ISSUE 01 (Spring 2018)

UI UC

ISSUE 0 1 Sp r i n g2 0 1 8

T o ac c ompl i s h t hi s , we f i r s t c r eat ed a mas s Googl e Dr i v e.

Our member s upl oaded pi c t ur es oft hei rbes ts t r eet s t y l ei t ems( e. g. , s neak er s , mom j eans , bomber j ac k et s ) and t hen we handed c r eat i v ec ont r olov ert ot hes t y l i s t s .

Eac hs t y l i s t got t o put t oget her t wo l ook sf or t hei r modelf r om whatwas av ai l abl e.

Thi sc hal l enge pr ov ed amaz i ng! See t hei r awes ome l ook si nt he pages t o c ome.Fi nal l y ,wepai r edt hemodel s and t hei rs t y l i s t si nt ot eamswi t ha phot ogr apher and a Hai r and Mak eupAr t i s t( HMUA) .Ev er yt eam dr ov et oadi f f er entgr oc er yl oc at i on ands pentanhourors of i ndi ngt he bes ts hot s .Ourmodel sus edc er eal box esand bagsofc hi psaspr ops ai dagai ns tt hes hel v est oget andl good bodyangl es .Weev eni nt er ac t ed wi t ht he c us t omer s ! Af t er t hat , weal l metupatHar v es tMar k et f oronel as tpi c t ur er endez v ous .

TFN i ss ohappywi t ht hef i ni s hedpr oduc t ,t ak eal ook !

the fashion network

Open Studio.

6 April 2018

the fashion network

One of our events, Open Studio, where members and friends were able to come out and enjoy one of the studio set ups in the Art + Design building. Groups of friends came to the event along with individuals dressed fashionably & people looking to get headshots for their portfolios. At the end of the day everyone became so much closer, many new friendships had started. We ended up spending around three hours in studio switching backdrops, photographers & models. Colin Yang, one of our photographers came out from Chicago to help assist on the shoot for the afternoon. We ended up with over four hundred images.

After working with so many amaing people, we have to give credit to the photographers and models (from left to right): Models: Chris H. Jennifer L. Lisa Y. Adalila F. Alex Z. Jeff B. Michelle M. Photographers: Caitlin Doyle Colin Yang

the fashion network

Model: Sean Su Photographer: Caitlin Doyle

the fashion network

Model: Rachel Miller Photographer: Caitlin Doyle

the fashion network

Models: Alex Zhang Beth Schaller Ellie Thomas Model Photographers: Caitlin Doyle Colin Yang

the fashion network

alumni spotlight. john wong.

All the images used are from John’s personal Instagram. His username is “hisnameisjohn” if you want to follow him.

Q &

A

A successful New York-based graduate. Account planner at Karla Otto. Former Fashion Network member.

What was your involvement in The Fashion Network?

I was the events chair. That meant it was my job to coordinate events for the

club, whether it be photo shoots, fundraising events, or social events (like fashion week viewing parties, which were my favorite to plan). This actually worked out in my favor because I work in PR now, and a good part of my job is working on events. Some of the events I work on now get mad stressful sometimes, but there’s nothing better than seeing something go from a concept to the real thing; it’s the greatest thing to see the finished result.

How did you get your foot into the fashion industry?

(First internship?)

I applied EVERYWHERE. I had no connections and fashion is

notoriously one of the most difficult industries to break into.

We’re luck that we live in a time where social media is one of the biggest ways we give and receive information; so, I actually used Instagram to do my job research. The funny thing is that I work in PR now, but when I was looking at different jobs in the industry, I had no idea what PR really was.

I don’t think anybody does, to be honest. Or they watch “Sex and the City” and think PR is what Samantha Jones does on a daily basis - partying with celebs, having a rack of Dior jackets to choose from, sleeping with hot male models. Yes, these

happen with PR as with many other jobs in the idustry, but more often than not, the job is not as glamorous, especially at the very beginning. But anyway, I followed a ton of PR agencies on Instagram, and I saw one day that a boutique agency - Sydney Reising Creative - was hiring interns one summer. So, I applied. Talk up your experience, especially if you have little to no background in fashion; explain your role in The Fashion Network and what we do as a club on a campus like the University of Illinois, because it is actually a very valuable club. Talk about your major and/or minor and how it plays into your interests for the role, and why you’d be the right fit; I was a broadcast journalism major (and PR minor), and journalism is actually one of the best degrees you can go for if you want to work in PR since the job involves a great deal of good writing and communications skills. This doesn’t mean lie; just explain your passions and really show a potential employer that you are the right fit for the job. If it’s an entry level job like an internship, they’ll more than likely already know you’re coming with little to no experience, so it’s all about showing them your interest. And when you get the job? Don’t say no to anything.​I didn’t say no to hauling two 20 pound garment bags to Rihanna’s stylist’s studio in 90-degree New York heat in the middle of July, and I also didn’t say no to getting my boss her favorite iced chai tea latte with soy milk, light on the ice from Starbucks​(see, I even remember her order!).

BuzzFeed actually just came out with this article called “26 Times Fashion Interns Probably Wanted To Quit Their Job”. Read that. And realize that the job is not an entirely glamorous affair.

And then get ready to start schlepping because fashion is just like Heidi Klum said: “One day you’re in, and the next day you’re out.” If you don’t want to do the work, there are a million other people who will.

When you’re looking for a job, remember: don’t be picky. Yeah, everybody wants to work for Givenchy.

