Words: Kate Rintoul / Ash Tailor

Dolly Jones’s headline talk was one of the most highly anticipated events of Futurising and the main space was packed with graduates with fashion aspirations. The crowd continued to trickle in throughout that talk, causing mild disturbances throughout but speaker Dolly was highly polished and different get ruffled once, just as you’d expect from someone so senior in the ranks of Conde Nast.

Having graduated in Art History from Manchester, Jones was frightened for her future and having interned at The Telegraph chose an intense three month periodical journalism course at LCC, which she still highly rates and recommends.

As well as offering some very ‘geeky’ facts on how to run a successful online fashion publication Jones also gave out a huge amount of advice for those starting out in fashion.

Use your work experience to work on your contacts: While on work experience be sure to ask questions, you’ll realise that the people you’re working for were once in a similar position to you and will genuinely try to help you.

While on work experience be conscientious and professional: It is remembered if you stay late, as an intern I felt that I didn’t have the fashion knowledge or the experience of a journalist but I always showed willing and arrived early and stayed late.

Always ask questions: Asking questions has two advantages, it will save you from the embarrassment or problems of getting things wrong and will also enamour your colleagues. All journalists have egos, if you ask them a genuine question related to their work they will be flattered and want to talk to you, this is a great way of building relationships.

Know your background information: I improved my fashion knowledge by consuming any fashion news I could get hold of. While you’re waiting for your dream job, go out there and read fashion industry, get to know your subject.

Learn to handle fear: Plenty of people in the industry can seem frightening, sometimes this might just be because they’re busy at others it might be down to a sense of competition. You have to turn the other cheek and focus on your own work.

Don’t sell yourself short: While I haven’t noticed a distinct change in the types of graduates approaching us for work experience I feel strongly about current debates on the amount of work people are getting for free. While it’s great to do some unpaid work , get bylines and expand your portfolio be cautious of how much you are willing to do for free, it will be hard to start putting a price on your work later on.

Find your unique selling point: This goes for bloggers and those exploring other means into fashion journalism. Find out what you have that editors can’t get anywhere else and develop this.

Preparation is key before publicising your work: If you have a blog, website or even a label make sure you have a collection of pre-existing work that editors can look at. Find stories or features that link to your work, even if it’s just a related article, mention your knowledge of these in your correspondence. Include ideas of what you plan for the future, this will show others that you are  driven and is a useful exercise for you to  confirm your goals.

In addition to these great pieces of advice Dolly gave some fantastic tips on running a successful fashion site check out our essential guide to online publishing over the next few days.