management during peak trading periods
I remember my first proper buying role at a high street retailer. I’d come from a design background and had a good understanding of the working of a buying office. My design background prepared me better than most when it comes to product development and undetstand garment construction and costings. However when it came to the financial sides of things initially I was drowning in spreadsheets, trying to understand concepts like open-to-buy, margin analysis, and sell-through rates. Successful fashion buying is as much about mathematics as it is about aesthetics and nobody had taought me how to read sales data , plan a budget to develop a commerical range and navigate the OTB spreadsheets.
The Fashion Buyers Career Path
Many career advisors will tell you the standard route to working in buying starts is: fashion degree, internships, junior merchandising or buying assistant role, then gradually work your way up. This path does work. I’ve seen plenty of successful buyers follow it but it comes with significant gaps.
The problem is that fashion education focuses heavily on design, marketing, and trends, but is taught in ‘silos’ and rarely covers the commercial realities of buying. When I say ‘Silos’ this means each of these topics or module are taught independently of each other and the dots are rarely joined. You’ll learn about colour theory and consumer psychology, but you might never encounter an open-to-buy calculation or understand how currency fluctuations impact your cost prices.
Jenny, one of my former junior buyers, is a perfect example. She had a first-class degree in Fashion Marketing, had completed internships at two major retailers, and was bright, ambitious, and creative. When she joined my team as a junior buyer, she could spot trends months ahead and had brilliant ideas for product development. But she struggled with the commercial basics like understanding budgets, margins, sell throughs OTBs, interpreting sales reports and making data-driven decisions about which styles to develop.. It wasn’t her fault. She’d never been taught these skills. And unfortunately, this is typical rather than exceptional.
The Skills Gap That Nobody Talks About
After 25 years of hiring and training buyers, I’ve identified a consistent pattern: there’s a massive gap between what fashion education provides and what the industry actually requires. This gap falls into several key areas:
Commercial Fundamentals Most new buyers can tell you about trend forecasting but struggle to explain how margin works or what happens when you need to mark down stock. These aren’t nice-to-have skills—they’re fundamental to making profitable buying decisions.
Data Interpretation Fashion buying generates enormous amounts of data: sales reports, stock levels, supplier performance metrics, customer feedback. Being able to read this data and extract actionable insights is crucial, yet it’s rarely taught in formal education.
Negotiation and Supplier Management You’ll be negotiating constantly—not just on price, but on delivery dates, quality standards, payment terms, and minimum order quantities. These are learnable skills, but they require practice and understanding of commercial dynamics.
Strategic Thinking Junior roles often focus on execution, but progression requires strategic thinking—understanding how your category fits into the broader business, how to balance risk and opportunity, and how to build ranges that perform commercially whilst maintaining brand integrity.
Based on what I’ve learned from hiring hundreds of people and watching careers develop over decades, here’s a more realistic approach to becoming a fashion buyer:
Step 1: Build Commercial Literacy First
Before you worry about getting the perfect internship, invest time in understanding how fashion businesses actually work. Learn about:
- How profit margins are calculated and protected
- The buying cycle from concept to customer
- Basic financial metrics like sell-through rates and stock turn
- How supply chains function and where delays occur
This knowledge will set you apart immediately. When I’m interviewing candidates, I can tell within minutes who understands the commercial reality of fashion and who doesn’t.
Step 2: Understand Your Numbers
Whether you’re in a junior role, an internship, or even working part-time in retail, start paying attention to the data around you. Ask questions about why certain products are marked down, how decisions are made about reordering stock, and what happens when sales don’t meet expectations.
I often recommend that people spend time in retail before moving into head office roles. Not because it’s a requirement, but because it gives you direct insight into how buying decisions play out with real customers and real sales data.
Step 3: Develop Your Analytical Skills
You don’t need to become a data scientist, but you do need to be comfortable working with numbers and spreadsheets. Practice interpreting sales reports, creating basic forecasts, and understanding what different metrics tell you about business performance.
Many universities offer short courses in business analytics or data interpretation. These can be incredibly valuable for fashion careers, even though they’re not specifically fashion-focused.
Step 4: Build Industry Knowledge Strategically
Yes, you need to understand trends, but focus on building commercial awareness of the industry. Read trade publications, follow fashion business news, and pay attention to company results and market movements. Understanding why certain retailers succeed or struggle will make you a more effective buyer.
Step 5: Network With Purpose
Instead of general fashion networking, focus on connecting with people who work in buying, merchandising, and planning roles. Ask about their career paths, the challenges they face, and what skills they wish they’d developed earlier.
