Fashion Magazine Jobs List: What to Expect in a Digital Career?

Learn about the different types of positions in a digital fashion magazines if you’re interested in making a career in this field. Discover the complete fashion magazine jobs list and their roles and responsibilities.

Hey everyone! Fashion magazine jobs are some of the most coveted career choices for those who have an interest in fashion but aren’t designers. As a child, I used to make magazines in my class, collecting articles from my classmates, where I would be everything from the artist to editor to PR manager of my magazines! As I grew up and read fashion magazines from cover to cover, I learned more about different positions in a magazine and job hierarchy.

But the industry has changed drastically in the last few years as digital media took over traditional. I only learned about what job titles in a digital magazine are formally required and their names, when I started building ShilpaAhuja.com, hiring and expanding our team.

The fashion magazine jobs list is so varied that anyone who’s motivated will be able to find something interesting to do in this industry. If you’re planning a career in digital fashion media, the below list of fashion magazine roles will help you prepare for an internship. I’m also detailing the qualities required by each, which will help you understand the daily work responsibilities of a position you’re interested in.

So let’s explore what the different magazine staff roles are.

Digital Fashion Magazine Jobs List

To understand the hierarchy of digital fashion magazine jobs, you must first understand what different departments a fashion magazine office has. They are: Content department, Art & Photography department, Sales & Marketing department and Web Technology department. Let’s look at the different fashion magazine roles within each.

Content Department

This is where digital content is planned, written, edited and published. Some of the most popular roles in a fashion magazine jobs list are in this department.

Editor-in-Chief

The topmost position of a digital fashion magazine is that of Editor-in-Chief. Their responsibility is to oversee the content strategy and create a vision for the future of the magazine in terms of what goes in it. She is responsible for the main genres the magazine will feature and what mood the content will set.

Editor-in-Chief needs to be a visionary and should have excellent leadership skills, since he or she’s the boss. Additionally, a great taste is required to select content that readers will love. She also needs to be very decisive, since all the small and big decisions eventually go through her. Finally, Editor-in-Chief should have exceptional networking skills, so that she can easily make contacts in the industry, which will help her get fresh content.

Fashion Editor

The Fashion Editor works closely with the Editor-in-Chief and executes the fashion content strategy. She plans the magazine articles and photo-shoots months in advance. She also assigns new and trendy topics to staff writers as per their skills. Whatever gets published goes through her. She also gives her recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief about which up and coming celebrities will be featured and which designer’s work will be including in the editorials.

There are also Assistant Editors, who assist the Editors with this work, and eventually get promoted to become Editors and then Senior Editors. Editors need to be team workers and also leaders, since all the journalists report to them. They also need project management and time management skills, so that they can plan shoots, events, etc. in addition to the daily content. Finally, editors should have a flair for spotting trends amongst celebs, runways and pop culture.

Beauty Editor

Just like the Fashion Editor is responsible for planning and executing every week’s fashion content, Beauty Editor does the same for beauty related content. They plan which makeup looks and brands will be featured, what trends will be written about.

Lifestyle Editor

Lifestyle Editor plans the magazine’s content pertaining to food, health, culture, home and travel. They also spot the newest lifestyle trends so they can make sure journalists are covering the hottest topics for the magazine.

Journalists/ Staff Writers

Journalists report to the fashion, lifestyle or beauty editors and write about fashion news, events, interviews, celebrity dresses, latest trends and other topics as set by the editor. They may have to work on strict deadlines or odd hours, making sure all the major events are timely covered. They have to abide by the communication guidelines set by the magazine so that every article’s journalistic standards are met.

Writers should have perfect writing and editing skills, obviously. They also need to have attention to detail and be very punctual, especially if they want to work on the best assignments.

Copywriter/ Fact-Checker

Copywriters go through every article before it is submitted to the Editor for review. They make sure every piece is grammatically and stylistically correct. They also do fact-checking, so a knowledge of pop culture, fashion history, runway history is required.

Staff Columnist/ Features Writer

Although monthly columns are more of a print magazine feature, a digital fashion magazine jobs list can have them, too. These are written by staff columnists or features writers. They may work on a specific topic or genre only, depending on their expertise or unique style of writing. They also work on travel articles, like restaurant reviews, travel guides or celeb weddings, etc.

