Fashion Journalism Short Course Review

Having completed a 5 Days of fashion journalism short course at the Condé Nast College, Dilayla Kopuz fills us in on how it’s helped her with her brand and what she most enjoyed about the course…  

Dilayla graduated in Marketing & Management at the University of East Anglia. Alongside this she is the Co-founder, Creative Director and Chief Designer of sustainable and ethically produced athleisure wear brand, [IM]perfectionists. Dilayla’s aim for her brand is to provide clothes that have the minimum or even zero harm on the environment that are also sporty and timeless. Her newly launched brand has been featured in BeStyle, one of the biggest Turkish fashion magazine. Read on to find out how this Condé Nast College short course helped her…

What’s the Fashion Journalism Course at Condé Nast College like?

What appealed to you about the course at CNC? 

I was very unsure about which one-week course to choose at first, I had three options and all of them were appealing to me. But I always had an interest in Fashion Journalism. In addition, as the co-founder of [IM]perfectionists, one of my biggest aims for the company is to create a supportive and influential community around the brand which will also offer healthy lifestyle activities. By taking Fashion Journalism, I’ve learned how to interview people effectively and create marketing techniques using effective journalism. I’ve recently created an Instagram account for our community page called [IM]perfectionists_living, where I am planning to interview young entrepreneurs about their ups and downs, motivations and lifestyles.

What were your first impressions of the college? 

My first impression of the college was the interior design. I love white, it gives me a sense of relief and as soon as I passed through the lobby, I felt comfortable. Also, we were given a tote bag each with a British Vogue in it. I loved it; I still use my tote bag as a proud alumni.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-kEMCgjgjz/

What were some of your favourite lessons? 

I honestly couldn’t choose my favourite lesson, because I enjoyed them all…I enjoyed trend reporting the most, it was inspiring to talk about different trends throughout different decades.

What were the other people on the course like? 

My course mates were so stylish and very supportive. We still have our Whatsapp group where we share about our work and I am also very proud to see that most of my course mates became so successful and have good positions within the industry. We became each other’s network and support.

What was the most valuable thing you learned on the course? 

I’ve learned that [your] network is essential for the Fashion industry, this would be my main take away. Also, I’ve learned that Fashion Journalism is useful for every area of the fashion industry because in order to write you need to know about the past and current fashion’s requirements and future expectations. Plus, learning how to interview a person also teaches you to ask yourself questions which can lead to personal awareness and development. 

What was a highlight of the Fashion Journalism short course? 

Definitely Vogue House! I actually have a very funny story. I tried to see inside of Vogue House before. It was a Saturday evening and I was walking with two of my closest friends and I saw Vogue House, as a very excited person I didn’t think about anything, I just went and rang the bell. The security came out and I just asked about internships to the security guard who of course told me to check online and didn’t let me in! But it was worth a try. After 5 months, I was inside the building meeting with the Stylist of British Vogue, Celebrity Editor of Glamour and many other creative people. It was a great feeling and was a dream come true.

I also loved having industry speakers to talk about their careers to us. (Phillipa Morgan’s speech was literally a huge inspiration for me).

What do you wish you’d brought with you that you didn’t? 

I wished I had brought my Polaroid [camera]. I make one album with my Polaroid every year and I feel sad that I didn’t get any photos in the college to include it there. I am a person who likes to write in a notebook, however, my MacBook was the handiest item because it enabled me to write faster.

What advice would you give to anyone considering the fashion journalism short course/and or studying at CNC?

…Meet with other students from different courses and network as much as possible. But most importantly, give 100% to the course. It may be only one week, but it is very well structured and has rich content. Therefore, you have to focus.

Click here to read more about 5 Days of Fashion Journalism course . 

Images and text by Dilayla Kopuz

Edited by Hannah Shakir