The curation field, especially within fashion and the creative industries, involves selecting, researching, and presenting collections or exhibitions in a way that tells a meaningful story. Curatorial roles require strong research, writing, and organizational skills, as well as a passion for fashion, culture, or art history. Curation today also includes community collaboration and cultural programming, encouraging students to think beyond traditional galleries and see themselves as storytellers or even activists, using exhibitions to share diverse voices and ideas.
Curators play a vital role in shaping how audiences understand and experience creative work, both in galleries and public spaces. Entry-level positions may include assistant curator or collections assistant, with opportunities to progress to roles in major institutions or brand archives, like Creative Director, Chief Creative Officer, Collections Manager or Art Director.
Fashion Curation:
Fashion Curators work closely with designers, academics, historians, museums, and brands to assemble displays that reflect cultural trends, preserve history, and engage the public. They are responsible for “curating” live fashion exhibitions. They play a key role in shaping how fashion brands and stores present themselves and their products to the world.
A curator may be working in house for a designer brand, or freelance. They may be responsible for collecting and managing a brands collection of previous collections or reference garments, sourcing garments, organizing exhibitions, and interpreting fashion through written content, educational events, and public talks. Two notable luxury brands who have curated large exhibitions are Jean Paul Gaultier and Dior – the coordination of these exhibitions may have been the work of one or more curators working on the entire show. These exhibitions make a large impact on public perception of a brand.
Examples of roles within Curation:
- Fashion Curator
- Trend Forecaster
- Creative Curator
- Digital Archives Assistant
- Education/Outreach Assistant
- Registration Assistant
- Stylist
- Archivist
- Gallery Assistant
- Programmes Assistant
- Curatorial Assistant
- Exhibition Assistant
- Collection Assistant
London College of Fashion courses relevant to careers in business development:
- BA (Hons) Creative Direction for Fashion
- BA (Hons) Critical Practice in Fashion Media
- BA (Hons) Fashion Journalism and Content Creation
- BA (Hons) Fashion Marketing
- BA (Hons) Fashion Styling and Production
- BA (Hons) Fashion Visual Merchandising and Branding
- BSc (Hons) Psychology of Fashion
This list is not exhaustive. It is only an indication of directly connected LCF Courses.