Building a Career in Fashion Media with Carlotta Constant of British Vogue

On this week’s episode of Girl Gang the Podcast, we travel to London to interview Carlotta Constant, Editor at British Vogue (@britishvogue).

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Speaker 1 0:01

Hi, this is amy, your host of girl gang, the podcast and founder of Girl Gang, the label.com. I'm so excited for you to tune into this very special episode. We traveled to London to interview some amazing women and creative industries. I hope you enjoy. Hi, my name is Carlos. I'm the partnerships and events editor at British vogue and you're listening to gang the podcast. Basically I came out of university and had absolutely no idea what I wanted to do. I think this was probably about seven years ago and I was studying graphic design at Sheffield University here in England and decided just to go and intern at wherever I could. I didn't want to go into graphic design even though I loved it, but all I did know is that I wanted to be creative, so I basically interned in buying in sales, in pr, in beauty and fashion. I think radio, tv, I think every. Everything that you name it, I've done it basically and I think that's the great thing for like, you know, when you've come out of education, if you go into that route, you need to figure out what you want to do because it's hard. Like it's honestly, it's honestly like a hard industry out there and also like going from my internships basically I interned for two years free. If there's any advice I'd give being in the fashion industry, probably be it. I could just say yes to everything honestly. I learned more from internships but even in college I did six internships over a three year span and I think that the education you get and really learning what you're good at, what everyone does, that's such a better currency than actually even getting paid 100 percent and also the internships that you do. So in fashion, I think there's a policy basically here in the UK where you can only do it for four weeks. So I think for the like span of the two years I was working, I probably did about 18, 19 internship and it was literally ridiculous because you're literally going from one place to another. The magazines are wanting the best interns or people at least that know how to do, you know, the day to day things in the office or getting shipped repaired and stuff like that. So I think I was doing all those internships and basically Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays after work I'd go straight from my internships to Australia, the restaurant that I worked at. So I think I do, it was something like nine till six and then like seven till 11. Working at a restaurant worked double shifts on the weekend as well. I've got to make 100 pound tips every week to see myself through for like my travel costs and stuff like that. But it was definitely worth it. Is there a favorite memory or even a favorite internship? It was probably did an internship at topshop just because, like I was saying before, it's so interesting to know how the brand works and like all the different aspects. So when I did my buying internship, it was actually on the denim section that I worked on. They basically gave me all these swatches and I was just like, right, what do you want me to do with them? Obviously I was an intern there for weeks and they were like, so we'd like you to choose our new spring summer collection. Wait, I'm sorry. What? They were like, no, no, we just want you to choose what colors we should have for denim for our next connection. And I was there like, oh my gosh, I'm going to have to present this. I had to do like mood boards and everything. It was so incredible having that experience. So after the internships, did you just apply to a bunch of jobs than the first one that stuck? You just started going from there. The thing is when you get into magazines, especially editorial is there's not actually that many jobs. You've basically got 20 jobs in the industry and there's about 70, 80 girls fighting for like one position, which is absolutely ridiculous and no one will ever budget as well. Like I know some fashion assistance that stayed in the job for about seven or eight years just so they could stay within the magazine. A job came up at fhm and it was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I met my fashion director will bonds, who is probably the best mentor I've ever had in my whole entire life. You know, what I find really interesting now is basically seeing all these incredible songs that we shot back then, which must've been about six years ago now and now how they're huge. So we shot George Ezra for a cover of like a fashion supplement. We shop stormzy and seeing them now, you know, working at Gq previously and seeing them as one of the men of the year. It's incredible. Going through that process with them and seeing how they've evolved as artists, as actors especially because you feel part of that process with them. I remember when he left, he actually gave me a book and it was a book on birds and he just wrote one. He literally put poster on it. It was like fashion isn't about clothes. It's about other things, so here's a book on birds, and I was like, Oh God, it's so true. I was like, wow. So literally like I've still got to this day, we just moved into a house with my boyfriend and I've got this book literally like a centerpiece in our house and it's like I need that inspiration every day at British Gq is really interesting. Basically I started this fashion assistant and it was really great, but when you're fashion assistant in a publication that you're not a fashion assistant, I mean you do so much more so after fashion assistant