Gen Z is known for being outspoken, non-traditional, and unconventional in how they approach life. In comparison to past generations, Gen Z is openly not too fond of work and capitalism’s reign on them. When Kim Kardashian said, “Nobody wants to work these days,” it seemed like it could’ve applied to Gen Z. However, in the fashion industry laziness is not tolerated, nor is the bare minimum.
Fashion’s landscape has changed significantly from its “Devil Wears Prada” days, but now other issues have arised with magazines folding, layoffs, and pay decreasing for many creatives in the field, even those with substantial social media followings. The shift is palpable to Gen Z professionals like India Roby, 23, a New York-based freelance writer who started out as an intern in college at the Parsons New School. She was bright-eyed and excited to be a part of an industry she admired for so long. Over time, her light has dimmed with growing concerns for the future of her career. Roby graduated during the pandemic and started her first big girl job a few months later as a fashion writer at NYLON magazine. She’s gone freelance since her last full-time role.
“I’m not sure if it’s just me feeling this way, but I think it was easier to find a full-time gig in the pandemic than it is now,” shares Roby, “Seeing all the layoffs and shuttering of publications in such a short time has made me a pessimist if I’m being honest.”
Roles are getting harder and harder to come by if you’re looking to be a full-time writer. Roby’s concerns echo throughout the industry, with the emphasis shifting towards SEO-driven content and rapid trend cycles. “It’s becoming unstable,” Roby exclaimed. In the future, she predicts many writing roles will be obsolete, making space for “SEO to social to social only strategies,” meaning social media will be where we get all writing content.
“It sucks to have a passion for writing and storytelling even as a fashion writer, but I’m starting to think of other ways to use my skills. Hopefully, I’m wrong in my prediction,” Roby explains, “I think there’s such a need for writing of all sorts, and I hope media conglomerates recognize the value in having these stories and the editors that make it all happen.”
On the other end of fashion media is New York-based publicist, Olivia Dent, 25, who has much higher hopes. Dent works for an esteemed public relations agency that looks to empower Black and POC designers. She started as an intern in January of 2021 and became a brand assistant ten months later, and is now a junior account manager. You can’t deny the hunger to succeed in this Gen Zer. She’d be seen checking in hundreds of attendees for a runway show outside no matter the weather, in showrooms keeping the space organized, and glued to her computer or phone answering a wave of emails.
While media is in an odd transitional space, Dent feels like the future of fashion PR will lean heavily into mastering partnership management. “Fashion is such a highly collaborative space,” Dent shared. As AI programming and technology continues to advance, Dent says that a young publicist like herself will have to lean into their human-centered skillset to build authentic relationships and communities for clients. She’s focusing less on what can’t control and more on what she can change for her fashion designer clients.
Media may be a daunting career choice at the moment, but freelance jobs like being a stylist or photographer are just as tumultuous for Gen Z. Most of the young generation is rejecting the traditional 9 to 5 work structure. One of them being New York-based celebrity tailor and freelance stylist Amaia Anderson, 24. Her woes with working in fashion are more personal. New York is a place where clout will triumph over love almost every time. Anderson has learned this quickly, finding herself playing a comparison game too often. As we live in a social media age of sharing work on Instagram as a portfolio, it can stir jealousy and feelings of inadequacy for Anderson.
“It can be detrimental to our mental health…I would wonder how someone landed a big job. What did they have to do to get there? Did they get that job because of the vast amount of followers they have? Then I question myself wondering if I will ever get to that point?”
Being a Gen Z creator in a city full of them in New York has made Anderson feel that she needs to be doing even more than what’s already on her plate. The hustle it takes to succeed as a stylist can take years to see come to fruition. Anderson’s dilemma lies within herself as a young and hungry Gen Zer. “[Social media] has also led me to think I have to create for social media in order to prove myself to people who don’t know me personally, so they can see my talents and my work ethic.”
Obviously, the internet has some negative things to say about the Gen Z work ethic, but we can assure you these young people are constantly pushing themselves past their limits to see a sliver of success and to survive in the industry they want to be a part of so badly. Fashion photographer Sophia Wilson, 23, is a New York-native that has garnered thousands of followers online and has been featured on the Freeform show The Come Up. Along with a few other Gen Zers, the show showed her journey as a young analog-style photographer just trying to make it. Her work ethic at just 13-years-old has gotten her to the successful place she’s in now.
From taking editorial photos for magazines like Vogue, Highsnobiety, i-D, Elle and more, Wilson’s dreams are only getting bigger. Her largest goal aside from being on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, which she had accomplished in 2023, is to be the first Black woman household name in photography. As a Gen Z fashion photographer, being part of the youngest group of people in this industry is hard for Wilson, but also has been an exciting experience for the budding star. “I’m part of a new wave of fashion photographers, who, for the first time in history, are mainly women, Black women, and women of color photographers out there, so it makes me feel really hopeful for the industry and less alone,” Wilson said.
When Wilson was growing up in the early aughts, the “female gaze” movement was growing in popularity while the Y2K aesthetic was born at the same time.“It’s so cool 23 years later, the same trends are trending again,” Wilson adds, “Topics are being revitalized and I get to see both sides of them as a Gen Zer.”
The throughline of these honest opinions is overall that youth is not a complete obstacle in the fashion industry or work ethic. These young people are seeing for themselves that fashion is just not always glamorous, and that their success stories are going to take more time than others’. Coming to terms with that is the first step to success as it is not always a linear process regardless of what generation you come from.