Fashion product managers ensure products are created smoothly from concept development to production. With such a broad scope of work, there are a lot of questions about what the role truly entails.

In my 15+ years working in the fashion industry, I’ve worked alongside product managers to make sure garments get to the finish line. When I worked as a freelance fashion designer, I also did some product management for smaller / start-up brands.But to make sure this article provides an in-depth perspective of the role, I interviewed over a hundred fashion professionals and freelancers in different roles, including fashion product managers.

What Does a Fashion Product Manager Do?

Fashion product managers oversee the lifecycle of fashion products – ensuring that they align with the company’s vision, quality standards, and market demand. 

They coordinate closely with all the team members involved in product development – from the design team, merchandisers, planners, up to the suppliers and manufacturers. Their expertise helps maintain balance between creativity and commercial success all while making sure designs are feasible for production. 

Fashion product managers are often buried in spreadsheets as they manage budgets and timelines – two key elements in ensuring a successful collection launch.

This role involves lots of juggling, but it can be incredibly rewarding “owning” products and pushing them out in the market.

A fashion product manager role involves overseeing the following areas: 

1. Product Development: Researching market trends, product planning, product presentations, overseeing garment samples, and managing production schedules. 
2. Sourcing and Material Selection: Working with designers and material sourcers to procure fabrics and materials.
3. Production Oversight: Planning production schedules, implementing quality control, and managing costs.
4. Cost Management: Analyzing production costs, negotiating with suppliers, and determining product pricing to optimize profitability. 
5. Collaboration and Communication: Coordinating with the entire product development team to align product strategy.
6. Trend Forecasting: Analyzing fashion trends and consumer behavior to adapt product strategies accordingly.

Fashion Product Manager vs Product Developer vs Production Manager

People often confuse these roles as they sound alike. And although they all need to collaborate closely with each other to make sure that garments get launched successfully – these roles are different.

A fashion product manager focuses on the overall lifecycle of a fashion product, from design conception to delivery. Their responsibilities include market research, trend analysis, material sourcing, design collaboration, production oversight, budgeting, and ensuring the final product aligns with the fashion brand’s vision and market demand. 

A fashion product developer works hands-on to execute the plans outlined by the product manager. While the product manager’s work is more high-level, product developers are directly involved in tasks such as planning the collection lineup, selecting fabrics, and overseeing sample creation.

A fashion production manager is primarily concerned with the manufacturing process. They are responsible for the efficient, timely, and cost-effective production of goods. This includes managing the production team, scheduling, quality control, inventory management, and ensuring products are manufactured within budget constraints. 

How Do I Get a Job as a Fashion Product Manager?

Gaining industry experience is important to becoming a fashion product manager. In fact, a lot of fashion product managers I’ve worked with started out in different roles and worked their way up. 

Having this type of hands-on experience helps product managers understand what actually goes on behind the scenes.

That’s exactly what Emilee Goff and Shelby Collins did to secure their roles as product managers.

Emilee’s journey into the fashion world started with an internship at Scott Sports fresh out of high school. Although she was unsure about what fashion path she wanted to pursue, this opportunity opened her eyes to the outdoor apparel scene. 

From doing basic intern tasks to product development work, Emilee worked her way up to becoming a product manager and designer for ski and sports apparel.

I have a podcast interview with Emilee if you want to listen to her full story. 

Shelby, who grew up on a farm in a small town in Colorado, loved expressing herself through clothes and initially started in a design program in college. But design didn’t feel quite right for her, so her love for math and logic redirected her to merchandising. 

After applying to over 50 internships, Shelby landed one in marketing. Upon graduating, she was set back as she had to work crummy customer service roles in the same company she interned for.

Despite starting in roles far from her dream, she persisted, built real connections, and worked her way up, becoming a brand coordinator, and then a product line coordinator, before securing her spot as a product manager. 

You can listen to Shelby’s full story in my podcast.

Fashion product managers have a great amount of knowledge and experience in the entire product development process. Here are important factors to consider for becoming a fashion product manager:

• Hands-On Experience: Working in the trenches of the fashion industry provides invaluable insights into design, production, and consumer preferences. Those with firsthand experience in navigating the challenges of creating garments or accessories understand the nuances of the process.
• Deep Understanding of the Design Process: Having a background in fashion design allows product managers to comprehend the creative process and make meaningful insights from various data points and sales history. 
• Navigating Industry Complexities: Fashion is a multifaceted industry with intricate supply chains, endless material options, and evolving consumer demands. Experience on the ground equips product managers with the ability to navigate these challenges. 
• Building a Professional Network: Fashion product managers are in charge of an entire development run, so it’s important to maintain connections across the entire product development process. These could be your manufacturers, suppliers, designers, merchandisers, etc.

How Much Money Does a Fashion Product Manager Make?

As a fashion product manager, your paycheck depends on several factors like experience level, company size, and location.

According to Glassdoor, the average salary for this role in the US spans from $70k to over $120k annually.

Working in-house is great for some, but what if I told you there’s a way around where you can dictate your own prices and be your own boss?

Freelance & Agency Opportunities for Fashion Product Managers

While working freelance is not as common for product managers as other roles like fashion design, technical design, and pattern making – there are opportunities to work for yourself. 

Fashion product managers we interviewed in our survey have built their own product management agencies and use their years of experience to do the job.

Just like Fakrul A., an Apparel Product Manager from Dhaka, Bangladesh. 

Fakrul shares his day to day working as an Apparel Product Manager at his own agency.

“As an apparel product manager, a typical workday might involve a mix of tasks focused on managing the lifecycle of apparel products. Such as product strategy, collaboration, product development, market research, project management, decision-making, communication, quality control, problem-solving, and continuous improvement.”

Fakrul has over 15 years of experience in apparel sourcing and development. Now, he handles his own product management agency, servicing clients all over the world and earns $2,000 per month.

For reference, according to Payscale, the average salary of employees in Dhaka, Bangladesh is around $300 per month, so that means Fakrul is earning over 6x than those working in-house.

Neila Bianchi, a Fashion Product Manager & Consultant from Brazil shares her day to day in the role:

“[My day-to-day consists of] team meetings, concept development, collaboration with suppliers, product presentation, managing product budget, monitoring product performance after launch, and handling customer complaints.”

Neila offers product management services and consultation to clients. Now, she handles a team of professionals who help brands get their designs from concept to production. 

When asked about the best part of her job, Neila shares:

“The best part of working in this specific role are the opportunities for learning, gaining knowledge, dealing with conflict situations, decision-making and being a team leader who loves what they do.”

You can get in touch with Neila through LinkedIn.

If you’re interested in learning more about being your own boss, get started with my free step-by-step guide to freelancing in fashion.