Diary of a Fashion Expat

Part 6 - The Transition

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 at University, navigating her final year while interning in Paris, followed by graduation year, her design career in London and her adventures as an expat in Hong Kong.

In Part 6, Laura talks about the trials and tribulations of continuing her career overseas and the stressful visa process she faced.

Continued from “Part 5- The Hong Kong Years”…

Feeling ready to move on from Hong Kong, I cast a wide net over the search for my next role in the fashion industry. I looked for any design role in Lingerie, Sleepwear, Active or Swimwear. I didn’t know where I wanted to go, I just knew I was ready for a new adventure. When I started seeing roles for London pop up, my gut told me it wasn’t time to go back to the UK yet, so I started an intense global search for a new dream job (not really knowing what this job was yet). When I begin the pursuit for a new job, I get addicted to the search and the chase of interviews, so when I say intense search, I really mean it.

“My mind raced, mentally envisaging what it would be like to live in these cities. ”

I dedicated hours to the hunt, creating a spreadsheet that logged when I had applied, what feedback I had, and what stage of the process (if any) I was at. Now I was at Senior Designer level, I had more skills to offer and a stronger resume. But at the same time the more senior you get, the less jobs there are to apply for. Over the intense search I applied for 34 roles. I know that doesn't sound like a huge amount, but in a niche industry and with lengthy applications it takes a lot of effort to get to that point. I never heard back from 21 of those roles, but after weeks of searching I had interviews with a company in San Francisco, Amsterdam and two in Melbourne. 

My mind raced, mentally envisaging what it would be like to live in these cities. San Francisco, the most exciting of the lot, the most unknown to me, but also the most scary. I knew from other friend’s experiences a move to the US could be hard. Amsterdam was the comfortable option, a city I knew and loved, and only a one hour flight from home, but was I ready to live somewhere with cold winters again? Then Melbourne, a previous home which I had loved living in as a backpacker, I had quite a few friends in Australia and also my brother was living in Sydney. I decided again to let fate lead the way and proceeded with all of these roles with an open mind. 

The first one I decided to abandon was the role in Amsterdam. The company had set me a project for a Lingerie Designer position, but I found the project too simple, and I was worried the role would be too junior for me, so I withdrew. That narrowed it down to three companies, the two in Melbourne and one in San Francisco. The applications progressed, and I became increasingly more aware of the difficulties there could be with a visa application for the US. I was wary, I could be offered the role but that wouldn't guarantee me a route to the US if the visa was proving problematic. I was leaning towards Australia, a country I knew well- I loved their coffee culture, beach scene and laid back lifestyle.

I was offered a role as Sleepwear Designer at one of the companies in Melbourne, a mass market retailer. The package was good, I knew I could do the role and it all seemed quite straightforward. I accepted and it slowly sank in that I would be leaving Hong Kong. I was ready, but at the same time it's not an easy place to leave. I began the visa application process through the company and their immigration agency so I could move to Australia after working my three months notice in Hong Kong. In the meantime the second company in Melbourne came to me with a job offer, not knowing I had accepted the other role. I had informed the company in San Francisco out of courtesy, but the other company in Melbourne had been fairly sporadic with their contact, so I had left it. 

“I was chasing and chasing, but time was running out, all other aspects of my visa had been approved except the Hong Kong Police clearance”.

This company was a manufacturer in core underwear, working with factories in China and were looking for a Design Manager. This was the next step up in terms of career progression and made me think twice about my recent acceptance of the Sleepwear Designer role. After much personal deliberation and lengthy conversations with friends and family about what to do, I decided to switch and take the Design Manager role at the manufacturer. 

Meanwhile I was enjoying the last few months of Hong Kong and living a very hedonistic lifestyle, readily awaiting my new life in Australia. The visa for Australia was proving to be more complex than the Hong Kong application had been- a lot more information was needed and this wasn't helped by the fact that the Hong Kong police needed to issue me a certificate of clearance. This was taking a long time, with few updates from their side. I was chasing and chasing, but time was running out, all other aspects of my visa had been approved except the Hong Kong Police clearance. 

Luckily my flight from Hong Kong hadn't been booked yet, as it looked like I might have to return home to the UK to wait whilst the visa was pending. I was starting to get stressed, my last day at work was coming up quick, then shortly after that I would have to be out of my studio apartment. I spoke to the visa agent and she seemed sure that the police certificate would come through soon, so I decided to take a trip to Japan for a week to buy some time- as you do. 