basically six months after they promoted me to acting style and grooming editor basically because I'd had a history in grooming anyway because I did the fhm and also a lot in beauty. I now probably know how to shave bid better than female legs. Honestly, I kid you not like, I'll look at a guy and I'd be like, oh, I didn't know what you should really do this to his face. I could give him some great tips. It was decided the grooming and the styling for that, that those kind of sections, which was really fun. Then I went into junior fashion editor, so that was kind of my process there at Gq. Going into somewhere like Gq was just absolutely incredible and kind of formed the person that I am learning from these incredible stylists and writers and directors and creative directors and now I'm at Vogel got a call from the publisher. Basically I do look after the partnerships and events at British vogue editor section in the magazine, which is really fun and then assign a lot of their shoots as well and I get to panel these incredible events and partnerships. It's really exciting. I first met you at Coachella last year. You were interviewing people and kind of covering the same. That is such a cool side of the job I think. Can you talk a little bit about that? I mean, absolutely. I've interviewed some pretty incredible people, whether it's Chris Hemsworth, David Beckham, Martin Garrix, Tara Butler. Honestly you probably any huge male artists. I've probably interviewed them, which is pretty surreal if you think about it. God, do you know what the first person I ever interviewed I think was David Beckham, which is a couple of months ago. I actually interviewed David Beckham for British Gq and I had a half an hour interview and I managed to secure the first UK exclusive with him when his new brand called house 99, so I got to do his. Yeah, his first interview for that is first I'll interview for Gq and you know it went online. It's really great, but the best thing about interviewing these kinds of guises, you know, you have to put them in that position where they feel comfortable and you know, a lot of people are asking them the same questions every single day. Like you know, you kind of need to get that familiarity with them and kind of bond with them. How there'd be an informal person. I mean they're normal people. It's kind of interesting. There's some people I think we just hold on a pedestal just the way they're marketed and you see them on billboards and all these exciting things. So it must be such a challenge to figure out how to just look at them. Ida I and like an equal and we're all humans because I think those are the most real conversations. Exactly. I remember literally just the interview that I just did with Becca about a couple of months ago and I remember him saying something new is like, um, I said, what's your favorite product out of this grooming range? And I was like, ha ha. It's basically like watching, like asking you what's your, who's your favorite child? And he looked at me and he laughed and I was like, no, seriously, who's your favorite child? I was like, is this girl for real love of God? What am I doing? You just have to be real with them. Exactly. Then all people. But even from doing this podcast, like it's weird being on the other side. I'm usually on your side and that's okay. I can do that. I can interrogate people, I can do it well, but it's a way of being on this side definitely. Oh my gosh, yes. I'm, I'm still getting used to this whole side of. It was there a moment that you remember that it started feeling like you got into a good groove with interviewing people because you do that so much now. Definitely. I think basically I went out to Germany to Hugo boss's headquarters and they had just announced the. Chris Hemsworth was a new male ambassador for their fragrance. I hadn't actually watched thor before I interviewed him as well. I actually said that to him in interviews and I was like, listen, I'm really sorry, like I haven't watched it. And he was like, God, don't worry about it. Part of you're amazing in it. So yeah, it was when I was talking to him that it was one of those things where I basically had four minutes and something like 30 seconds to have this interview and you know, I had to come up with a double page spread two pages of this interview in four minutes and 30 seconds and that is not a long time. So I was like, okay, you know, basically you just have to relax when you talk to these guys and trying to try and get as much as you can out of them and just awesome what they've never heard before because it's boring for them, isn't it? It's the same thing over and over again. But yeah, that's when I really was like, okay, do you know what? I'm actually quite good at this. I can do it. Yes. That's a pretty good one till I feel like the whole like picturing that whole scene is like a moment to shine. Like all right, I just made it through this. We got this two page spread out of that. Yeah, minutes with Chris Hemsworth for example. It will be like there's a big UK rap at the called low corner and like I spent the whole day with him. I started in pursuit and then I had to write this piece on him but it wasn't like the piece was something like full paragraphs. So you can spend like literally a whole day with someone have so much to write about them because they're so incredibly interesting. And for me, one of my favorite things is finding out British talent. Like I love that one of probably the best things that I've ever done in my career is I recently started my first catwalk show. I'm so excited. It was really, it's really fun. It was really great and honestly I have not done anything like it before. It was a brand's first one and then my