I've started to see a pattern within my posts recently, and seeing as they all seem to be based around a theme of graduating and attempting to find my place in the adult world, I thought I'd just carry on and hope for the best.
Which is why I thought it might be interesting (although I don't know to who), to give little insights into the working world of someone who's still finding their feet in the fashion industry.
As those of you who read this blog will know, I started a new job two weeks ago as the social media assistant for Harvey Nichols. It's been a pretty intense two weeks, but I've finally got my head around the way things work and have learnt a ridiculous amount in such a short space of time.
I've also never had as much fun working as I do now and I've lost track of how many times the words "I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this" have crossed my mind.
Yesterday was just one of those moments. Running around the Harvey Nichols third floor- (cocktail in one hand, iPhone in the other) tracking Cara Delevingne's movements across London couldn't possibly be my job, right?!
To celebrate the launch of Cara's collaboration with DKNY she secretly set out to visit four major London stores- Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and DKNY.
In pure Harvey Nichols fashion of course we decided the best way to launch what is probably one of the most major collabs this year (alongside Wang x H&m obvs) was by purely drinking and dancing (thankfully for everyone there though, I didn't attempt any break dancing moves myself)...
Despite it being my first work event and feeling incredibly sick for about 48 hours in advance, it actually all went pretty smoothly. One thing I worry about the most is not getting enough coverage. Social media is so fast-paced that you have to be at the forefront of absolutely everything, being the first person talking about it. However, being a 5'2" invisible person I'm often mistaken for a fangirl and elbowed straight out of the way (thank you photographers)...
Luckily being small occasionally has it's advantages- ducking beneath said photographers elbows and giving them a sly dig back often works wonders, and before you know it- perfect instagram-worthy images.
Next time though I think I'll just pack some stilts..
I'm a sucker for good packaging and attractive branding, so it's no surprise cosmetic brand Korres caught my attention. I was trawling through all the unisex perfumes on our new (and very soon to be launched) Harvey Nichols website, and this brand just looked so beautiful I had to do a little more research. Every Korres formula has been developed based on natural ingredients and this particular scent is a rich blend of pepper, jasmine and gaiac wood. I usually opt for either light floral fragrances or something clean and fresh, but I feel like I'm missing out on the more succulent masculine scents, which is why this is being added to my list of scents to try come next season. I didn't know much (well to be honest, anything) about the gaiac tree (although I do now know it means wood of life), but Harvey Nichols have described it as a "mild, precious-wood scent [with] stimulant and rejuvinating properties."
Sounds heavenly. And with such wonderful packaging, who could resist?!
Available from Harvey Nichols for a very reasonable £30!
One of the many great perks of my job is having the ability to mill about behind the scenes of any editorial shoots taking place in the studio.
A couple of weeks ago, our team styled and shot a womenswear denim editorial for the Harvey Nichols website, and so I crept around for a lot of the day taking pictures for the studio instagram.
I love being able to watch the girls at work, throwing themselves into what they're most passionate about- Kayleigh and Jackie running around like crazy, tweaking the smallest of details to ensure the styling was perfect, and Ellie working her magic behind the camera. Not to forget Jemma of course who somehow transforms from fun and bouncy Jem, into fierce and powerful Jem in front of the lense..
The quality of my own snaps aren't great as I was only really planning to use them for instagram, but they give a little insight into daily life in the studio. Working with a team of people with such strong skill sets (we have stylists, models, photographers, writers, managers and editors all working under one roof), has enabled me to learn so much more about the fashion industry than I ever thought possible. In just seven months I feel I've learnt more about fashion than the whole four years spent at University! And one thing I've come to understand is, you never really know where you're going to end up. You may start out doing one thing, and realise that actually you're incredibly skilled in a completely different area. Everyone I work with have such a range of different talents, and they've inspired me so much to get involved with every aspect of the industry and develop my skills in a multitude of different areas.
There's nothing better than spending time with people who love what they're doing- people who don't just see their job as work- it's their hobby- their life!
You can see (and shop) the rest of the look at Harvey Nichol's website.. here's to many more days spent creeping behind the scenes!
Hannah
