Claire Foster - WGSN

Claire Foster - Footwear & Accessories Dept. WGSN



A brief outline of her experiences so far...

She studied Fashion Design in Birmingham, did Work Experience at i-D Magazine. After
Graduation, floated around a bit, was doing freelance work for magazines, freelance feature writing and styling. Made small collections on the side and eventually opened a shop which was a collaboration between herself and a friend of hers in a free retail space. Her friends had contacts in magazines and was able to get them press. Had the shop open for 6 months, found it was a great learning experience. Learned about the Industry more, Buying, Marketing, Press etc.
Moved to Manchester to show her Womens wear and accessory collections. Had buyers from all over the country. Claire found the running theme of her career to be DIY. For about 2-3 years, Claire was working on making contacts and networking, thought this was very important, whilst the whole time working freelance writing and styling. Went for the job as Associate Editor for accessories and footwear. At the interview, she was asked to write a piece on a trend that she thinks is important (I wish I had asked her what she wrote about!!). Became Coordinator - Trend Analysis.

Now Take a breather...



A little bit about WGSN :

"WGSN don’t just look out the window and tell you it’s raining, but predict the cultural climate weeks, months, even years in advance — so you can plan for the future.

The accuracy of our vision has been proven time and again. That’s why we have a 93% retention rate with the world’s leading brands". (www.wgsn.com)

WGSN helps people to understand and anticipate fashion trends, Trends are predicted ! year to 6 months in advance. They publish 3 reports a week, updating their subscribers on the latest trends. Have International contributors and offices all over the world. Includes Street Reports (take photos outside the shows), and have specific blogs dedicated to different areas, for example blogs on eye wear, footwear etc.
Not only do the public find WGSN inspiring, but so do Designers.


Claires job allows her to travel the world, hoping to scope out all the newest trends and what's happening i fashion, art, music etc. She told us about her latest trip to Australia at the end of May and what she took from the trip.

One of the main differences between the UK and Australia re the seasonal differences, this affects the trends for Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter, making their fashion vastly different to ours at different times of the year.
She mentioned a website that acts a little like 'The Sartorialist' or 'Facehunter', but is called 'Melbourne Street Fashion' (www.melbournestreetfashion.com).

Here are some of my favourties from the site...








Claire told us that a lot of the street style in Australia was more Grunge, thrown-together and more DIY than England, she called it 'Grunge City'. The fashion there had a very 90's feel to it and that Vintage was huge! She showed us photos of the Street art, the graffiti, some of the zines that were being produced.
Whilst there, she didn't only look at Fashion, she would look at the whole of their culture, including the bands.

Here are list of a few she saw so you can check them out :


- Bridezilla

- Red Riders


- SPUNK!

- Lions at your door


Claire would then present this information she gathered to her colleagues at WGSN, and the team would work on bringing all this info into the website and to their customers.

At the end of her lecture, I asked her a couple of questions...

* Which key people do you work with?

I work with the Senior Editor and Head of trends. With Photographers, Designers, Eye wear Industry and use their specific knowledge to her advantage. Also illustrators and freelance writers.

* Do you have any other jobs on the side?

I still do freelance writing on the side (The Guardian) as an external job. It's good for people to work on different projects at once, it helps you keep an interest in other things as well as your job.

* Key Points for Graduates in jobs/Work Experience?

The most important thing is enthusiasm. 70% of the job at WGSN is research - we need people who know how to research well. You need passion and interest in the specific area you are entering. Have an open attitude to doing different things and in the future you could potentially be going into PR/exhibition/office.

* Any Advice?

Get invlolved as well as your degree; working at LFW, doing a bit of writing/illustration on the side.