first one, so kind of didn't know what we were doing really. But altogether it was. Yeah, exactly. Altogether, which made it feel like this incredible family that we've got because styling, it's, it's a weird one was styling because basically like I feel like it's just a part of me now. I know that sounds really weird, but like it's just literally a part of my day to day. Like that's literally what I do. I don't feel normal if I haven't got a rail in the steamer in my hand and like 10 pins, like stuck to my dungarees or something like that. Um, but yeah, I've done some really exciting things that recently I just didn't see lord of video for vogue. And then also did another photo shoot for them and that was pretty big bucket list ticker there. Being able to say you saw something for low. So that's incredible. What's a day like in styling? Like how crazy and hectic is it? Oh my gosh. It's absolutely mental. So basically you'd be. It could be the day before, a week before, you never know when you're going to get it. And also depending on the person or the talent that you're shooting, you never know if they're going to drop out. Like I think we've started some people before, some big rapper names like you know, flying over from la or whatnot and they've been like, oh, they've missed a flight or they've missed the flight again. And you'll literally be on your third shoot or for your job now. What are the different elements that are a part of it? And you just had your first really big events last night. Can you talk to us about what that's like to set something like that up at such a big company? Like folk? Basically when I came on board and they're basically like, you know what? You're going to have to set up a lot of events and I had, because I had been on the editorial side, you know, the editorial side and the commercial side of businesses are very different, um, commercial size obviously, or money orientated and they bring, you know, the brand, they keep the brand going, they keep it alive. Whereas editorial, someone can give me a stroll, give me literally like a sock, a pain, right? So I can be like, you know what, you could have turned this into like eight pages. Like, okay, fine, I'll go and do this. I can make a really good eight page story with one white salt. Um, but yeah, it's just interesting because now I've basically come onto more of a commercial side. So setting up my first event, which was a Michael Kors in store event for about 30 of the most exclusive like shoppers or you know, um, us very agreed as basically they all got to bring a plus one and get an insight into um, one of the contributing editors life. And like what she sees is a new spring summer trends. So I was there backstage, I was having to put all the links here, they're sending her pictures nonstop and being like, are you okay with this? And late she was flying in from Portugal and basically, yeah, I had to help sell the three girls backstage and you know, they had to perform this runway, look for all the people, which is great. And then they obviously showcased it live on a facebook live even. Um, and I think it went out to all the following, which is like two point 1 million people on a pretty incredible basis. People. Aside from the events side, what other types of jobs are you taking on with this new position? So I edit a section in the magazine which is called the checklist section. So it's basically like one hero page of, you know, the best product that we think is out for that month and then it would say shopping pages of, you know, what we like and you know, finding an inspiration and it's just really interesting seeing that all come together and you know, you can sit there and look at all these products and find some kind of narrative between it. That's the thing that I love most. It's like the storytelling and yeah, I just find that absolutely incredible. You've got this Hashtag new vogue at the moment. It's been up and running for the last couple of months and to be a part of that and to like be able to say like on your cv that, you know what I was a part of that. It's just incredible. Yeah. Talking about this is weird. It's a weird saying out loud. I mean, it's amazing because the first cover that you were a part of was the women empowerment covered too, which I mean, that was so special. Amazing. And I remember I read that magazine actually literally the day before, two days before, and then I got that call from the publisher, Vanessa kingery, who herself is like the ultimate boss lady. But she's, yeah, she's absolutely incredible and I'm learning from someone like that is just amazing. And yeah, seeing it all come together and you know, you've got Edward and her and their relationship is so strong whereas, you know necessarily you don't find that between commercial and publishing. So how did that feel coming into this tone in that magazine and you get to be a part of this hashtag new vogue. It's amazing. But also it's a bit of a weird, surreal feeling because it's like, why me? There are so many people out there that are incredible. And you saw working on things and you're like, you think about things every day and like, you know, if I do something at work, it's like, what? Do you know what? I'm actually okay, this is how you could say it in your head to yourself over and over again. And like honestly, I've never lost that feeling of like trying the best that you can at what you're doing because yes, I know I've been presented with these incredible things and I've interviewed some of the best people and start some of the best people, but you've always got to think that you're never going to get anywhere unless you don't finish it or like think that every day it's never going to work