A day in the life of Fashion Cupboard Assistant at British Vogue

Could you tell me a bit about your exciting new role? What does your typical day look like?

I'm currently working at British Vogue Magazine as a fashion wardrobe assistant and I help the fashion assistants with preparation for upcoming photoshoots.

I’ve been there just over a month and it's great, but quite challenging. I’ve definitely been thrown into the deep end.

During my time here at Vogue, I’ve assisted with the August, September and October covers. We did them like back-to-back, so it was a lot of work.

And I'm currently helping with Vogue 25, which is in insert within the main magazine and celebrates 25 women that are doing extraordinary things in their respective careers.

As part of this work, I have to unpack all the garments that come in for the photoshoots and merchandise them in the cupboard.

I have to lay the garments out for the team, so it’s easy to see exactly what is there. All the garments need to be photographed too and tracked on a spreadsheet.

On the day of the photoshoot, I am also responsible for helping to set everything up. Once it’s all complete, I have to communicate with the brands and the PR contacts to make sure everything is returned correctly.

So that’s a typical day; I’m on my feet all day and it’s very hands on.

It is quite tricky juggling working full time here with my university work, but it’s a brilliant opportunity.

What initially appealed to you about Ravensbourne and your chosen degree?

When I was looking around universities, Ravensbourne appealed to me because of its size. The other universities I’d looked round in comparison were on a much bigger scale to Ravensbourne and had multiple different campuses. I liked how close-knit everything at Ravensbourne seemed.

The class sizes also are much smaller at Ravensbourne, which really appealed to me. It just seemed a lot more personal in general and the tutors really care and want to you to succeed.

Also, it is very industry focused from the outset. I liked how you could do a placement term rather than a whole placement year as well. It meant that you could get the vital experience, but it wouldn’t take up too much time.

It felt like the whole aim of the course was to build skills that you could apply directly to industry.

What have been some of your highlights from your time at Ravensbourne, both personally and professionally?

For me, one of the biggest highlights was meeting friends for life. I'm really grateful to have found great friends on my course, who I'll definitely keep in touch with.

In terms of professional highlights, I really liked how at Ravensbourne we had so many tutorials with industry experts.

A particular one that I remember was with a stylist called Emily Evans, who is very successful in the industry. It was through her tutorial that I was initially introduced to styling.

Before listening to her speak, I didn’t even know that styling was a job role. I was so inspired by what she was talking about; I knew almost immediately that was what I wanted to do.

Her talk helped motivate me to reach out to stylists for my placement term. That’s how I began working within the industry and how I secured my current role at Vogue.

How do you think Ravensbourne helped you to achieve your personal professional goals?

I think Ravensbourne provides a really unique opportunity to meet and build connections with industry experts.

Obviously during the pandemic this wasn’t possible, but before Covid happened, we had many talks with industry experts. There would be a panel and we could ask questions and the experts would offer advice. We also had lots of online tutorials as well from people in the industry.

Through these sessions, we were able to form so many connections. I think this really helped us to find out what the industry is actually like and what jobs are out there. It also helped us to understand how to apply ourselves towards securing these roles.

What were your favourite classes?

In year two we were set a really interesting brief where all the work had to be completed physically. During this entire project we weren’t allowed to use the computer for anything.

As part of the work, we had to make zines, so small magazines. We were given loads of supplies and we just had a get stuck in and be creative.

It was really fun and challenged us to think in a different way to how we usually would. It made such a nice change to doing everything digitally.

Do you have any advice for prospective students?

My advice would be to get as much industry experience as you can alongside your studies and make sure you wholeheartedly embrace the university lifestyle, because it won’t last forever.

Make the most of the freedom that you have at university and make sure you choose a subject that you are really passionate about.

Listen to the guidance of your tutors and see where it can take you.

When I first came to university, I couldn’t believe that I could basically do what I wanted in terms of the direction of my studies.

Coming straight out of school, I was used to having so much more structure. That was a bit of a shock initially, as I had to learn to stand on my own feet, but I slowly began to trust myself and I become much more of an independent learner. My advice would be to trust in the process and in your own abilities,

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