Interview with Si Liu, Senior Sales from Dover Street Market (DSM)
Dover Street Market (DSM) is an international fashion brand opening stores in London, New York, Singapore, Beijing and Los Angeles. Liu is a Senior Sales in London. As an Asian fashion student, who is stepping into fashion industry, I consulted her for career advises:
Liu is not a fashion student in university, it was interest that leaded her to the fashion industry. Fashion study in university especially marketing skills, branding knowledge and networking are beneficial, but “career helps me to lean more”.
For graduates, she suggested them to get used to start with low position and basic repeating works. Communication is a key for all work. A sense of fashion is essential, and good communication helps one to know the fashion market and trends better. She also suggested that work in fashion need to be open-minded, creative and sensitive to trends.
Liu as a fashion practitioner shared two of her ideas about the development of fashion industry. First, the gap between different fashion markets is huge, but it is both a challenge and opportunity for international students. More and more designers and retailers are bridging this gap. Second, “digital marketing is the future”. graduates should participate in more online work and social events.
As a graduate of the international fashion marketing who want to find a fashion-related job in the UK or other European countries, Liu’s experience is inspiring. Through interviews with Liu, I learned a lot. Liu emphasized the importance of communication, probably because Asians are subtler and not good at expressing. At the same time, her opinion on the development of international work has enhanced a lot of confidence for Asian students.
Questions:
- What course did you study at University?
- What factors made you choose your current career?
- Did the knowledge you learned at University helped you in your career?
- What skills do you think are needed to do this kind of job?
- What do you think about the job prospect of fashion marketing and management students in the UK?
- Do you think your current job helps you to build up some useful skills?
- What do you think is the biggest problem that graduates face in finding jobs?
- What do you think is the biggest advantage of studying Fashion Marketing and Management?
- Do you have any suggestions for students who are studying fashion major?
amberguo 