Hello firstly i can understand your friends position as i was in the same position until 3 years ago, I currently work for a high end fashion retailer, and the first advice i would give to your friend before an interview or applying for a fashion retail job is , to do your background research on the company. If its for a well known brand such as Republic or Gstar, then look at the product lines and target market it might appeal to. in an interview you will always been asked why you want to work for the company you have chosen so if you can try and show you have done your research then your 4 steps ahead of the competition.

Fashion retail is easy work as long as you are confident and can assist people. as you meantioned your friend knows alot about clothing then he should make sure that he meantions this at his interview. If the company is decent then training should be provided on epos systems and other store duties but he will have to have a friendly approach and good service skills.

but one key thing in my job esp is fashion advice, consumers often ask help of sales assistants for opitions and advice, so if he knows what on trend or what will suit the person then he will have nailed that part of the job.

I hope this helps and i wish your friend the best of luck

Wow... there is a lot of spam style answers for this one.

Okay, my best recommendation comes from personal experience. The key is to sell himself. He needs to get his resume together and go in and find out when the hiring manager is there and the business is slower (think 3pm on a tuesday) so he can talk to the manager with minimal distraction. He needs to go in and present the resume to the manager personally. He will have to seize this oppurtunity to 'sell' himself. He needs to talk about what he knows, his goals, his aspirations, and show the hiring manager that he would be an asset to the company. Personality is key here. He needs to shine.

He should just apply for a retail job. Most of them will hire people with little experience, because the turnover rate in these jobs tends to be pretty high. All he has to do is communicate his love and knowledge of clothing and customer service.