Subject Futures Week 2016: Fashion and journalism take centre stage

​The fourth day of Subject Futures Week was a jam-packed one with names from fashion and journalism taking the centre stage.

Fashion market analyst Gill Gledhill gave an insight into working with one of the biggest exhibitors in the fashion world, Premiere Vision Paris, and how students can learn a lot from visiting trade shows as they present a great opportunity to see how the industry works.

After a brief overview of her career and how she got to where she is today as the Director of her own company, GGHQ Fashion Intelligence, Gill had plenty of advice for the students. She said: “You need to keep up to speed with the market and know what is going on. Get a job first before you go it alone as you will need to learn the structure of the industry first. Don’t be afraid to jump into other fashion specialisms, such as jewellery, as you will be using the same skills, same photography and the same stylists. It’s good to get as many insights into different strands as possible.”

BBC Radio Three’s Nick Luscombe was also on campus in a two-part event. He gave a special masterclass to students and followed up with a broader talk about his career working for the likes of XFM, BBC 6 Music and NME Radio.

For anyone with an interest in fashion journalism, Sarah Harris’s talk was a must. As the fashion features director for British Vogue, Sarah lifted the lid on what it was like working for such an internationally renowned title, but claimed it was nothing like The Devil Wears Prada.

She talked about how she got into journalism and how she worked her way up the career ladder but revealed that it’s not all glamour as the hours are often irregular especially during Fashion Week. She encouraged any prospective journalists to write as much as they can. She said: “Start a blog, write about whatever subject you like, but just get writing. If you can do an internship, do it as it’s great for your CV. If you can get an editor to give you a reference, that’s even better. Do whatever you can to make yourself stand out.”

To keep up to date with the buzz surrounding Subject Futures Week, use the #SFW2016

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Pictured clockwise from top left: The Fashion students with Vogue’s Sarah Harris, Gill Gledhill, Julie King with Sarah Harris and Nick Luscombe