Just about to go to fashion school? Here are tips from 3 recent graduates
Just about to go to fashion school? Here are tips from 3 recent graduates
To help you navigate the new world of fashion at university, we’ve gathered insights from three graduates who’ve been through the grind. Anastasia, a Fashion Journalism alum from Central Saint Martins, talks about taking criticism and staying resilient when things get personal. Thea, a Fashion Design grad from De Montfort, wishes she’d asked for help sooner and reminds you to keep pushing the boundaries with your ideas. Lucy, who studied Fashion History and Theory, stresses the importance of research and trusting the process—especially when everything feels overwhelming. Whether you’re questioning your direction or pushing through creative blocks, these are the lessons they learned the hard way so you don’t have to.
Anastasia, Fashion Journalism, Central Saint Martins
1. What was the most valuable lesson you learned during your time at fashion school?
I learnt how to take criticism. With creative degrees, it feels personal because often these are your ideas, your labours of love, so it can really sting. But in fact, you learn that peoples’ advice and criticism is necessary to hone your ideas.
Resilience is another skill that goes hand in hand with that. When you receive criticism for something you really believe in, it can feel demoralising. But picking yourself up again is extremely important. Someone once told me that making it in fashion is just as much about resilience as it is about talent. (Maybe more!)
2. Looking back, what would you do differently?
I would have focussed more energy on my existing social media platform (@fatannawintour) alongside my degree. University can feel so all-consuming and stressful that you just don’t have the mental capacity for work outside of your degree. But I wish I had been more consistent with the extra curricular stuff, because that’s what really makes you stand out.
3. What’s one piece of advice you would give to yourself if you were just about to start again?
Take the advice and learn from your tutors, because they are experts in their field, but don’t forget your point of view. Your ideas and cultural awareness are what media platforms are dying to tap into to stay relevant, so use that. Don’t just write what you think your tutors want to see. Take the knowledge and experience of your tutors, and combine it with your unique perspective. (For example, sometimes I would pitch an idea to my tutors that didn’t land. A few weeks later, I’d see a similar article published in a magazine, meaning my instincts were good, I just didn’t pitch the idea well enough!)
Thea, Fashion Design at De Montfort University
1. What was the most valuable lesson or skill you learned during your time at fashion school that has been crucial in your career so far?
Fashion school can be tough, and there may be times when you feel like giving up. My advice is to stick with it and talk to your lecturers—they might help you understand what’s not working. We all experience creative blocks, especially during hectic terms with so much to do, but it’s often those challenging moments that lead to the creation of your most incredible collections.
2. Looking back, what would you do differently?
I think I would seek help from my lecturer and technicians more often, as I didn’t really ask for assistance before. Sometimes I would get stuck and not know what to do, but I wouldn’t reach out for help, which ended up costing me time.
3. What’s one piece of advice you would give to yourself if you were just about to start again?
The advice I would give myself is don’t be afraid to be creative, to think outside the box because most of the time that is what draws people to your work.
Lucy, Fashion History and Theory at Central Saint Martins
1. What was the most valuable lesson you learned during your time at fashion school?
My course was extremely research focused and I think that’s been the driving force behind a lot of my subsequent work. Graduating can be quite unnerving, and it will definitely take longer than you think to get your post-grad job, or be fully in the swing of freelancing. Still practising research after you finish is something I’d recommend to everyone as it keeps you working the muscles you honed at university, whilst keeping you tapped in to what’s going on in culture or within the specific niche that you’d perhaps like to work within!
2. Looking back, what would you do differently?
It’s hard to reflect on this appropriately because my first two years of university were really affected by Covid. If I could’ve changed anything, it would’ve been to be able to have the contact stuff my course offered, which unfortunately happened mainly in first year, where I was online. If things had been different, I would’ve loved to have the time again to research in person, working on collections from institutions such as the V&A.
3. What’s one piece of advice you would give to yourself if you were just about to start again?
Stop worrying, and trust the process!
