Fashion Journalism

[BetteT]

All very true, prosperk. And yes, most blogs just get mired down with the thousand others that are out there and don't result in anything except a small personal following. But starting a blog still has the advantage of having somewhere to practice and to get some feedback. So I think that it's actually not a bad idea for someone who wants to write ... in any genre.

 

[prosperk]

I certainly agree with that, BetteT. No writing is a waste of time from the viewpoint of practice and development of writing styles. Writers evolve constantly. I am often horrified by what I wrote as recently as yesterday! It's probably a good idea to have a forum/responses page attached to one's blog so that readers can offer opinions and criticism. Of course, some people can't take criticism but criticial comment, even when it seems negative, is usually worth more than plaudits. Sure, we all have egos and they like a bit of stroking from time to time but if you really want to know where you are in your evolution as a writer, pay attention to the people slagging you off. The same applies to all creative 'art'. One really is only as good as what one does tomorrow...

Prosper

 

[Alleluia]

It's my dream to become a journalist. Most of all a writer in a fashion magazine. My question is, is it really really tough to get into one? It's probably been asked before and I heard it's really cut throat. So my plan right now is to study journalism of all kinds and maybe intern and work at a newspaper for a start? I really don't see myself working with fashion journalism for a long awhile until I get some experience.

 

[sassybella]

It is really hard to get into magazines, goodness knows it took me a while to do it.

Positions sometimes don't open up as quickly as you'd like, and unless you're already on people's radar in terms of working as an intern or work experience you won't know about a potential position anyway!

 

[Alleluia]

Thanks bella. So I guess it's just a chance to take to work with a magazine. I'd definitely have to move somewhere where the magazine takes place too, and I live in Washington state.. I doubt there are magazines here. haha

 

[lilsweetie]

Avoid any degree course related to journalism or media studies. If you want to have a degree under your belt, do something unrelated. If you want something slightly related, do English Literature with one or two foreign languages. Hell, do Spanish and Latin American literature at an English-speaking college. Just don't do a journalism degree. Get out there and write. Persuade editors to commission you. Less than 5% of the writers and editors I know have journalism or media-related degrees. Check this post out: click here

I'm majoring in Journalism right now, and i want to switch to art history. I'm hoping to either work in the fashion industry or doing something with fashion magazines, do you think this is a wise choice? I've heard that esp for jobs in magazines, a degree in journalism is meaningless, but is this really true!?

 

[prosperk]

I can't think of a single journalist I know - fashion writers included - who has or admits to a degree in journalism, media studies or anything like that. I suppose these courses have their uses but I doubt if they teach people anything they can't learn in a few months of actually getting out there and doing the job. You'd be well advised to find a degree course that might offer you viable options when you eventually decide to get out of fashion journalism. Switch to Law or something that teaches you how to show people to evade, oops, sorry avoid tax. As the West rolls downhill towards Hell in a handcart and our glorious leaders dream up new ways to rob us blind, tax consultancy for 'ordinary people' will become a lucrative business. Switch to Law and Accountancy or Tax Law. Could be good for you, especially with the Bahamas less than an hour away. Then go and explore a career in fashion magazines.

PK

 

[sanita13]

I'm majoring in Journalism right now, and i want to switch to art history. I'm hoping to either work in the fashion industry or doing something with fashion magazines, do you think this is a wise choice? I've heard that esp for jobs in magazines, a degree in journalism is meaningless, but is this really true!?

lilsweetie don't be discouraged Andre Leon Talley majored in Art History.

 

[lilsweetie]

aw thanks sanita13! I feel like the only way im going to make it in this business anyway is if i have connections

 

[prosperk]

If you want to do an Art History degree, then do so by all means. André Leon Talley certainly views collections, accessories and other facets of the business, like hair and make-up, with an refined art critic's eye but he probably had that before he read art history at college.

An uncle of mine, who was a personnel director with several large UK firms, once remarked tartly that the only thing a BA told him about an applicant was that his firm was in with a chance of keeping them on board for three or four years before they got itchy feet. That is quite an indictment of an educational system that encourages students to read for degrees in all sorts of essentially impractical and useless subjects simply for the sake of getting degrees.

If you're going to invest three or four years of your life getting a BA, you might as well get something that could be of some use to you at a later date should your chosen career not work out. That's really all I am trying to say to you. Most people do arts degrees after school because they are brainwashed into believing that they have to. You do not need a degree to be a journalist, full stop. If you have one, or want one, that is your choice. But you do not need one and anyone who tells you that you do is either talking nonsense or trying to discourage you.

I have never been asked to show any examination or degree certificates. Hell, when I sat down behind a desk back in 2001 as features director of Vogue Hommes International, nobody even asked me for a CV. Nobody asked me for a CV when I was a Vogue bureau chief and contributing editor. This wasn't because I had "contacts". I was a sociopathic ex-paratrooper, for Chrissakes, with an attitude, a loud British motorbike, motorcycle oil under my fingernails and nervous tics as a result of trying to be a war reporter in the Balkans.

I was simply good at what I did. And I was good because I worked bloody hard at it. I had a ball on Planet Fashion. I still write for a couple of titles but have gone in a different direction. And I am actually more typical than many of you might imagine. Not for nothing do some of us describe journalism as "the last refuge of the unemployable".

If you want a BA in stuffing teddy bears, do it. Do whatever rings your bells. But if you want to write, just get out there and do it. That's what counts. That's what get you picked up. I am nothing if not proof of that. Anyone can write for fashion and style magazines. Afterwards, you have to learn how to deal with the politics and that's another thing. But you will have made the necessary "connections" and "contacts" by then.

