Pepper Your Talk’s Dior Bediako hosted the Career Paths in Fashion talk at the Gap Inc. GFW Live! Talk Space, with the panelists, Chloé Watts, Founder of ChloéDigital and Katy Lubin, the Vice President of Communications at Lyst.
The future of fashion careers is constantly evolving, particularly when it comes to technology. One of the most fool-proof ways to ensure that you don’t get left behind is, to look into the future at potential new areas where your career could take you.
Chloé Watts, the founder of ChloéDigital, said not to worry if what you’ve studied doesn’t end up being your actual job. Your biggest concern should be making sure you find yourself in a career that will still exist in 10 years time. One of the most reliable ways to do this is to try and get into a start-up company as early as possible. Full of innovative ideas and forward thinking strategies, start-ups give you the chance to learn and grow within a business that is always thinking ahead and preparing for the future.
As Vice President of Communications at Lyst, Katy Lubin’s approach was to look outside the fashion industry for other things that are going on, and figure out how to apply those to your career. Paying attention to gaming, how people shop etc. as these can hold key trends.
Having enthusiasm for the new things you find and sharing them with people was one of Katy’s key takeaways. Watts agrees, adding “always, always be looking for new things - think about what’s around you and what’s next”. Watts also suggests reading different industry news sources as they can help spark an idea in your brain that you can run with.
It’s also important to take advantage of being a student - Moderator, Dior Bediako stressed how important junior insights are to bigger companies to help engage a younger audience. This is crucial to keeping a business running in the future. Lubin added that building your network is vital - your peers are just as important as the heads of companies, so foster strong relationships with everyone that you meet, as they may well be the key to running a successful company.
Written by Faith Richardson
Photography by Becky Mukerji