Which university did you attend, and what is the most valuable thing that you learnt there?
I graduated from Northumbria University, Newcastle in 2018 with a First Class BA Honors in Fashion Design & Marketing. One of the most valuable things I learnt during my time at university was interpersonal skills - having the ability to convey ideas and concepts with confidence. I truly believe inspiration lay’s everywhere and it’s about engaging our eyes and observing your surroundings, but when it came to conveying my ideas I would particularly struggle.
The course really helped me to develop my ideas from the realization of my concepts by product development and manufacture right through to promotion and exhibition. This was something I grasped quickly and was able to put into practice during placement year where I moved to Amsterdam to work for an outerwear label.
Which area of the industry have you chosen to pursue, and what informed this choice?
I currently work in marketing for a leading online retailer, boohooMAN. I always knew I wanted to peruse a career in Menswear as this was an area I choose to focus on early on at university, but due to the nature of my course, I was unsure on which route to go down. Having specialised in print design for my final year where I thoroughly enjoyed incorporating strong graphic outputs into my final major project, I began to apply for Print/Graphic roles.
I secured some really positive interviews and invested a lot of time and money into the preparation and attendance of them. However, the more I spoke about my work the more I realised that I was always considering the end-user and discussing branding opportunities. This is when I discovered my passion was in marketing, as it’s not only about creating a great product but also how it communicates with an ever-changing consumer. In my work I have learnt how to keep abreast of trends, generating new ideas, not only for branded content but ideas to strengthen the brands positioning and identity.