With LCF’s much anticipated move to East Bank, our Alumni Ambassadors joined Graduate Futures to bid farewell to our former homes and celebrate the future of fashion with soon-to-be LCF graduates, recent graduates, and alumni.
Using this as an opportunity to present the reinvigorated Alumni Ambassadors Scheme, Graduate Futures stressed to LCF’s graduates the value that connecting with their peers can add to their professional development. LCF's Alumni Ambassadors dedicate a portion of their time to supporting and inspiring young people in their community, at work, and ‘giving back’ to LCF by supporting the next generation of talented creatives starting their journey.
The event offered valuable insights about how to succeed in the creative industry, from a diverse panel of LCF’s alumni thought-leaders. Steering the discussion was host, Dr. Nina Van Volkinburg, current Course Leader for LCF’s MA Strategic Fashion Marketing course. She was joined by:
The speakers shared their career journeys and how they have navigated the jobs market since graduating, specifying what skills are needed to stand out in the current climate. They emphasised the importance of being ‘multidisciplinary’, allowing new graduates to show potential employers their adaptability, curiousness and innovative nature. A willingness to keep learning is vital for any graduate to succeed in the workplace, but crucially, Kewal Gala highlighted how keeping an open approach and exploring new areas is the key to building a long-term career trajectory.
There is so much competition out there. It is important to keep an open approach and explore a lot of areas. It is worth putting yourself out there for the opportunities you want.
Among the other topics discussed, all speakers stressed the need for a LinkedIn account, with a strong searchable profile, as there are a growing number of company HR teams recruiting in this manner.
When asked to future gaze and predict what technical skills might be highly desired by employers going forward, our panel explored the growing use of technology and AI. All agreed that within the creative world, these technology advancements are really exciting when used ethically and can be beneficial in experimentation, pushing boundaries, and improving data capture. Chirag advised creatives entering this space to look at how technology can enhance their current skills.
If you have 3D skills, it is beneficial to bring this into creative work. AI is not there yet for tastemakers but if you can put your lens on it, you can use it to get smarter and faster.
The talk ended with a powerful message for the audience to be true to themselves and to align with companies and projects that share their values. For Chirag, graduates should “Focus on making yourself happy. Be true to yourself and find your own identity. Be nice as you go up as you do not know who you will meet going down”.
After the talk, attendees took the opportunity to network with their peers and share their own experiences and stories. The buzz in the room clearly demonstrated that this was a much-needed opportunity for our alumni community to come together and celebrate LCFs past but also look with eager anticipation, toward its future.
LCF’s Alumni Ambassadors receive a range of benefits and exclusive access to showcasing, events, and activities designed especially for our LCF Alumni community. By joining you will have opportunities to share your insights through paid work as a guest speaker, grow your skills and knowledge and build your connectivity with other alumni, UAL staff, students and industry guests. If you are interested in joining the Alumni Ambassadors Scheme and want to find out more, please complete our registration form.