Job Responsibilities of a Dresser for Fashion Shows

Fashion can be one of the most challenging fields to break into, and you'll most likely start at the bottom and work your way up. Being a dresser, a fast-paced, entry-level position, puts you in the center of the action at important events like Fashion Week in various cities. Most dressers are freelancers who sign up with dressing companies for these temporary assignments. In a nutshell, fashion show dressers get models into designer original outfits before they hit the runway.

Models get their hair and makeup done first by a different crew, veteran dresser Darryl Nipps tells the "Wall Street Journal." Then, it's the dresser's responsibility to put the outfit on the model per the designer's exact specifications -- the model doesn't do that herself -- which sometimes can be a tight squeeze, depending on the type of clothing and size of the model. Dressers also must know which shoes go with which outfits and ensure that the models have the ones they need, even if that means coordinating shoe sharing.

Nipps also says that dressers provide moral support to models, helping them deal with the sometimes uncomfortable nature of the clothes. Dressers also must ensure that hair products and makeup don't damage the fabric, since high-profile clients make buying decisions during and after the fashion show. A dresser also must be able to handle the models' personalities -- which range from confident to temperamental -- and must keep a cool head throughout the show.