How to become a Fashion Designer - Lauren Devlin

In today’s episode Mentor Mindset will be interviewing Lauren Devlin. Lauren is a fashion designer who designs under wear garments for Vanilla blush. At Vanilla Blush she specialises in post-surgery needs. Lauren studied at Heriot Watt University at their Galashiels campus. Portfolio and a 1-1 interview are common for securing a place at university to study art related subjects.

Lauren talks about the difficulties of the process and provides tips on how to be successful at 5:10. At university she worked at multiple retail jobs to understand the life cycle of the product and the importance of customer service in the retail industry. Staying motivated, remaining resilient and working hard are the tips Lauren suggests when applying for jobs or internships.

Lauren secured her internship after graduation at an undergarment company where her previous retail experience helped her secured the job. She advises on being proactive by contacting the employers before and after applying for a position. This proactive nature helped her secured a job at Vanilla Blush by contacting the owner of the company before applying online, listen on how she did it at 12:50. Lauren explains her experience at Vanilla blush as , ‘’ The nicest working environment she ever had’’ and she gives this credit to the flexible working nature of the company and the relationship she developed with the executives which she would never have developed if she was working in a million dollar revenue company.

“Nothing happens overnight”, Lauren say if you put the time and effort you get the rewards. Vanilla Blush offered a full-time job after she completed her internship. Lauren's advice to young fashion designers is to do a lot of research and explore all options before deciding a career path.