This article is an edited version written by Ruby Hartley originally featured in GEORGE magazine.
The fashion world is changing faster than ever. Brands aren’t just competing on aesthetics anymore - they’re competing on innovation, ethics, and adaptability. For anyone considering a career in fashion marketing, this means developing skills that go far beyond trend-spotting and tapping into the future of technology and sustainability.
Few people know this better than Debbie Pratt – Program Leader of Fashion Marketing at Collarts. With over 20 years of experience across design, business, and marketing — including nearly a decade at Nike — Pratt brings a unique perspective on what the next generation of fashion marketers will need to succeed.
For a thriving Fashion Marketing career, the key is to balance creativity with adaptability.
“As the fashion industry is constantly evolving, it is hard to predict what future careers will look like,” says Pratt. “However, AI has been a real game-changer. We need to ensure we are providing opportunities for our students to understand how to responsibly use AI tools relevant to the fashion marketing industry.”
Fashion graduates will need to be:
Creative and commercially savvy
Digitally fluent and socially conscious
Agile and adaptable
According to Pratt, digital transformation and sustainability are the two biggest forces shaping fashion’s future.
"Technology is a powerful enabler of sustainability in the fashion industry. It helps brands and businesses reduce waste, improve transparency, extend product life cycles, and make data-driven decisions that align with ethical and environmental goals."
So, what technologies should aspiring fashion marketers expect to work with?
Increasingly, it’s digital platforms and tools that streamline design, retail, and storytelling while aligning with sustainable practices.
As a result, Collarts integrates industry-standard tools into the Fashion Marketing degree, including:
Quadrant PLM by Style Atlas – A cloud-based Product Lifecycle Management tool for managing the full fashion development cycle.
NewArc AI – An AI tool that converts hand-drawn sketches into photorealistic 3D renderings.
Adobe Firefly – A generative AI tool for creating high-quality marketing content.
CLO3D – 3D garment design software that reduces prototype waste.
Blockchain and traceability tools – Platforms like FibreTrace and Provenance ensure ethical and transparent supply chains.
These aren’t just classroom tools - they’re the very technologies reshaping the industry right now.
The future of fashion marketing belongs to those who can merge storytelling with strategy, design with data, and aesthetics with accountability. Whether you’re just starting to explore this field or already building your career, it’s clear that sustainability and technology will define the leaders of tomorrow’s fashion industry.
Pratt explains:
"Technology helps you bring your creative vision to life — from designing immersive campaigns to understanding your audience through data. Sustainability gives your work purpose and meaning."
Interested in a building your own Fashion career? At Collarts, you can study Fashion Marketing at our Fitzroy campus - the creative hub of Melbourne - or 100% online at your own pace.