About me

• Womenswear Fashion Buying at Branded Fashion Buying
• Studied: BSc (Hons) International Fashion Marketing, 2009

About my career

My first exposure to the Fashion industry was in my third year of International Fashion Marketing BA (Hons) course when I secured a placement at Ralph Lauren within the Womenswear department. I worked within the branded womenswear department as a Buyers Administrative Assistant for 9 months, learning and soaking up as much information as I could.  Eager to learn more about the industry I secured a second placement at The Very Group within the product development side of the business to understand the full lifecycle of a product, from design through to product going live!

Once I graduated, I was offered an Assistant Buyer role within the Womenswear Own-Buy Outerwear Department at The Very Group. This opportunity really demonstrated the importance of the Industry Placement scheme as it allowed me to build contacts before I graduated which inevitably secured me a full-time role post graduating in the field, I was most passionate about.

I stayed within The Very Group for over three years and had exposure to lots of product categories, working with various suppliers and factories, most exciting was the Far East Travel.  My next career move was to ASOS as a Senior Assistant Buyer on the Branded side of the business.  The ASOS environment was fast paced, fashion forward and full of young creatives – I stayed with the business for five years working my way up to Established Buyer. I made some of my fondest memories both personally and professionally during my time as an ‘ASOSer’.

My next move was to join the European giant Zalando, relocating from London to Berlin as Senior Branded Buyer on the Directional Department, buying brands such as Topshop, Monki & River Island.  Zalando was tech savvy, forward thinking and similar to ASOS in its fast pace nature.  I learnt a lot about the European market and travelled to key markets within Europe to maximise the sales opportunity within the department. 

After 18 months I took an opportunity to work for H&M Group within Berlin as Womenswear Assortment Team Lead on a new start up project.  The project fused experts from Buying, Marketing, Tech, Sustainability & Brand to penetrate the European market with a new Multi Brand Sustainable Platform.  The experience was so unique and gave me exposure to many different areas of a start-up business and the mentality needed to drive change forward. 

Having worked for several Fashion Companies I have completed various training programmes offered within those business to develop my skill set further. I have completed training around fabric specific knowledge, pattern cutting, performance KPI’s, people management, development and wellbeing courses. The learning and development departments in most corporate businesses give you the ability to drive your own development further and gain access to people/courses that can ultimately improve your individual performance & performance within the business.

My top tip for students

My top tip to students searching for a graduate job would be to apply, apply, apply. Apply for as many jobs as you can. Interview experience is invaluable and allows you to understand the different businesses that are within the industry and what is the right fit for you.

Building up a strong CV is important, aim to gain work experience in the industry, whether it be retail experience or if you are fortunate enough to secure work experience within your desired field.

Networking is key, platforms like LinkedIn are a brilliant way to connect with recruiters and directly with brands to raise your profile and see the latest job opportunities.

Finally, the best tip I can give you is to not give up and remain passionate about your future goals.

I’m inspired by

People. Particularly the people I work with day to day, people within the brands I work with and those that I can learn from.

Why I love Manchester Met

I loved the diversity of my course as it gave me the foundations for a very successful career.

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