out for you. I guess you got to keep on evolving. So no matter where you are, you five years ago didn't think you would be doing this stuff, but it's like to get further, you always have to keep yourself in check and want to push yourself. Yeah, and I think the biggest part of making sure that happens is surrounding yourself with inspirational people, which just sounds like your team is just just next level. That's the thing. That's one of the things that I tried to do is I always set myself goals and then I'll hit that goal is. And my friend will be like, oh my God, like what? You just started your first show. You've just done your first presentation for London fashion week and it's like, yeah, okay, cool. Onto the next one. Like there's no stopping, like you just have to keep on going and especially like, you know, being a woman in a man's world when I was at British Gq, but you've got to really step up your game. But it is hard, especially with all these men that they've got egos, like a lot of fashion people have got egos, but it's just learning how to deal with them and learning how to go about the right way and it's just interesting. I think if you stop for too long and say like, okay, I've made it, I've done everything. I'm just going to back down the hill. Exactly. Like how are you going to get anywhere in life if you think you know, hey guys, I've made it. That's fine. You just got to always keep on going 100 percent key puzzling and keep surrounding yourself with people that I feel like I personally just like to surround myself with people that I think I'm like the least interesting person in the room that's never like if I feel like I'm outgrowing a person or a situation or even a company I started or a product like I need to move onto the next one to be able to lift myself higher because I think the community and the people you surround yourself with are so much a part of that activity. They sit in a room and work. We're never going to excel our lives. We have to be inspired and be around very interesting people that school, um, when I first met my boyfriend, so he's got his own stuff brightened and that was really amazing. You know, you set it up by himself with his brother and they literally had like no money and then basically have got three stores open at the moment. And it's just going from strength to strength, which inspires me so much. And being around people like that is honestly incredible. And I remember sitting there with him and you know, I was trying to figure out what to do with my life and he was like, do you know what? Like it doesn't matter what you do as long as you do something you love. And that for me it was quite weird because people, I think have always associated me with the brand that I work with and I think it's all about like I associate myself with the friends that I've got and it's about what they do and how empowering they are. Like some of my friends, uh, you know, like physicians or psychologists or in top of the advertising game, but they're all doing such different things and it's nice having just such a wide variety of friends, brand stylists that you can kind of be like, well, like surround yourself with those kinds of people. And then you will literally bring your best self out always. And even I'm, yeah, I'm sure like working with all these huge brands, even from the internship phase. So exciting to talk about that in a conversation. What really matters is your day to day and I think that especially in the fashion industry, a lot of people I'm sure chasing titles and like they want to get to a level to be perceived a certain way. People are ready to knock you down. Honestly. They were literally like, I know that where I am and stuff like that. There's probably about 10 girls that are ready to trip me up when I pull my lube up from underneath me, but there are people that are literally out there like ready to take you down. It's a do whatever they can to get into that position. See, you've just got to go hardest and honestly like that's the thing that I always say to people is that if you want it then you will get it. When people do internships and you know, if they're a bit lazy or if they come in late, it's like, no. Literally guys, come on. I was working at two different jobs. I was in that like an hour before every single day. Like if you want this, you will honestly get it. Like keep working hard. Keep at it. One of my favorite things through this conversation that I noticed is it seems like you've just had your eye on the prize and you're not the one destructed by competition. You're not worried about tripping someone up. You just excelled your career, I'm sure to you, it seems like over a long period of time, but this is like less than a decade. Look where you are nailing all the things that you've done. Can you give some advice to people that want to get in this industry and what they need to do to either get involved in editorial or just in the fashion industry in general? Yeah. I think one of the best pieces of advice that I ever go given was just being nice and it's so true. Just being nice because you honestly don't know where anyone is ever going to end up. I remember I was working at an internship. I was actually at Gq back in the day when I was interning there for a month. I met this girl and she was absolutely amazing, but the thing is we didn't know each other and we were at the printer. She was an intent for another section that I was an intent for one section. We read the print in like I think I've caught up, I have a resting bitch face, so that's why maybe someone told me to be nice to people is that I'm going to go out of my way to be an because I have that, but basically we wouldn't really talk to each