Diary of a Fashion Expat
Part 4 - The London Years
By Laura Flanagan
In this multi-part series, British Designer turned Buyer, Laura Flanagan, documents her journey through the Fashion Industry and working as an expat around the world. Her story began with a chronicle of some of the challenges she faced finding the right fashion program and University, navigating her final year while interning in Paris and her toughest year yet-graduation year.
In Part 4, Laura talks about her years working in London. Finally achieving her dream, she tells us the pro’s and con’s to life in one of the largest and most expensive cities in the world.
(Stay tuned for future installments including making the move to Hong Kong, and her lifestyle as a Senior Buyer in Sydney Australia.)
Continued from “Part 3 - Graduation Year”…
It had finally happened. I was moving to London with a job in fashion and a salary I could (just about) live off. I couldn’t believe I had at last started to achieve my goals.
I rented a spare room from a friend who was fortunate enough to own her house in South London. At last, everything seemed to be working out! I started my new job immediately as an Assistant Print Designer. The offices were in a prime location in Central London, I thrived off the city’s energy on the commute into work.
Laura with colleagues in London
Working in the womenswear department was a little disorganized and extremely fast paced. However, my previous role had taught me well, I was able to keep up and soon learnt the important new skills of catwalk analysis. What’s more, the social side was even better than I had imagined.
The department had a lot of assistant designers in the office around the same age. Nearly every night we would go out for drinks after work. I loved the after-work pub culture of London. I was probably hungover five days out of seven whilst living in London, but this was city life - work hard, play hard.
My London honeymoon bliss continued for the first year. For a while I didn't care about the long hours, lengthy commute and barely adequate pay.
Until one day, I did.
Moving to London was everything I’d dreamed of at first, but I knew I couldn't live on a salary like this for the next few years. I craved a more sustainable, higher quality of life. Struggling to afford London prices was the hardest part. I was 26 years old and found myself taking a hip flask full of vodka on a night out because I couldn't afford to buy drinks. I worked in fashion but I couldn't afford a dress from Topshop -luckily I had a friend at Topshop who was always giving me samples.
With the newfound confidence of having a retailer name on my resume, I decided to casually browse other design positions within London. I wasn't desperate to leave my current job, I just didn't want to live on a low salary in one of the world's most expensive cities anymore.
During this time I found other creative ways to survive financially. Since all of my friends in fashion were in the same boat, we would sample swap the beautiful clothes and accessories we acquired at the heavily discounted sample sales.
“Struggling to afford London prices was the hardest part. I was 26 years old and found myself taking a hip flask full of vodka on a night out because I couldn't afford to buy drinks. ”
Laura with friends on the London Underground
We’d cherish these samples for a while, and then re-sell them on eBay. At peak sample reselling I was bringing in an extra £100 per month.
Eventually I caught a break when I received a call from another retailer in London, renowned for their Lingerie product and higher paid salaries. They remembered me from when I visited their offices for meetings during my graduate role. They told me the lingerie department was looking for a candidate to fill a temporary position to cover somebody’s maternity leave. I was 27 by this point, desperate for a job that would let me breathe financially. I didn't want to be the girl who took a hip flask on a night out anymore.
I had an interview with the high profile Head of Design, which was an honor in itself. Upon visiting the office I knew I wanted to work there, it was so big and shiny compared to any of the offices I had worked in previously. I didn't care if this job wasn't permanent, I wanted it.
I’d learnt to play the waiting game well - so when I finally received an offer, I was thrilled. My salary took a significant bump. Although still a very modest wage for London, it was life changing for me. There was also the opportunity to travel, including a three day trip shopping in Paris. My career was finally starting to look like the career I had dreamed about. The joy of not having to constantly worry about money was reason alone to take this job, I could feel the daily financial stresses wash away.
“That's what your twenties are for isn't it, exploring and seeing what else is out there?”
As a designer at a high profile retailer, the job taught me a lot about corporate skills, presenting and working with different teams. I certainly came out of it a more refined and polished designer. Several months before the temporary position was about to end, I knew I had to make a decision. I could either start looking for another job in London, or scratch an itch that never went away - my travel bug was back with a vegence.
