Words: Kate Rintoul / Image: Ben Nankivell

This was a fantastic talk packed full of useful nuggets of information and advice. The panel was made up of Chief operating officer at the British Fashion Council, Simon Ward, Freelance stylist, Alex Longmore, designer William Tempest and Michelle Pacey, head of merchandising at Topshop.

All of the speakers gave a brief bit about their life and their tips for getting into fashion, one of the most notoriously hard industries to break.

ALEX LONGMORE: Has been a stylist for around 15 years having spent time working at various magazines and newspapers. Longmore’s break came when interning at the Daily Mail and the job of fashion assistnat came up. Longmore worked her way up to style editor at the paper and feels that this fast-paced environment that demanded reactivness and flexibilty was good training while not being as creative as working on a magazine.

While Longmore celebrates the current glamorisation of the stylist and is pleased to see them gaining recognition, she argues that it is a difficult job and that a good amount of experience is essential. Longmore liked styling to the role of a car mechanic- you need in depth knowledge of every component in order to make something work. “It’s much more than knowing what shoes go with certain outfits, you need to have an awareness of the outside world. Look at the world visually and put it all together, and always be willing to listen.”

WILLIAM TEMPEST: William was a great speaker and provided some excellent advice to aspiring designers. Having worked as a pattern cutter at Giles during his degree, since graduating Tempest’s career has gone from strength to strength. His top tips were:

• Do a degree based in London: The contats that you’ll meet will be very helpful and it is easy to hear about exciting projects, especailly in Ready to Wear, most jobs come from word of mouth.
• Make the most of internships: Even if you’re sweeping the floor, if you show willingness and do the job well the next day you’ll be given more interesting tasks.
• You really really have to love clothes: You’re going to be eating, sleeping and living them!
• Have a good, clear CV: Keep it to a page and keep it clear, include your best experience.

MICHELLE PACEY: She always knew she wanted to work in fashion but hasn’t had an easy journey to it. Seen as uncreative at school she found herself on a Finance degree, specialising in property and bored senseless. Following a stint of travelling and plenty of waitressing she interned for several PR firms before landing the job of Merchandising Admin Assistant at Topshop.

Pacey is proof that great things can come out of taking the long way round, her financial savviness has been an asset in her job at Topshop and her knowledge of numbers has fed perfeclty into her acute market sensitivity. Pacey’s top tips were:

• to have a genuine interest in your fiel
• know your strengths
• and be innovative in what you do.