other. And then one day she said something to me and we were like, oh hi. And then we came together and we had this like incredible collaboration that we put together in like we just became the best of friends and it's those things that you never know where they're going to go or what's going to happen or you know, how I've kept in contact with some interns and I put them forward for everything that I like. Every opportunity that I've got coming out, if I've got some big gigs on, they'll come assist me. Even if it's two years later. Literally drop him a text and be like, Yo, you free. And they'll be like, well you still have this oral. Get the run. Like who it is, but yeah, it's um, yeah, I would literally say like, just be nice to everyone and honestly like just work your hardest to learn to make a good cup of tea, especially here in the UK and just apply pester people, pester people and be nice because I get so many applications for three, for internships and if I'm not looking for anyone, you know, I'll be bad. I'll literally just skip through it and I don't mean to. If you passed me, I think, Oh God, like this go. She obviously really wants it. Like there's something there or I'll get someone like one girl, I think she dm me something like seven times and I was like, Gosh, on a night out. And I was like, this girl's got to stop. And I was like, I play like she remembered and now I've used it for a couple of sheets and she was really good. So pester in the nicest way possible and to make a good cup of tea. I love it. That's amazing advice and that must be such a crazy feeling to be on the other side nail where you're getting all the application. We have this thing in the world like I used to be that person also. I was talking to, um, the girl I used to work at Gq, at the fashion editor and she actually found my email of applying for an internship from about six years ago and she showed it to me and it was like, isn't it funny how it interfere now? It basically best friend, like we just talked about labradors and memes and fashion all the time. Like, isn't this funny? Is there anyone in particular in your peer group or someone that you work with that inspires you? There's a lot of people that inspire me. Gosh, I think there's one of my best friends called Daisy Dean who's a stylist and I used to work with her at fhm and um, she's probably one of the best stylists that I know and she's absolutely incredible and just what she does and how she does it is just so incredible. And she's now starting campaigns for Nike and doing. Yeah, huge things, huge rapids footballers, everything and it's so weird going through that process with someone because it will sit there and we'll talk about it and it'd be like, wait, what have you just done? And you just thought like Nike's global campaign if you just don't shoot vogue like God, what is this? And it's one of those moments where you just sit there like looking up at the sky at stars and like counting your blessings and yeah, she's probably one of my biggest inspirations, my mom telling me just to keep on going. It's weird things that inspire me. What else besides people inspires you and honestly anything. I know that sounds really weird but I can be oil down the street and like I think someone's like balloon popped and then like literally went past me and I was like God, I can imagine that is like the red color, like running through like the magazine and on your page and like or. Yeah, like how my old boss, the fhm gave me a book on birds and it's like, yeah, you know what? Fashion isn't about birds to let's put a bird on a page and it's also like subcultures that inspire me. So you have like the street wear culture, which I absolutely love. My brother's a skater so I love going to the skate park and like actually skating with him and doing stuff like that. Like honestly anything like if a pencils like flipped around the wrong way and I'll be like, God, what are the positions that we can make out of? We were playing a game at Christmas and my boyfriend drew like this thing on pictionary and he was like, you take a picture of it. And he was like, do you know what? I can make the entity shirt. And then he did it and it's like one of those little things that just honestly like, yeah, it changes your way of thinking or literally when I'm. So for example, if I had to put the together for this Michael Kors event that I did, I had to put all the looks out on my desk and I know it sounds weird, but I will literally stand on the other side of my desk to look at them upside down and to see if I can see if the all the patterns are like merging together because then I'm not actually looking at what I've been looking at for the last 72 hours in a row. Like, oh, just look at things differently and I'll try and see like a different perspective from them. Will. Thank you so much for sitting down and chatting with me today. Can you let our listeners know where they can learn more about you? Yeah, I mean you're welcome to follow me on Instagram, Carlos. A constant and it's probably the hardest name. Yeah. Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 23:07

No, you did interviews on my set up means a lot.

Speaker 1 23:11

Yeah. No, cool. I mean I'm genuinely impressed. It's great.

Speaker 2 23:17

I'm Ryan Reynolds or Ryan gosling.

Speaker 1 23:19

Oh, I read is around guzzling. Ryan Reynolds. Oh, Ryan goes and stress, and so thanks so much for tuning into this week's episode. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave a review. It helps us out so much. Enjoy 10 percent off of everything. A girl gang, the label.com with code girl gang. I hope to have you tune in next week. Until then, make sure to support your local girl gang.