FASHION & PR
KIRSTY DOYLE
RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
skills and interests v i s u a l cv interview placement skills and interests pt.2 reflection
contents
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FASHION & PR
interests
prior to starting university, i studied fashion and clothing, a course that was consistent heavily of design and elements of communication. it was here that i was able to decide which pathway to take at u n i versity. studying fashion marketing and communication for two years at the university of chester, has given me insight into the modern day industry and its chosen methods of practise in this area. as a result, i have been able accumalate new skills that are vital to the industry, build on already developed skills and gain understanding into what area of the marketing and communication industry i felt drawn to.
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RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
skills and
KIRSTY DOYLE
04 adobe
- styling - writing - content creation - creative - trend aware - social media research methods.
- project management - trend forecasting - social media & digital marketing.
pr
RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
FASHION & PR
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KIRSTY DOYLE
visual
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cv
before applying for internships, i decided to research into previous applicants memories on blogs on how they found their dream placement or what they felt made them stand out more. something that was consistently repeated across the board was that having a visual, one page cv, stands out more than a written document, especially if you’re boasting about having skills on platforms such as indesign, illustrator or photoshop; it essentially backs up your words.
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FASHION & PR
KIRSTY DOYLE
interwho, interwhat, interview
RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
for me, the interview process for the kirsty doyle press and fashion role wasn’t something that made me feel nervous, or under-confident. while it was a role i had never done before, it was something i had a genuine interest in, and kirsty doyle was a brand that i was eager to work for, it was a brand that in my opinion, i was an embodiment of, which in the long run has worked in my favour. the interview itself, while informal, had me posed with questions i could meet in actual industry. i couldn’t prepare for the questions, i didn’t have time to think or pre-plan an answer, i just went with what came into my head, and enforced my answers with fashion knowledge that i have been able to learn while at university. kirsty doyle told me that this particular role was being left open in the sense that she had no set idea in mind of what she wanted from the successfl candidate. simply, she wanted the candidate to dazzle her and give her a reason to bring them on board, as bottom line was, she is an independent fashion house and business owner and anything to do with her brand is a direct reflection of her, including her interns.
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FASHION & PR
KIRSTY DOYLE
RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
Being honest, what do you think we, as a brand need to do in regard to marketing? “i think something that all brands need to put a focus on is film and video. we’re in a time where social media platforms all support video footage, for example, instagram lets you save your
stories to highlights that can be left on your page permanently, aswell as ig.tv which allows longer footage. utilising this can act as a form of free marketing, being able to save the footage gives customers an easier way of refering to it, ie: the video of you teaching how to measure leg lengths in order to find the right length flares. it’s not a negative but video is a very limited portion of your marketing, so how are you supposed to compete with fast fashion brands who not only have an extremely lower price point, but are rolling out new video footage across all platforms almost weekly?”
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RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
FASHION & PR
KIRSTY DOYLE
So, we have our RTW brand, and our Brid, al Brand, is there an, ything you would do to bridge the gap in con, sumer between the two? “i think limiting it purely to bridal is why it doesn’t resonate with your core consumer. if you’re not a bride, you have no reason to be shopping for bridal wear, however, if this element of the brand was marketed as occasion aswell, you would reach graduates, uni balls, christenings, as well as being able to offer the bridesmade service and the bridal service.”
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FASHION & PR
placement
KIRSTY DOYLE
week two
as my placement was extended for the summer, this element of the diary will be used to highlight the first three ways and the responsibilties i was given in such a short amount of time there, which has enabled me to gain new skills and consider new routes of the fashion industry.
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the first day was split into two, starting with me with taking complete control of the shopify account and the blog. we felt as though aside from the instagram, customers, or potential customers needed another way of discovering the brand beyond the products. having an intern do this meant that it would feel as though the inside glimpse was coming from an outside prospective.
while she gave me access to her contacts such as the videographer, everything was left in my hands. i had to email the videographer, with our running schedule and details of our concepts. it was also left to me to organise a venue for our shoot to take place. this for me, was a genuine task as something i struggle with is anxiety, which amplifies when put in a situation where there is responsibility put on me, but also a risk of failure.
at the interview, i had mentioned how i felt as though video needed to be more prominent, which is why kirsty doyle set me the task of creating a maximum of five different video concepts that we could bring to life. these videos needed to be on brand, informative, but capture the consumers attention quickly. i decided that we should do two videos on the most popular products, a bridal video and a sustainability video. the maxium length for all videos being between 1 minute and 1 minute 30 seconds long.
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RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
week one.
with the video concepts getting the go ahead from kirsty, i thought that my role in this was done and that she would give me my next task - helping with packaging orders, maintaiing the showroom as we had bridal consultations booked in for the afternoon. however, kirsty told me that now that i had created the concepts, i had to pull it together.
doubletree by hilton in liverpool, agreed to give us a four hour time slot in which we would have free reign over the library lounge. i would list this as an achievement for me as merely on my second week of placement, i was managing to pull together a day of filming, on location, at no cost to kiirsty doyle as a brand. by the end of week two, i had managed to confirm a videographer, a venue and a model who would be acting as mua.
RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
FASHION & PR KIRSTY DOYLE
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moving f o r w a r d
due to my placement being extended, kirsty has tasked me with a complete branding of the kd brand. with sustainability being so prominent in the industry our aim is to bring attention to the sustainable efforts made by her brand, while also introducing new sustainable practises. while this may seem like a lot of work for an intern to undertake, kirsty has made it clear that she wants me to be the one to do everything because the experience that comes with being able to pull together such tasks, is invaluable. a complete rebrand of an already established independent brand is something that will make a cv stand out, while also giving me evidence to back up my capabilities.
RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
FASHION & PR
KIRSTY DOYLE
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interests pt.2
while on placement, i have been able to develop new skills that in change, has opened me up for more possible career paths. before starting placement, i felt as though there was certain roles within the industry that i was in no way capable of going in to. however, due to the amount of responsibility i have been given while at kirsty doyle, i have gained a new found confidence in myself and my abilities.
RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
skills and
FASHION & PR
KIRSTY DOYLE
- content creation - blogging - visual direction - research methods - trend aware - styling - social media indesign
- project management - trend forecasting - social media & digital marketing. - creative direction visual direction - brand management - brand direc-
pr
tion
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FASHION & PR
KIRSTY DOYLE
reflection
RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
placement for me has been a wake-up call, and a learning curve. beforehand, it was no secret to my tutors that i would doubt myself and that would in turn, make me produce work that didn’t match up to my potential. however, i have realised that i, in regard to my work methods, am a reactive person - i work best when thrown into the deep end, but placement has also given me a new found insight into why in the fashion industry, it’s one thing to have an idea, but i need to be able to justify such an idea. going forth into third year on the back of placement and being thrown into a brand me assignment, i believe that i will be able to reach my full potential as working at kirsty doyle has given me a new self belief in myself and why i want to go into the industry. my plan for third year is to trust in my own creativity and my instincts, opposed to comparing myself to everyone else around me and thus convincing myself that my own outcomes could be wrong. all in all, being able to go on placement within the industry has been completely beneficial and invaluable, and has given me skills that will enable me to flourish in third year and after.
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KIRSTY DOYLE
RIV BOYLE PLACEMENT DIARY 2019
FASHION & PR
rivarnne v. boyle experimental learning in Art & Design AD5405 J41203