The Fashion Skills Gap Is Real. And This Is Hard to Talk About.

I didn’t write this lightly.

I care about fashion education because I’ve seen its impact and was a fashion student myself once long ago. We are taught the discipline of our creativity, and our confidence is built. Institutions create structure and continuity in an industry that can otherwise feel chaotic. That depth still matters enormously. But depth alone is no longer enough.

A final-year fashion student said something to me recently that has stayed with me ever since.

“I’ve done everything right… so why do I feel behind?”

She wasn’t lacking skill. I looked at her portfolio, and it was strong. Her technical execution was careful, thoughtful, and professional. She spent four years developing her passion and working hard.

But when she started looking at job descriptions, she realised the industry she was about to enter didn’t quite look like the one she had been trained for.

The language had shifted. Employers were expecting digital fluency, sustainability literacy, operational awareness and supply-chain understanding alongside creativity. Not as extras. As normal.

That’s when her confidence wavered. Not because she wasn’t capable. Because the industry had accelerated.

The Industry Has Changed. And The Evidence Is There

This isn’t frustration talking. Its structure.

The UK Fashion & Textile Association has publicly acknowledged technical skills shortages and the need to strengthen vocational pathways within UK fashion education. 

Research from Nottingham Trent University examines how sustainability education can diverge from the implementation of sustainability in real-world industry settings. 

McKinsey’s State of Fashion continues to highlight digital transformation and operational agility, reshaping hiring expectations across the sector.

These aren’t abstract ideas. They reflect what is already happening inside brands.

AI tools are being integrated into creative and technical workflows. 3D systems are reshaping development cycles. Sustainability has moved beyond messaging into compliance and accountability. Digital-first companies such as The Fabricant are operating entirely in virtual environments.

The industry hasn’t drifted slowly into change. It has moved decisively. Education, by design, moves more carefully. It validates. It reviews. It protects standards.

But when one system evolves quickly, and another adapts methodically, that difference in pace becomes visible.

And students feel it first.

This Is Not About Blame. It’s About Alignment.

Universities give students space to think deeply, to question, and to refine their fashion practice with care. That slower, structured development remains essential.

Studios don’t have the luxury of long review cycles. Production teams adapt as soon as market pressures shift. Digital specialists integrate new systems when they deliver results, and sustainability consultants respond to regulatory changes as they happen. Their world moves quickly, and they move with it.

These two speeds now coexist.

Fashion sociologist Frédéric Godart has described fashion as a system shaped simultaneously by culture, economics and technology. When one accelerates, the entire system adjusts.

Currently, technology and sustainability are advancing rapidly. Education cannot bear the weight of that adjustment alone.

That’s not a criticism. It’s a recognition that the ecosystem has expanded.

If You Work in Fashion, This Involves You Too

This is where the conversation becomes personal.

If you are working inside fashion today, you already know how much has changed. You’ve felt the pressure of tighter timelines. You’ve adapted to new digital tools. You’ve navigated sustainability requirements that didn’t exist when you started. You’ve seen AI move from novelty to everyday tool.

You understand the shift because you live inside it. With this in mind, I would like to ask something gently rather than aggressively.

If you see the gap between what is taught and what is required, what role do you play in closing it?

Not as a critic. As a contributor.

Online course creation isn’t about attention or personal branding. It’s about taking what you already know and giving it shape so others can learn from it while it’s still relevant.

If the people working inside real studios and real production systems don’t share what’s actually happening, the gap won’t stay empty. It will be filled by simplified, second-hand explanations that miss the depth of lived experience.

Fashion has always progressed because practitioners have stepped up. Designers changed how we see things. Technologists changed how we make things. Entrepreneurs changed how we sell things.

Now, education requires the same kind of involvement.

Why Catwalk to Commerce Exists

This is why we built Catwalk to Commerce.

Not as a replacement for fashion schools. Not as an anti-institution movement. But as a bridge.

I kept meeting experienced fashion professionals who felt frustrated by the skills gap, yet never considered that they could be part of the solution. They assumed teaching required institutional permission or a formal academic path.

It doesn’t.

Catwalk to Commerce exists to help fashion experts structure their lived experience into clear, accessible learning. Not superficial commentary. Not motivational soundbites. Real frameworks based on real practice.

Because too much valuable knowledge is still confined to internal teams and private studios.

And the next generation deserves access to it.

The Future Will Be Layered

We don’t believe fashion education needs to be replaced. We believe it requires layering.

The future of fashion education requires collaboration between both sides. It needs the depth that institutions provide and the real-time insight that practitioners bring. It requires strong creative thinking, but it also requires digital confidence and a practical understanding of how the industry operates.

That kind of balanced future won’t just happen on its own.

It will happen because professionals decide that what they know shouldn’t stay locked away for years before it’s shared.

The industry isn’t easing up. And neither are the students stepping into it.

And if you see the gap and stay silent, you are quietly allowing it to widen.

If you are already operating inside the future of fashion, teach it.

Not because it’s trendy. Because it’s necessary.

If you’ve read this and felt something shift, even a tiny bit, we’d encourage you not to ignore it.

If you’re working inside fashion and you’ve caught yourself thinking:

“This isn’t what students are being prepared for.”

Then perhaps the next question is what role you want to play in effecting that change.

You don’t need to become an academic. You don’t need permission. You don’t need to abandon your career. But you might need to start structuring what you know.

If you’d like to explore how your experience could become something teachable, scalable, and genuinely useful to the next generation, consider Catwalk to Commerce, or simply reach out and start the conversation.

The future of fashion education won’t wait. And it won’t build itself.