The secret is, you learn the most when you work on a small team because you get way more face time and one-on-one attention from your bosses; this translates to a lot more learning and expertise that you can take with you elsewhere should you decide to leave for a bigger company. Sydney Reising Creative is a boutique agency, meaning it’s a smaller creative agency that focuses on a more specialized, narrowed client list. We had a team of 5 people working on some of the most exciting

brands in fashion, and I got the chance to interact with - and learn - from my boss every single day. I interned there the summer going into my senior year, kicked ass, and was hired full-time when I graduated. I worked there for 8 months before I moved to the company I’m at now, Karla Otto, which is a way more corporate agency with over 700 people and 8 international offices around the world. And guess what?

One of our biggest clients is Givenchy.

What’s your current position can you explain a little bit about your day-today responsibilities?

I’m an account coordinator, and I’ll give you the basics of the job, sans confusing job title language. So, the whole point of PR and why people hire publicists is to get them press; essentially make someone or something (like a brand) famous. It’s my job as an account coordinator to work directly with clients and coordinate clothing/accessory samples to stylists/editors at magazines (Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, etc.), newspapers, websites, and also to celebrity stylists to make sure I’m getting my clients as much of the right press as possible. I’m constantly pitching stories to press; I’ll send them emails along the lines of “Hey ___!

Checking in to see if you’re working on any “Best Gifts for Mother’s Day” stories by chance; I have this really cool client _____ that I think might be

his name is john

a great fit if so! xx John” It’s all about tailoring the client to the story. Here’s where some of the writing skills come in: press releases. There are a lot of reasons I’ll help draft a press release, but some scenarios would be if one of my clients has a new product coming out, or if I sent Gigi Hadid’s stylist a sample and she ends up wearing it and the paparazzi snap her picture. That’s a huge win! Then, it’s my job to draft a press release saying “Please note Gigi Hadid was spotted out in New York City on xx/xx/xx day wearing ____ (my client) while leaving her apartment in Manhattan.” It’s edited and re-edited, and then blasted out to fashion press so that writers will see it, and (hopefully) write about it, so that our clients get press. Really bare bones breakdown of the process. One of my favorite aspects of PR is the ability to make all these awesome connections because it’s literally your job to work with them on a daily basis on behalf of your clients. I also do a ton of stuff on the paperwork side; preparing agendas for client meetings (then preparing the recaps right after), creating (and constantly updating) media lists so that we know which editors work for which publication / we have to know which clients to pitch to which editor at any given time, etc., handling appointments from editors and stylists to come to the showroom (which is a big space where all the client collections are neatly displayed on racks, shelves, etc. It essentially looks like a beautiful, perfectly arranged store except nothing’s for sale), and most importantly, be on the lookout for

“one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out.”

press on a daily, hourly, almost minutely basis so that I can share them to my client right away. I didn’t even get started on the events part of the job! No matter what your position is in PR, understand that the job is literally 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, nonstop. And problems will arise; it’s your job as a publicist to put out the fires. Sometimes, Vogue wants look #3 from the Fall/Winter 2018 collection by tomorrow morning, but you already sent it to a photo shoot for Maxim that’s happening right now in the Hamptons and it’s not expected back until next Tuesday. This isn’t exactly written in the job description, but it’s your job to keep your cool and figure out how to get from point A to point B. In this industry, nobody cares about how you get there; just get there.

Did you always know you wanted to work in fashion? If not what did you think your career path was going to be?

I actually did not ever think I was going to work in fashion; I thought I was going to work in politics or entertainment or something. Fashion was always just a passion of mine; I loved reading Vogue growing up and looking cute made me feel confident even when I didn’t feel it. My mom always told me to go into politics especially, or become a doctor or lawyer (like the typical batshit crazy Asian woman she is) and so when I started doing fashion she thought I was insane.

She still doesn’t really understand what I do when I say “PR” (to be honest, nobody does) but she finally gets my interests and fully supports me. Also, I’m actually so glad that she pushed me to work hard for anything I wanted because if she didn’t, I wouldn’t be where I am now (which is not even that far, but I still can’t believe I somehow got here in the first place).

Was there anything you wish you did differently in college career-wise?

Not a single thing. Sometimes I find it best when you literally have no idea what you’re doing, and subsequently dip your toes in anything that interests you. College was all about exploring both my personal and professional interests, and I am so glad I went to the University of Illinois and not some fashion school like Parsons or FIT. No shade; those are both ridiculously amazing schools and their alumni list reads like a who’s who of fashion. What I mean is that with U of I, I was able to do my broadcast journalism major while getting my PR minor, while taking classes in political science, you get the point. I feel like there’s a lot more exploration you can do - not to mention being able to get that quintessential college experience - and I’m grateful U of I allowed me to do both. New York will always be here; see more of the outside world while you can.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years?

Waking up in a penthouse suite on the Lower East Side, turning over on my 1800-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets to look at my husband, who is the Buying Director at Barneys, and planting a huge kiss on him as I open Instagram and see Naomi Campbell wearing the dress I sent her last night to the Met Gala. I’m only half kidding. In 5 years, I hope to be still learning and getting used to this because it’s a job that never quits you - you quit it. I hope to be using fashion as a tool to start meaningful conversations on the international stage, because we’re entering a time where words have to meet action. That means more designers, stylists, editors, publicists, photographers, models of different colors, body types, ages, sexual orientations, trans, gender-nonconforming, the whole fucking thing.

Fashion is a powerful tool to do that - don’t let it go to waste.

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