It is where you get the bearings needed to begin a career at one of the large clothing lines, and it gives you a chance to experiment and try the different jobs, and find your own design styles that you can bring with you and will help make a name for yourself once you reach the name brands.
Whether you are looking to design fashionable clothing, become a model or a stylist, write for a fashion magazine or any number of the huge variety of careers in fashion there are out there, there will be a small time position that mirrors the responsibilities of the big companies while not having the stress level of those, and being much more lenient in helping you learn and accepting mistakes. You have to get the reigns of the job before advancing, and this is a key element of being successful in fashion.
Hone your talent before you do anything else, find your niche and explore it. Your talent must exceed the local opportunities before you can move on to the next level and if you ignore this rule, it can end up hurting your chances at a high level career. Many of the television shows out there make it seem that you can simply get lucky and have a career in fashion, but they don't go into detail about the failure that many of the people who get a job off of the reality show face, as well as the challenges that come with getting on that show and winning.
It is important and wise to have a solid background in fashion with a few successful designs under your belt before you go out and seek a career in fashion. You will constantly have to face criticism and change your design, and this means you'll have to not only be flexible but strong enough to put up with this constant bombardment of critique. Fashion industry is one of the most competitive businesses out there and the boss you have will most likely not be forgiving to your mistakes. Start working low, and plan your career from there onward and you have a higher chance to succeed than simply jumping in and hoping to get lucky and fall into a career you are good at.
Having talent is a big part of the fashion industry, and even though you might have some great and original ideas it is important to develop the skills, and the professionalism required to progress in the industry and through your career. It is possible, but requires great determination, if you have it, you'll be working in the fashion industry in no time.