Feature writers should be self-starters so that they can come up with new ideas and make unique articles. They should also follow the news to spot cool, buzz-worthy topics they can cover. A passion and knowledge of good lifestyle, food, art and culture is an added bonus.

Trend Analyst

All fashion magazines have different things they expertise in or focus on. Some cover more celebrity news, and some cover more runway news. In a magazine like ShilpaAhuja.com, we focus on trend analysis and forecasting. A Trend Analyst’s job is to go through pop culture, street style, runway looks and celeb style to predict the upcoming seasons’ fashion and beauty trends. Trend Analysts then pitch these forecast reports to the Editor so that they can plan upcoming week’s content to report the new trends.

They need very good observation skills, so they can spot what’s new and trending. They also need to have a great memory and knowledge of past fashion trends and all of previous years’ designer collections. Also, they need to be able to work well in teams, since trend prediction is usually done in groups.

Shopping Advisor

Digital fashion magazines rely heavily on showcasing trendy apparel, accessories and cosmetics that the articles feature. These are often linked to shopping websites. The Shopping Advisor goes through all major brands’ websites to spot trendy products. Sometimes, magazines may have a specific person in the Shopping Advisor role, or the Staff Writers may pick the products themselves.

Shopping Advisor may also be the “Shopper” who is responsible for picking samples from stores for photo-shoots. In that case, it’s their responsibility to arrange and send back samples, and keep them all sorted in the samples room.

Art & Photography Department

Art Director

The head of the Art Department is responsible for the visual content of a magazine. He or she will plan the direction the graphics, including colors and themes of the website and photo-shoots, seasonal or daily banners, and videos. They also manage the team of photographers, cinematographer, illustrator/Photoshop artist and stylist.

Stylist

The stylist, as the name suggests, styles the models’ looks for photo-shoots and videos. They may also style the senior team members such as Editor-in-Chief or Director for events or company shoots. The stylist usually keeps full track of every designer and brands’ latest collections and season’s trends, so they can pick the best items. They collaborate with the Art Director and Editors.

The stylist also designs the overall look and feel of a photo-shoot or video. So they are in charge of designing or putting together sets, costumes, hair/makeup, lighting, select location and make sure everything is set before the crew arrives. This is a position of great responsibility, since stylist has to collaborate with so many people and make sure their vision is properly executed in each picture or frame.

Photographer

Photographer works with models, stylist and Art Director to shoot looks for the magazine. They may have to do photo-shoots both in-studio and on-location, so frequent travel and long working hours may be required.

Videographer/ Cinematographer

These may be two different people or the same person, depending on how big the magazine’s video channel is, and how frequently they do art videos. The videographer needs to shoot videos such as makeup tutorials, fashion+music videos, celeb interviews or style how-to’s, etc.

Photo Editor

The Photo Editor is also sometimes called Photoshop Artist. They are responsible for post-production editing of still pictures, including light and color correction, skin editing or special effects. Their work is almost always on deadlines and excessive, since fashion magazines’ content is very image-heavy.

Video Editor

Just like the Photo Editor works on editing images, video editor works on post-production editing of videos. Their job is to put together original footage in sequence, add music or edit sound, and export the final videos. This also includes color and light correction and sometimes special effects.

Graphic Designer

The graphic designer creates visuals for the website, such as article featured images, homepage banners, branded content, collages, etc. They have to be creative and find out fresh ways to make the website and every article look interesting and more readable. The Graphic Designer also works with the Web Designer to design basic look of the website, including logo and other art elements. They also have to be knowledgeable about latest graphic and web design trends.

Illustrator

Illustrators are not a part of every digital fashion magazine, but are responsible for making infographics, fashion illustrations and other visuals for the articles. They also design company logo, company signboards and branded merchandise in collaboration with graphic designer.

Sales & Marketing Department

This department is responsible for the magazine’s brand identity, and generating sales revenue, so it’s a very important team. They’re also well-paid, sometimes with salary components depending on their targets. Usually, a magazine’s readers don’t think of these team-members amongst the real fashion magazine jobs list. However, this department works behind-the-scenes to actually make sure the company stays afloat!

