This whole year has been such an experience, from speaking to Patrick McDowell to designing for Oxford University, working backstage at London Fashion week and modelling.
These different experiences have taught me so much about the fashion industry through different perspectives. From the beginning of the year compared to now, I feel as if I have become more knowledgeable on how to operate and present myself as well as learning about professionalism. I have walked into many different situations this year where you are supposed to hold yourself in different ways. The industry is definitely more relaxed and personal than many others, whilst also being very sharp and direct. I've worked with numerous friends these past months and slowly, throughout time, the situations I find myself in have increased professionally. To navigate this world is fun and exciting and conducting yourself in a certain manner is extremely vital for your success. For me, I would say my approach is to walk into every situation with honesty, kindness, professionalism and always fun.
Someone that I learned a valuable tip from is Patrick McDowell. That is, whenever you enter a room, have your two or three sentences explaining who you are and what you do so that people remember you. Over this year I have been refining my few sentences and will continue to do so.
The Oxford/Saïd Business School competition took me by surprise and taught me how to follow a strict brief whilst injecting my personal style into it. It also taught me that just because something is not necessarily your 'thing' you shouldn't shy away from it. Sometimes you don't win and that's okay because it leads to reflection and attunement for your next opportunity. Progress mindset is what I've learnt this year.
Throughout the time I have learnt more about myself and what my brand represents. At the beginning, I was struggling to communicate what my brand was and who I am as a designer. Thanks to a lot of talking with Lucy London, the fashion communication exercises given by Paul Rawson and my external experience in the industry, I now know exactly what my brand is. I now know how to communicate who we are, what we are selling and to who.
Due to this, when I am designing, branding and being an entrepreneur I know what my goals are and what to focus on. It has helped me make many connections that will be useful for the years ahead.
The modelling I have done this year has given me a great perspective for the future on how to treat models and how to run a shoot, as well as what forms need sending out. It is so important that whoever is attending that day has energy that affects the group in a positive way, to ensure you get the photos you're looking for. To have food and drinks and make sure the models are looked after is important and should be standard, which it will be for my brand.
Having people surround you that are working towards projects on a higher level than yours is really inspiring. The lecturers and MA students are great to watch and it creates an ecosystem in which you can ask for help from others who have more experience than you. I think it's really important to have wisdom and experience around you at all times as a designer and that is something I will look to have when I leave. Creating and maintaining connections are necessary for growth in this industry. This year has taught me that networking is pivotal and can get you to much higher places or other contacts that you may need. Something Lucy said this year that stuck with me, was to walk into places with an intention. Fashion shows and parties are fun but you have to always be on the lookout for people and asking questions.
The incubation sessions where industry professionals have come in has been invaluable for our knowledge about the world we live in on a wider scale. From whether we want to be a sole trader or have limited liability to how to increase brand value and how to create a press kit. The most game changing talk for me was Vikram from Fashionex. The cash flow has changed the way I think, operate, and research. Also because it was already a template it had the expenses a fashion business needs to take into account, which made it easier, because we had a list of things to go and research.
What I've learned from the Business plan is how vital you need to know your brand. Also how important research is, by multiple mediums, to get a correct and well rounded answer. This has changed the way I operate on a daily basis. I am researching and there's always more. To know the details is to know the game.
I have absorbed many financial tips this year from various incubation talks - the importance of a business bank account that's separate, you don’t pay VAT before the threshold of £85,000, although it’s wise to account for that in your prices so that when you do register your customers don’t have to pay for increased prices. Other tips such as if your company makes a loss you can offset your profit the next year affecting how much tax you pay. All this information will be stored and ready to use moving forward.
On a sustainability basis, the biggest intrigue this year has been the circular business model. Everyone has spoken about it, especially at the clean fashion summit I went to. This model is something that is now written into my business plan. I have done additional research and have decided to offer a repair incentive before we even start recycling, to reduce carbon emissions. My research into sustainability will continue to grow as I look for fabrics to use for my collections.
Working for Global fashion collective during fashion week gave me an insight on how many people it takes to produce fashion shows that run smoothly and how many different jobs there are backstage. I am sure this is a running theme throughout everything else, which is why I know that as my brand grows I want a team around me to be able to delegate work to, so that I can really focus on designing and the vision as a whole. I have also learnt over the time researching so many fashion houses and brands that having multiple perspectives on something is a very good idea, because even though I think I know my customer profiles and target audience, I am in fact not everyone. We are all good at some things and not others which is another reason to create a community.
This leads on to learning what I am good at and what I would like to delegate. This year I have realised that CAD is not my strong point although I will continue to learn as I think it’s an invaluable skill, I am much more analogue. I understand that in some cases it’s faster and looks more polished although I prefer to physically experiment and draw as I think there's a beauty in being present and physically touching what you are working on. After the world goes digital perhaps it might become sought out again. I think with the digital world growing I am interested in researching and learning but I won't forget that pencils exist.
Now that I understand what my brand stands for in this world I know what look I am going for in terms of models and what’s important to me. My brand is for the international girl, which means I want to represent as many looks as possible so that they can see themselves in the clothing whilst maintaining a collective energy, which I think I have found throughout this blogging process.
The process has helped me underpin many creative ideas for the future in terms of colours, packaging, the way I market, and also the design process. The blogs I’ve written this year are experimenting with things I wouldn't usually set myself. Collaging has opened my process to new ways of creating inspiration for myself and future collections, as well as brand image.
In conclusion, the wealth of knowledge I have compared to the start of the year has increased, I understand where I am going with the brand and its vision. In light of the business plan, I know what my objectives are for the next year and will continue to grow as a designer over the summer, walking into new spaces with intention and open eyes. I plan to take my press kit with me that I learnt from Idalia Salsamendi to the different locations I will be visiting, and look to further my research in where I would want to do my pop up shops. I will also work on ideas for next year's collection. as it will be for Launch.
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