My last day at the office was an emotional event-to leave a company that I adored, followed by finally vacating the apartment I had called home and loved for two and a half years. I was glad I had my Osaka and Kyoto trip to look forward to, which had been on my travel wishlist for quite some time.

“So here I was, back in Manchester, in my childhood room, with no actual date or certainty of when I could fly to Australia and start my new job. Life had taken a very different turn”.

Japan was incredible. Having previously been to Tokyo, I knew I loved the country and really enjoyed exploring the beautiful temples, food markets, city alleyways and meeting other travelers. Although the thought of my visa status was always in the back of my mind. After a week I returned to Hong Kong and stayed with another friend where I sunbathed at their rooftop pool in the day and went out for dinner and drinks in true Hong Kong style in the evenings. But I couldn’t keep delaying the inevitable, I had to make a decision. I had no idea when this police clearance would come through, despite my daily chasing. I checked my air miles status and booked a flight home to Manchester, it felt like the logical thing to do. I’d had the perfect ending to my time in Hong Kong, spent in a relaxed way and the added bonus of an unexpected trip to Japan. 

Although returning to the UK had not been part of my plan at all, it was a lovely time to be visiting home - it was the beginning of December and I could enjoy Christmas with friends and family. 

So here I was, back in Manchester, in my childhood room, with no actual date or certainty of when I could fly to Australia and start my new job. Life had taken a very different turn. I stayed positive and enjoyed relaxing, catching up with friends and hanging out with family. Despite having to make daily calls and e-mails to Hong Kong to find out what the hell was going on with my police clearance.

“My frame of mind started to shift slightly, what would I do if I wasn't able to go to Australia?”

For me there's no better place to be at during Christmas than the UK. Days are filled with drinking mulled wine, consuming festive food, fun celebrations and taking trips down to London, it was a really fun month. Christmas Day was looming and still no word of when I could fly out, luckily my new company was being very understanding, but I didn't know how long they would wait. I decided to try and forget about it over the festive days and enjoy all the traditions of Christmas. My brother was home from Sydney and it was actually the first Christmas we had all been together as a family for five years.

With all the festivities coming to an end, I was spending New Years day with one of my best friends at home, chilling and chatting. My frame of mind started to shift slightly, what would I do if I wasn't able to go to Australia? Part of me got excited dreaming of working remotely and freelancing in design, I knew it would be tough, but I had done it before, it could be done. Being at home for a month, I naturally had started to feel a bit too settled. Ironically however, my visa was approved the next day - just a casual nine weeks late.

It didn’t feel right to rush straight over to Australia, I wanted a few more weeks to spend quality time with people at home and relax. I spoke to my new job in Melbourne and thankfully they were absolutely fine with me coming out at the end of January, so they booked me a flight for the date I wanted. I had learnt from my time in Hong Kong as an expat it was ok to ask for expat benefits of this kind.

While I had been at home, I was working for them remotely and continued to do so till I flew to Melbourne. It was actually an advantage to them as I was able to do UK based shopping and research for them, as well as some more top line projects. The long stretch of time I got to spend at home was so rare for me, I even managed to squeeze in a trip to Portugal with friends. I was really enjoying this downtime in Europe after being away for so long.

My move to Hong Kong three and a half years earlier had gone so smoothly, I had certainly underestimated the stress and difficulties that can come with moving countries, jobs, and apartments. However, I was on the other side now, and the worse that had happened was that my life was delayed by two months. But I had the blessing of being able to spend time at home. 

As I went to check in at Manchester airport for my flight to Australia, I had mixed emotions, but was ready for my life and career to pick back up again. I felt drained on the flight, probably from being a little emotional with all the goodbyes and all the recent changes. However when I transferred at Dubai airport and got upgraded to Business Class for the remainder of the flight, I started to feel a lot more excited about the chapter ahead…

Find out about Laura’s new life in Australia in Part 7 of Diary of a Fashion Expat due out next month.

Incase you missed them, Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 , Part 4 and Part 5 are still available on the website. See below for more details!

Edited by Emma Golley

You can share Laura’s story on socials via the links below!