Break Into Fashion

Kathleen Talbot began her career researching food systems and teaching sustainability, before rising to the C-suite at Reformation by prioritising mission over industry. Now, she shares her career advice.

After interning with celebrity stylist Karla Welch and fashion brand Amiri, Kyle Smith landed a job at the National Football League and found his niche in the intersection of fashion and sports. In 2024, he was appointed the NFL’s first-ever fashion editor, working with players like Joe Burrow and Justin Jefferson. Now, he shares his career advice.

From working across creative agencies like Spring Studios to publishers like i-D and Dazed before moving in-house, Priya Matadeen identifies thematic ‘red threads’ to facilitate each career move. She shares her career advice, including how to learn leadership skills and demonstrate transferable skills across new disciplines.

Having previously held buying roles at the likes of Net-a-Porter and Threads Styling, Linda Ayepe shares the importance of researching niche trends and finding job opportunities outside of a fashion capital.

Jackie Wong has held positions at Burberry, Moncler and Christian Dior. He offers advice on how to balance the science and creativity of marketing and how to build a network of like-minded professionals across industries.

Leslie Caswell held roles at Burberry and Meta before starting at Aesop. He advises juniors to focus on knowledge not seniority when approaching mentors, and to remember your first job doesn’t need to be your dream job.

Having started her career as a concept designer at Gap Inc. and Victoria’s Secret before becoming director of consulting at trend forecasting agency WGSN, Amiyra Perkins today leads a creative team at the tech firm. Now, she shares her career advice.

From working on the shop floor at Louis Vuitton to holding executive roles at Tag Heuer, Cartier, Tesla and Farfetch, Jeffery Fowler shares his career advice on advancing through the ranks in luxury retail.