Jessica Cheng (@thestylecat) is originally from Canada and after an experience in Seul and some years working in her home country, she’s decided to move to London to pursue her dream of working in the fashion industry. She started in the new country as a freelance art director + designer and now she’s working at ASOS as Senior Creative. Keep reading to know more about how she got started in the fashion industry, what are the work permissions needed to move from Canada to London and what her role is about.
Enjoy!
1.Hi Jessica and welcome! Could you please introduce yourself?Â
Hello! I’m Jess Cheng, age 28 and originally from Toronto, Canada. I’m currently living in London and working as a Senior Creative at ASOS. I also occupy a bit of space on the internet under @thestylecat where I mainly post outfits photos.
2. What did you study?Â
I studied Fashion Communications at Ryerson University in Toronto and graduated with a Bachelor of Design and a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.Â
3. How has your career in the fashion industry started and what were the biggest challenges you faced to enter this industry?Â
To be honest, the Toronto fashion industry is extremely small, and after graduation, I knew I didn’t want to limit myself to finding a fashion job. While I was in school I did many internships, the most notable one being at Flare Magazine.  I felt like a bit like Andy from the movie ‘Devil Wears Prada’, which wasn’t helpful or inspiring. After that I decided to open up my prospects to other creative fields; I was more interested in learning how to create and design, rather than go on errands for other people. However I’m very happy to be working back in the industry here in London and feel like things have finally come full circle! The environment I work in now is very different from before.Â
4.You graduated in 2013 and then worked in Toronto as Graphic Designer and Social Media Manager for MUZIK Magazine and a wedding videography company and then went to Seoul. Why did you decide to leave to Korea and teach English?
 To be honest, I just felt jealous that all my friends went travelling after graduation and I had a job waiting for me when I did! I wanted that experience before I got locked down into anything serious, and was already familiar with the 1 year teaching program in Seoul.  I was very much in tune with Korean culture at the time so it seemed like an apt challenge. It was a great opportunity to travel to different surrounding countries and make new friends. I have itchy feet and never live in a certain place for too long, so who knows what’s next!
5.After your experience in Seoul, you went back to Canada and after 2 years you moved to London. Why and what are the steps needed to move from Canada to work in the UK? Can you talk about the work permissions and visas you had to deal with?
It’s actually quite straightforward to make the move from Canada to the UK if you’re under 30. There is a Tier 5 Youth Mobility visa that I entered on that lasts 2 years.
6.How have you found your first clients when you moved to London and started your career as a freelance art director + designer in a new country?Â
The first thing that I did was get in touch with different creative recruitment agencies in London. I made sure my portfolio of work and cv was up to date, and also tried to reach out to like-minded content creators.
7.You’ve been working at Asos for more than one year now where you are Senior Creative. Can you please talk to us about your role? What do you do?
 Sure! Every day is a little different, but projects are always kicked off with a brief. The brief could be for a campaign, photoshoot, social video, etc. From there, I will come up with a few concepts and put them in a creative deck to present. Once a route has been established, I’ll delve into finding a location, photographer, and art directing on the shoot day.Â
8.What are the necessary skills to get a job like yours?Â
Each creative brings a different set of skills to the table that is unique to them. I think my biggest strength is that I am very well rounded and hands-on in many aspects. I have a background working as an art director, and previously a multi-media graphic designer, videographer/editor, as well as have maintained a blog. Whenever I see anything visually interesting, I want to learn how to do it. Right now I’m experimenting with my own Instagram AR filters. The more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know. The biggest thing I’m learning at my job now is how to collaborate, communicate, and work with others on the same project instead of doing everything myself.
9.What do you like the most about your job?Â
The discount and weekly sample sales are pretty sweet.Â
10.What are your tips for those who want to start a career in fashion?Â
Stop waiting for the right time or self-doubting yourself, just go out there and DO it! The sooner, the better. It’s a very competitive industry that everyone wants to work in, so to get yourself out there as soon as possible. I also don’t believe higher education is necessary for this industry if you’re self-disciplined. Stay hungry, stay curious.Â
