“I highly recommend taking a placement year, whilst the placement was challenging, I gained so much experience & confidence from it. Going into final year I feel less panicked about the thought of graduating into the industry as now I have had a taster of this.”
Please tell us a bit about your work and your influences
My work is centred around networking and communication. Following my placement year in PR at Victoria Beckham I knew I wanted to involve something related to the skills I learned here. I feel that I thrive in social settings and really enjoy collaboration. Therefore I started reaching out to local creative brands and students, requesting if we could work together. From this I have collaborated with RubyMoon, Vintage Victoriana, Seven Seventeen, The Ouze, Megan Faith Makes & Charlotte Lockton to name a few.
How have you found your course and what made you choose it?
I have loved my time on the Fashion Communication with Business Studies course. The tutors are all so supportive and keen to help you develop and grow in your practice. As Fashion Communication is such a broad course there is a lot of opportunity to explore all areas of fashion, without feeling restricted. I chose this course following my foundation year in Art & Design. I had a taster day at my previous University looking at Fashion Promotion with Imaging, it was here that I even discovered Fashion Communication as a course!
Did you go on a placement? If so could you tell us about it – what were your takeaways?
I did go on a placement! I spent 6 months in PR for Victoria Beckham, as junior press assistant. This was a placement I gained through the University’s placement team. I highly recommend taking a placement year, whilst the placement was challenging, I gained so much experience & confidence from it. Going into final year I feel less panicked about the thought of graduating into the industry as now I have had a taster of this.
Was the location of your course in Brighton more important than you thought it would be?
Being in Brighton for a creative course has been such an asset. There’s always something interesting happening within the city that you can take inspiration from. Also the size of Brighton means there is such a sense of community, you bump into your friends so easily on the beach and that’s really special.
What are your plans after graduation?
I’d like to make the most of my last Brighton summer! Lots of beach days & enjoying time with friends. My aim is to travel to Australia by the end of the year, as I did a foundation year in effect I have been studying in higher education for the past 5 years. I’m keen to explore fashion opportunities in perhaps Sydney before returning to London! I’m trying to keep my options open and enjoy that nothing is set in stone.
If you could give you 16 year old self any advice about going to University what would it be?
To be honest when I was 16 I thought the chances of me going to University were very slim! I was an anxious teenager who didn’t thrive being away from home. I suppose the main advice I would give is to make the most of every second – cliche of course. However, the last 4 years in Brighton have raced by and I think whilst you’re in the process of studying you can easily want to wish the time away. In essence romanticise the little things, whether it’s having a cuppa with your tutors or going to your favourite cafe to finish off your sketchbook – just make the most of it 🙂
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