Why did I bother?
I dont even know why I bothered to finish Higher Education and get a degree when in the end, im stuck in the exact same job that I was doing aged 17, to support myself during my studies….
As a Young designer, its tough enough out there with competition all around, especially here in Paris. But add to the equation that Im not rich and there for have to work a part time job in retail to put food on the table and a roof over my head, and its a hundred times worse!
I was invited to participate in Bordeaux Fashion week, this spring. However Im needed 3 weeks before the big event for rehearsals - PROBLEM - I only have 5 weeks holiday a year from my retail job, with only 1 left between now and June (which I was taking for fashion week). Meaning that I dont have enough to dedicate to fashion week rehearsals almost a month before the actual show!
How is a young designer supposed to compete and to launch their career when such obstacles as the need to eat get in the way?
Its Ok for the richer fashion grads who have friends and families to support them financially while they launch their brands or do unpaid work experience in the big fashion houses, but where does that leave us, the grafters, the ones who work 3 jobs to make ends meet AND put together a collection every year? Dont we need some support and the chance to prove ourselves without being homeless?
I was ready to put my money where my mouth is and pay for the best slot during the shows, I was willing to travel Paris-Bordeaux and back, to take time off my paid job for that, to speed up production of my collection…but its not enough.
The thing is, this is not the first time. Many an opportunity has come up and then been cancelled for one reason or another, and do you know how hard it is to get an INTERVIEW for one of the many openings in the industry? Even knocking on doors and begging isn’t enough - trust me Ive done the research! - and doors just get slammed in your face before you even get the word “portfolio” out of your mouth.
Ive posted my CV on walls & cars outside fashion houses such as Galliano, Ive befriended the secretary, Ive written, emailed, called, knocked on doors, applied online, entered (and won) competitions, blagged my way into a designers atelier to speak with him, offered to work for free etc etc, and all for what? To continue working part time in a shop selling cheap clothing to thousands of tourists every day while wanting to tear my hair out!
As a young Scottish student, I couldnt afford to go to London to do an unpaid placement at a big fashion company, as an adult, i dont get placements because im not a student, and Its even harder to get a job when you dont have a great, fancy placement, no matter how much experience you do have!
So what am i to do? Resign myself to working in retail forever? Just get pregnant and have lots of kids to fill my life (the nightmare that Ive never wanted) because im getting nowhere fast? Or continue fighting the uphill struggle for the next God knows how long, only to resign to the idea of a mundane, working class existence in another 10 years? When even babies may not be an option :p ….
Tell me again why we are pushing teens into higher education year after year, when these are the prospects? And the more the years go on, and the next graduates enter the industry, the less chance I have….
I think you can safely say that Im feeling a little low today :s …
xoxo LLM