I’m always happy to chat with people who are genuinely interested in understanding the commercial side of fashion. Most buyers are, because we know how valuable it would have been to have that guidance when we were starting out
The Fast Track: Accelerating Your Development
If you’re serious about becoming a fashion buyer and want to accelerate your development, consider these approaches:
Seek Out Commercial Training Look for courses or training programmes that specifically focus on fashion buying and merchandising skills. These are different from general fashion courses—they should cover margin analysis, range planning, supplier negotiation, and data interpretation.
Find a Mentor in the Industry Having someone who can guide you through the commercial realities and help you understand industry dynamics is invaluable. This doesn’t have to be a formal arrangement—many experienced buyers are happy to offer occasional advice and perspective.
Take on Projects That Build Commercial Skills Even in junior roles, volunteer for projects that involve data analysis, supplier coordination, or range planning. These experiences will build your commercial confidence and demonstrate your readiness for more responsibility.
Stay Curious About the Business Side Always ask why decisions are made, how performance is measured, and what drives profitability. This curiosity will serve you throughout your career and help you understand the strategic context of your role.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
In my experience, here are the mistakes that most often derail promising fashion buying careers:
Focusing Only on the Creative Side Fashion is a business first and a creative industry second. Buyers who can’t balance creative vision with commercial reality struggle to progress.
Underestimating the Importance of Relationships Success in buying depends heavily on your relationships with suppliers, colleagues, and other departments. Invest time in building these relationships from the beginning. Build your reputation as a buyer of integrity and trustworthiness. The industry is a small world and it is advisable not to burn too many bridges along the way.
Not Developing Your Numerical Confidence You don’t need to love spreadsheets, but you do need to be comfortable with them. Take time out to practice and improve your proficiency. Analytics are an integral part of a buyers role and weak skills will limit your progression.
Thinking Short-Term Fashion moves fast, but buying decisions have long-term consequences. The decisions you make today can positively or negatively impact the business. Developing the ability to think strategically about range development and category management is crucial for senior roles.
Transitioning from From Aspiring to Actual Buyer
The transition from wanting to be a fashion buyer to actually being one often happens faster than people expect—if they’re prepared for the commercial realities of the role.
Tara, another former colleague, made this transition brilliantly. She was working s a sales assistant in one of our stores and applied for a head office role. She was always ready to get stuck in and help as required but she was curious and always asking questions about why certain products performed well and others didn’t. When a buying assistant position became available, she was a perfect fit because not only did she have genuine insights into customer behaviour gained from the shop floor, she also understood the commercial fundamentals about product performance.
The lesson? Opportunity often comes to those who are prepared and work for it, rather than those who are simply qualified on paper.
Your Next Steps
If becoming a fashion buyer genuinely appeals to you—not just the idea of it, but the commercial reality—here’s what I’d suggest you do next:
- Assess your current commercial knowledge honestly. Can you explain how fashion businesses make money? Do you understand the basic metrics that drive buying decisions?
- Start building commercial skills. Whether through courses, self-study, or practical experience, begin developing the analytical and negotiation skills you’ll need.
- Get as close to real buying decisions as possible. Seek roles or experiences that let you observe how commercial decisions are made and what factors influence them.
- Build relationships within the industry. Connect with current buyers and ask about their experiences, challenges, and advice.
Stay curious about the business side of fashion. Know what is going on. Read industry publications, follow company results, and pay attention to market trends that affect commercial performance.
Becoming a fashion buyer is absolutely achievable, but it requires more than passion for fashion and good taste. It requires developing commercial skills, understanding business fundamentals, and being prepared for the analytical and strategic demands of the role.
The industry needs capable, commercially-minded buyers—people who can balance creative vision with business reality. If you’re willing to invest in developing these skills and building genuine understanding of how fashion businesses operate, there are excellent opportunities ahead.
But be honest with yourself about what the role actually involves. Fashion buying is challenging, fast-paced, and commercially demanding. It’s also incredibly rewarding for those who thrive on making decisions that directly impact business performance and customer satisfaction.
The question isn’t whether you can become a fashion buyer—with the right preparation and commercial understanding, most people can. The question is whether you want to do what fashion buyers actually do, rather than what you imagine they do.
Ready to take the next step in your fashion buying career?
If you’re serious about developing the commercial skills that successful buyers rely on, I’d love to help. My training programmes are designed specifically for people who want to understand the business reality of fashion buying—not just the theory, but the practical skills you’ll use every day.
Take the “Are You Buyer-Ready?” Quiz to see where your current skills stand and get personalised guidance on what to focus on next.
Questions about building a career in fashion buying? Feel free to get in touch—I’m always happy to chat with people who are genuinely interested in learning how to developing their skills and understand the commercial side of our industry.