PK

 

[ms_prissy]

does anyone know any good fashion blogs or sites to submit articles to?

 

[sassybella]

Why don't you try submitting to blogs you think suit your writing style Ms Prissy? And they should obviously have your respect and so forth if you're going to have your stuff on their websites.

 

[prosperk]

It's my dream to become a journalist. Most of all a writer in a fashion magazine. My question is, is it really really tough to get into one? It's probably been asked before and I heard it's really cut throat. So my plan right now is to study journalism of all kinds and maybe intern and work at a newspaper for a start? I really don't see myself working with fashion journalism for a long awhile until I get some experience.

That's a refreshing, intelligent attitude. You can never learn too much, as the old saying goes. Some of the intellectual snobs one encounters in journalism sneer at fashion writers, implying that they are not real journalists. Okay, it's true that there are some serious airheads wasting space in fashion magazine offices but that is hardly exclusive to the fashion and style press.

There are some very serious-minded fashion journalists and editors. Some of them have only ever written on fashion, style and related topics while others have broader resumés. If you want to study some of the best out there, look for fashion-related stuff by writers like Suzy Menkes, Marion Hume, Godfrey Deeny, Natasha Fraser and Horacio Silva, to name a few of the anglophone ones. They're professional, talented and versatile, in that they can write well about anything if they have to, because they respect the profession before anything else. Self-respect and ethics are still important even if it often seems otherwise.

It can be tough to get a start but far from impossible. As I've said elsewhere, they gave me a job so anyone can do it. I am not sure that fashion journalism per se could be described as cut-throat - in the context, say, of brawling tabloid hacks - but there are, as everywhere, some very bitter and twisted boys and girls in fashion media. I suppose it's tough if one's job depends on keeping them sweet but then, if one is that scared of bullies, then journalism might not be the best career choice.

But as I said, your attitude is good. You may chance upon some other form of journalism or reporting that appeals to you but as long as you end up being able to pay the rent, so to speak, from writing, then you're doing something right.

PK

 

[sassybella]

Just a side note - Marion Hume is speaking at the L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival today.

http://www.lmff.com.au/Business-Seminar.aspx

I was dying to go but it really wasn't cheap to attend the Business Seminar. A friend of mine is attending and is going to report back to me on everyone's tips.

They always seem to get a lot of top industry people to attend, from Jane Sheppard from Topshop who will speak about how the brand revived its image, Jasper Conran, and of course Marion Hume.

Should be interesting to see what they said - shame the seminar doesn't finish for another 5 - 6 hours or I'd be bugging my friend for tips! Will post them up as soon as possible for you all.

 

[prosperk]

If they don't have a few reduced price places reserved at that seminar for students or 'young people', to allow a loose definition, that's a bit of an oversight. $450.00 is quite steep. Mind you, they had to fly in and look after all of those speakers for a start, and that's far from cheap. Still, a reduced tarif for bona fide starters in the business would have been smart.

It's funny that Marion Hume is speaking there. I remember how she used to be slagged off in Oz when she was Editor-in-Chief of Australian Vogue. She put noses out of joint as soon as she stepped off the plane from England by writing harsh but honest editorials about the state of the industry in Australia. Now they're inviting her as a top speaker at Melbourne Fashion Week. Ain't that always the way...

I'll call her when she gets back 'topside' and ask her about the seminar. If I get anything likely to be helpful to any of you, I'll post it here as well. J J Picart is also well worth listening to. He's forgotten more about the business than most people even know.

PK

 

[kimair]

how old is too old to do an internship for journalism?
i've been working as an art director, but have been writing on the side...

 

[homeboy]

how old is too old to do an internship for journalism?
i've been working as an art director, but have been writing on the side...

Most people intern between the ages 18-25 so if you ask me I would concider 25-30 to be a gray zone and 30 to be old.

 

[homeboy]

I'm on Condé Nast's webpage looking for editorial jobs and have found out that they have only listed american citys as geographical areas. Does anyone know where I can apply for jobs in europe? Or does Condé Nast and their magazines carry out all their editorial work i the US?

 

[prosperk]

Condé Nast International oversees foreign markets and each country that has its own CN titles, including Vogue, GQ and so on, generally has a domestic Condé Nast holding company, which may operate under licence or as a joint venture.

Here. for instance, is British Vogue's website: http://www.vogue.co.uk/. I am sure, if you trawl around long enough using Google, you will dig up all sorts of contact information. Here's a general e-mail for Condé Nast France: [email protected]. It really depends on which title you want to work for, in which country and what languages you speak.

PK

 

[modern_romance]

Starting in Fashion Journalism

I am currently studying a ND Fashion & Clothing Diploma as well as A-Level English Language and want to go onto study Fashion Journalism at either Epsom or the London College of Fashion. I have already had two articles published in my local newspaper and another soon to be published in our college magazine. I was wondering if anybody had any advice to give me to get into London College of Fashion and the fashion journalism world in general. Eventually I would love to write for magazines such as i-D, Dazed & Confused, Another Magazine, Pop and Vogue but I know I will have to start much further down the scale. I am planning on taking a gap year at the end of this year to get my head together and gain some work experiance. Any advice you could give on places to ask for work experience or an internship and how to go about applying would be brilliant. Also any tips for becoming a fashion journalist would be great!
Thank you

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