The GFW Live! Space was host to an educational talk led by talent acquisition specialist at Gap Inc., Kit Brown, and his team, Chantal Williams, Meghan Brown, Evie Reddy and Justin Newlin. They began by summarising their history with the brand, previous employment, education and a huge breadth of experience from marketing, buying, design, visual merchandising and communication.
They have a dedicated concept team that look ahead of the seasons, researching catwalks, global trends and consumer habits before creating a collection that really speaks to the clients, and represents the brand identity. As a democratic company, they have got to produce a diverse range of products for each season. Not to mention, stores in America such as LA and New York, have a very different style to those in the West, as well as the weather!
Previous graduate fashion week alumni Chantal Williams, who studied at Northumbria University spoke to us about her journey from student to leading American brand designer.
“I really got the most from the event, making connections and speaking to industry-based people”. From Graduate Fashion Week, she went into retail employment for a year with a much better idea of portfolio expectations and more prepared for her design interviews, which eventually landed her a career as Junior Menswear Designer for Jack Wills.
A inspiring talk for budding communication students, taking their first steps into the industry.
Words by Isabel Woodrow-Young