A FASHION executive has revealed how she went from being a failed student to working with some of the world’s best-known designers.
Stephanie McCartney grew up in the East End of Glasgow.
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She’s always had an eye for fashion, but when she first went to college in 2009, she admits she didn’t take it seriously.
But failing was the wake-up call she needed – and now she’s in charge of mega-brand Alexander McQueen and has worked with the likes of Gucci and Prada.
Stephanie said: “It’s amazing and an incredible privilege to work for a brand I never imagined would come to to work for. Little Stephanie would never say that this was even in the plans.
The now 32-year-old spent her formative years in Baillieston.
As a teenager, she gained a place on Kelvin College’s fashion design course in 2009.
But things didn’t go as planned.
Only daughter Stephanie said: “I never, ever, ever tried, I didn’t really take it seriously. I would rather have gone with my friends, I went in by the skin of my own skin. teeth.”
Putting ‘silly things’ first saw the young student fail her first year of studies leaving her devastated when she had to to leave the school.
She said: “I was prioritizing friends, shopping and silly things over my studies. I was still quite immature. It became even more difficult when my father became seriously ill.
“There was a lot of time where I didn’t show up because I was trying to be there for him.
“Having to leave Glasgow Kelvin College after just one year was the biggest wake-up call I’ve ever received. It was the first time someone said, ‘you can’t go on, you haven’t done enough and it’s all over’.
“It was so devastating. The absolute shame and embarrassment of having to tell your parents is something I will never want to relive. I owe it all to them for giving me a second chance.”
Six months later, a grateful Stephanie, then 17, had the opportunity to try again thanks to university professors who accepted her application to enter a fashion school. business course.
She said: “I just needed a place that recognized my potential and I owe it all to them. All the speakers said, ‘of course you can try again, we know you can do it’.
“I disappointed myself, I disappointed them and my parents. I wanted to prove them right for giving me a chance and I wanted to prove to everyone else that I could do it. my weapons.”
Stephanie worked towards her HNC before entering her final year of a Fashion Management course at Robert Gordon University. Graduation left Stephanie scrambling to apply for a Pret a Porter internship in London, which she got.
She said: “The shock was unbelievable, that little girl who failed before didn’t want to fail at anything else in life.
“Having that feeling of validation was so overwhelming, I couldn’t believe it. It was one of the most exciting things that ever happened to me.”
When that came to an end, she took a role at e-commerce giant Farfetch before working at the world-famous Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates. Emirates.
After a period there, she started a top work at Harrods in contact with the most coveted brands.
And early last year, she caught the eye of bosses at Alexander McQueen, where she remains to this day as the company’s global senior manager of e-concessions and marketplace, her dream role managing a team of five of the brand’s e-commerce operations in Worldwide. .
Grateful for her college years, Stephanie advises young Scots to trust themselves and know that dreams are more within reach than you think.
She said: “I would tell younger Stephanie and the other students to trust yourself, have confidence in what you bring to the table and know that your dream is much more within your reach than you think.
“Raise your hand, volunteer and make yourself known because it is much more in your hands than you think.
“The most important lessons I learned at Glasgow Kelvin College, I wouldn’t have learned until much later. The college experience brings to light what you need to work, how you actually operate under pressure under stress, or how you handle things new. You are capable of making mistakes.
SEIZE YOUR OPPORTUNITY
GLASGOW Kelvin College celebrated an impressive 528 per cent increase in the number of open day attendees following its inaugural National Opportunity Day campaign.
The day encourages Scots to take advantage of the range of options available through university education.
Around 500 recent Scottish graduates were surveyed by the college and found that 65 per cent of recent graduates regret not taking up the opportunities offered to them at college, while 61 per cent wish they had spent more time researching the opportunities available before begin their studies.
More than eight in ten Scottish graduates praise their university education for entering the job market, while just over half say their time at college prepared them to start their own business.
Supporting the campaign is renowned Scottish business magnate Lord Haughey. The founder of City Facilities Management, which employs 9,000 people, attended Springburn College, which is now home to Kelvin’s Springburn Campus, as part of a commercial engineering apprenticeship.
Lord Haughey said: “I am delighted to be supporting National Opportunity Day for a second year and to see the return of a valuable and important campaign.
“Attending college prepared me for life – the skills and confidence I gained there helped me find a direction for my career that worked for me.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