Laura volunteering in Cambodia
In true YOLO spirit, at the end of my contract I decided to use this time as an opportunity to have another worldly experience. I booked a one way ticket to Asia. My plan was to spend a few months traveling solo, then eventually meet up with a friend in Australia to explore the east coast of the country with. Maybe I’d try to find a fashion role in Sydney or Melbourne.
My time in London was coming to an end and I felt OK with that. Maybe I would be back, maybe I wouldn’t. I’d had so much fun over my 3 years, partied a lot, made plenty of friends and worked my ass off. I was ready for something new. That's what your twenties are for isn't it? Exploring and seeing what else is out there?
Laura in Yangshuo, China with her brother during her travels
In the true complicated style of life, I met somebody just three months before I left for my trip. We spent as much time together as we could before my departure date. We didn't really know how our relationship would transpire, all I knew was, nothing would stop me going on this trip.
My first stop was Hong Kong, and the excitement of traveling solo began. I was amazed by the lights in Victoria Harbour, dazzled by the Karst scenery in China, moved by the volunteering I did in Cambodia, amazed by the elephants I looked after in Thailand, and dazed by the beach clubs I saw in Bali.
Every emotion and sensation heightened by the fact that I was doing this alone - a concept that had felt so scary at the beginning of the trip started to feel so natural weeks into it. Why had I not done this sooner?
The time came for me to fly to Australia and I landed in the backpacking town of Cairns. Being honest, it was a bit of a comedown after traveling around Asia. The prices were expensive in Cairns for a backpacker, the standard of the hostels were pretty shitty and there was a general lack of culture compared to Southeast Asia. But as my friend and I traveled down the east coast, the beautiful nature and scenery took over, and we fell in love with the place. Nearly a month later I arrived in Sydney, and then made my way to Melbourne.
I stayed in Melbourne for just under four months. I fell in love with the city, made some great friends and did some waitressing while searching for fashion jobs. But my search came up short, and eventually I made the call to go back to the UK. My travel itch had been scratched and I felt ready to get back into the world of fashion again.
“After a brutal 6 months of looking for roles and juggling sporadic freelance jobs, I knew I had some difficult decisions to make.”
I’d been in regular touch with the guy I’d met before I left London, he even came out to see me in Bali. When I returned back to the UK, we made the decision to move in together. He owned his own place in London so it was a no-brainer, it felt like the right move in the next chapter of our lives. It was such a nice feeling to create a home with your partner in a city that meant so much to you. However, professionally I was really not prepared for what I came back to.
I managed to find some freelance design work. The flexibility of working freelance was amazing, and the money can be great compared to a standard fashion salary. However, the downside is never knowing when the next project is going to come your way, and then spending the rest of the time chasing money owed. Some companies can take up to 90 days to pay up! I was happy to do freelance whilst I looked for something permanent, but it quickly started to wear thin.
The job market at the time was sparse, and felt desperate. The salaries advertised were less than what I had been on prior to leaving London. After a brutal 6 months of looking for roles and juggling sporadic freelance jobs, I knew I had some difficult decisions to make.
There were many reasons why I didn't want to leave London - being in a relationship being the main one, but I couldn't carry on in this limbo phase. I longed for the freedom and excitement I found from being overseas. I started googling with nothing to lose - “fashion jobs in Dubai," “lingerie design jobs in Hong Kong," “sleepwear design jobs Australia”. The searches went on. I was simply googling jobs in places I wouldn't mind living and had relatively easy visa options for Brits.
Before I knew it, I had Skype interviews for a childrenswear design role in Dubai and a lingerie design role in Hong Kong. This hadn't been part of the plan. I was completely off-piste, but I was going for it because it made me feel alive again to be talking to companies overseas that wanted me for my hard earned skills. Fast forward a few weeks, after making the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make and going through a difficult break up, I was on a Cathay Pacific plane to Hong Kong to start my new job as a Lingerie Designer.
I had no idea what was ahead for me, but I loved that familiar feeling of the unknown.
