Three Tips on How To Change Your Career Direction

Australian-born Vanissa Antonious, Founder and Creative Director of NEOUS, had the creative ambition to start her own brand from a young age, but her route wasn’t linear. “I wasn’t initially accepted into design school in Sydney,” she explains. “My sketching skills were less than traditional and still are! I ended up studying Art History, but I did a Fashion diploma when I finished my degree. Through this I found a route into interning at Harper’s Bazaar in Australia, which was my first point of entry into the creative arts working world.” She then moved to London, which was the birthplace of NEOUS. “The idea was conceptualised while I was working as a Fashion Editor at Harper’s Bazaar, UK. I was spending so much time researching the market, trying to find new and interesting things. While there was a lot of product existing in the market, there didn’t seem to be much differentiation in the accessories.” Now, the brand is a staple of craft-focussed minimalist accessories, stocked on Farfetch, Browns, Matches Fashion and Net-A-Porter, to name a few. 

The transition from working as a Fashion Editor to starting her business wasn’t instant. “I left my role at Harper’s Bazaar as sadly my visa expired and I had to return home to Australia,” she says. “This provided a moment to reflect and explore how to find a new way to continue working in the London fashion community. My new visa didn’t allow me to work full time, but did allow a self-employed status or to start a business. I began freelance styling for various publications, and it was during this time that I started researching and speaking to people about my initial ideas to begin an independent brand, and I developed the right contacts to create samples of my first shoe collection. I was always surprised by the amount of people who were happy to support creative exploration and to point me in the right direction.” The skills that were developed from this period were invaluable; it helped Vanissa understand what her accessories should offer the wearer. “From styling you realise there are some things that just literally go with everything. Knowing that as a designer has helped me ensure there is a great deal of versatility and timelessness to our products.”

Fancy pivoting careers? Read Vanissa’s tips below for some helpful advice.

Speak to people, tell them what you are hoping to achieve. 

This applies to the obvious and the more abstract. When something is said out loud it really shapes the goal and the determination becomes tangible. So much of what we do with NEOUS is try to communicate certain ideas and create products that relate to this vision. Working with traditional artisans is amazing but often there are moments when we need to push boundaries with techniques. This takes patience and trust, but discussing the bigger vision through small details builds beautiful moments and developments. For every one product created, it is the result of countless conversations surrounding its evolution to life.

Don’t be scared to contact people in the industry authentically, asking for five minutes of their time.

Sound checking or seeking advice is important when creating new horizons. When I was looking to source the right suppliers and Italian factories to sample and produce the shoe collections, I reached out to colleagues and contacts in the fashion industry, and through building extended networks I was able to start conversations with artisans in Italy and generate very valuable relationships.

Don’t be afraid to take a step back in order to move forward. Once you are there, things can move quickly.

Turning down exciting opportunities can seem like the wrong thing to do; but moving forward isn’t always what is necessary to generate advancement. Often, the seemingly simplest plans or goals are the most challenging, as you need strength and confidence to do less but better, which takes time and strategy. Stepping back and taking a moment to reflect is a move that can be powerful when making aesthetic, business and brand evolution decisions.

All photography by Phil Dunlop.