Alexandra Fullerton on future proofing your career through sustainability
Fashion Director-at-Large at GLAMOUR UK and author of How to Dress: Secret styling tips from a fashion insider, Alexandra Fullerton spoke about becoming an author, a Fashion Director and gave a warning to the fashion industry on the importance of sustainability to future – proof the industry. CNC’s BA (Hons) year 1 student Antonia Centioni reports ….
About Alexandra Fullerton
Before taking on her current role as Fashion Director-at-Large at GLAMOUR, Alex was Fashion Director at Stylist magazine for seven years. She has contributed to V Magazine, Vogue Brazil, Harper’s Bazaar Malaysia, and Stella. Throughout her career Alex has worked with renowned photographers including David Bailey, Mary McCartney, Rankin, and Ellen Von Unwerth. She also offers a personal shopping and styling service.
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After working in the fashion industry for more than two decades, Alex understands what a brand needs to succeed and her commercial clients include Stella McCartney and Marks & Spencer.
Alex has also regularly appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and ‘You and Yours’, discussing everything from the craze for clogs to dissecting autumn trends and the state of the British high street. Alex’s first book, How To Dress, was published by Pavilion in June 2018 and became a number one best-seller in Amazon UK’s Fashion category.
“Fashion designers are my rockstars”
“Fashion designers are my rockstars.” She is in awe of their talent, and fascinated by their inspirations, how they work and loves seeing their workspaces. . Alex edits a designer’s collection, always thinking of the reader..
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Fashion Director-at-Large
Alex’s first job in the fashion industry was at GLAMOUR so it was serendipitous to be back at the brand doing exactly what she wanted to do. GLAMOUR offers a real platform for change and has a very fresh viewpoint.
“When you are a Fashion Director, you need to be aware of absolutely everything about fashion, not just the fashion section that you are producing”.
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Alex has worked with supermodels such as Sasha Pivovarova, Coco Rocha, Yasmin Le Bon and Alek Wek. Alex explains how the supers transform the garments by creating a character that makes pictures come alive. Clothes can change your mood entirely, you can create a whole new persona.
How to dress: Secret styling tips from a fashion insider
Writing How to dress: Secret styling tips from a fashion insider was a happy accident. It was not on her bucket list and came about when she was approached by a commissioning editor. This led Alex to explore other possibilities including personal styling and ghostwriting. When asked by a student how Alexandra first realised she wanted to be a writer, the students were intrigued to hear that she did not want to be a writer.
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To write her book Alex employed a methodical approach, she had two months to write 40,000 words, she broke it down by chapter and further into four sub-sections. The book became a best seller in Amazon’s fashion category, and is also available in Waterstones and through independent book shops.
A sustainable future
Advocating for sustainability, Alex shares advice on how not to be complicit in sins that have occurred for the past 20 years of her career and help make the industry future-proofed by buying better.
“The most important shoot of my career was a story where absolutely everything was either made from recycled elements or up-cycled materials”.
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On her recent read of “Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment”. She says, “everybody who wears clothes needs to read this”. This book unpicks the journey with research looking at all of the methods of the production of a garment. From the logistics of the delivery to the end and beyond.
Key takeaways
- Experience in every opportunity is an opportunity to learn.
- Keep training your eye and learn to pre-empt things, you will get better faster.
- “You do need to push yourself”
By Antonia Centioni, BA (Hons) Fashion Communication
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