In "The Teen Vogue Handbook: An Insiders Guide to Careers in Fashion," designer Karl Lagerfeld tells fashion industry hopefuls to ask themselves, "Are you sure this world is for you? And are you sure you are the right person to survive in this world — the world of fashion, a world with no rules, no laws?"
Many of today's teenagers seem to be answering his question with a resounding "yes."
Gobbling up anything and everything fashion-related, modern teens learn about the industry through Lifetime network's "Project Runway" and the hit Sundance Film Festival documentary, "September Issue."
This media exposure has upped interest in the fashion industry in the past few years, bringing along a host of other fashion-based movies, and reality and fiction books and television shows.
Teen Vogue fashion director Gloria Baume said she thinks the release of the Meryl Streep movie "The Devil Wears Prada" was a turning point for the fashion industry, revealing the inner-workings of a previously unexplored world.
As a result, Baume said, Teen Vogue readers who used to send mail asking how they could become a model or meet big-time celebrities are now probing editors with questions about scoring an internship at the magazine or starting a path toward becoming a stylist.
The tricky part is that there isn't a set-in-stone pathway to becoming a fashion designer, writer or photographer, Baume said.
"To become a doctor is easy — there is a specific road that directs you there," Baume said. "But fashion is more mysterious … It kind of happens in a serendipitous way."
For Baume, her fashion career took off when she was hired at Vanity Fair magazine, she said, presumably because she is Italian like the editor.
Still, Baume emphasized that she was able to keep her job and further her career because of her dedication, passion and hard work.
With stories from Baume and the rest of the Teen Vogue team, designer Marc Jacobs and Vogue editor Anna Wintour, "The Teen Vogue Handbook" focuses on unveiling the mysteries of diving into the fashion industry.
"You read the book and say, 'I can do it too,' " Baume said. "It's such an inspirational book because it gives you a guideline of how you can get into this world."
The book encourages those seeking a fashion career to develop a keenness for art, movies and music to reference in their work, to read as many fashion publications as possible, and to start studying and interning in the industry at a young age.
But competition is rising for spots in the fashion field.
Particularly at Teen Vogue, which gained publicity when reality stars Lauren Conrad and Whitney Port interned at the magazine on MTV show "The Hills." Full-time positions are scarce, and internships are relatively few.
Aside from television face time, Teen Vogue is also one of the few teen magazines that focuses on interpreting runway trends for girls' everyday wear.
"Our readers respond to how we somehow look at fashion through a realistic scope," Baume said.
Consequently, securing an internship at the magazine requires "intense dedication," the fashion director said.
"Some people enter (the industry) because they want to look cool and go out to events — but that's not really what it's about," Baume said. "If you go in to it thinking that's what you care about, you burn out quickly. It's more about ideas and learning from people older than you."
Baume said she loves the way that part of her job is to excite and inspire young girls about fashion and following their dreams, and also becoming inspired herself by the style of girls walking down the street.
"That's what the machine of fashion is all about," she said. "If you look at fashion today … It's all inspired by youth."
The industry is also evolving as young fashion bloggers pop up across the Internet, starting new trends that are free from the restrictions of fashion careers.
Teen Vogue is embracing the blogger trend, showcasing popular 13-year-old blogger Tavi of "Style Rookie" on their note from the editor page, and other fellow bloggers in an article called "The Big Shots" in their October issue.
"Blogs are another facet of fashion that are going to be interesting to watch," Baume said. "This is a growing industry that is changing, but in many ways it is still old-fashioned and archaic. The new things happening are very welcomed."
So for aspiring young fashionistas wanting to get their start as a photographer, model, fashion writer, stylist or any other creative career, now is the time to start breathing fresh air into a sometimes haughty industry, and "The Teen Vogue Handbook" is here to tell you just how to do it.
e-mail: bbrown@desnews.com