Social Media Manager

Also known as the Community Manager, this person is responsible for making sure that the social channels are engaging their followers with fresh content multiple times a day, on all channels. They also have to increase the follower count, and traffic from social media to the website/app, too. The Social Media Manager is also in-charge of organizing social media promotions, like giveaways, contests, running social media collaborations with brands, and replying to fan-mail or answering followers’ questions. This is quite a busy job, especially with countless social media channels every magazine needs to be present on, like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest and what not.

Branding & Marketing Manager

The Brand/ Marketing Manager has one of the most important roles in the magazine. Basically, their role is to define what the audience will think about the magazine. It’s their job to define and understand the target audience, and create guidelines for content and brand communications, so that everything works together. They have to collaborate with Web Designer, Art Director, Social Media Manager and Editor-in-Chief to ensure that the branding strategy is followed everywhere.

Sales Manager

The Sales Manager works to increase magazine revenue by collaborating with brands to get advertisements and sponsored content. They negotiate ad rates and finalize sales, and then pass on the details to content team and Accounts Manager.

Accounts Manager

They are responsible for different clients, like brands, which the magazine works with. Each Accounts Manager works with a set of clients, and ensure their ads or sponsored articles are published according to the contract. For a small magazine, the fashion magazine jobs list may have sales and accounts manager as the same person.

PR Manager

The PR Manager ensures the magazine gets good publicity. They do this by creating press releases and getting them published on other news channels. They also pitch contests, giveaways and other PR ideas to the team. Additionally, they organize interviews for the Editor-in-Chief to create buzz for upcoming special content. They also organize magazine events in collaboration with brands or bloggers to get more coverage.

SEO Analyst

SEO stands for search engine optimization, so the SEO Analyst works to optimize the magazine’s web pages so they appear in the search results. They are responsible for getting the majority of traffic to the website. They also analyze new keywords and work in collaboration with the content department so that articles may be written about trendy topics that people are searching for on the web.

Web Technology Department

Finally, fashion magazine jobs list also includes the IT people. This department is responsible for the creation and maintenance of the magazine’s website and app.

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

The CTO is the Chief Geek of the office, who leads the team of IT Assistants, Web Developers and Designers. They ensure everything is running smoothly, and help the team troubleshoot urgent issues.

IT/ Technology Assistant

The Tech Assistant works on the installation, operation, and maintenance of computers and laptops of everyone in the office. They also set up communication systems like LAN and internet. Assistants also handle the help desk, answering calls and e-mails from every department about computer issues or communication systems.

Web Developer

The Web Developer creates and maintains the website and app. They may have to code new functionalities, such as pop-up ads or complicated image galleries. They collaborate with the Web Designer to execute the design. Lastly, they are answerable for website’s up-time, speed and code errors, making sure it never, ever goes down.

Web Designer

An integral part of any digital fashion magazine jobs list, this person is the designer of the whole website. This includes colors, fonts, menus, pages, banners, etc. They keep working on fresh ideas so each page looks dynamic and engaging. They also collaborate with the Marketing Manager to ensure the website reflects the brand identity of the magazine.

UI/UX Designer

The UI/UX Designer works to design the user experience and interface of the app, or sometimes the website. They ensure the menus, pages are all easy to navigate, and the font size is easy to read for everyone, etc. In smaller magazines or those that don’t have an app, the UI/UX Designer and the Web Designer may be the same person.

Company Management & Admin

CEO

The CEO is the Chief Executive Officer, or the top boss of the company. They work closely with the company’s Chairperson, shareholders and board of directors to understand the vision for the business and set vision and mission. Then they ensure the Editor-in-Chief and Sales department understand their targets. They basically execute the vision of the company for long and short term goals.

Other Admin Jobs List in a Fashion Magazine

Digital fashion magazine is also like any other office in that they require people to be HR Managers, Accountants, etc. I’m not going to go into detail too much, since these are the same responsibilities as in any other office.

So, I hope this exhaustive fashion magazine jobs list was helpful for understanding how a digital media house works. If you had to work in a fashion magazine, what would your dream job be? Lemme know below, or tweet @shilpa1ahuja!

Also, ShilpaAhuja.com is hiring. If you’re looking for a great career opportunity, check out our openings at fashion magazine jobs list and apply here!