Industry Report:
Fashion, lifestyle bloggers and film




Mitchell Broomhall



Student number - 1519069

Word Count - 2,508





Introduction 


Fashion is a vibrant wide reaching creative industry that has many avenues. The in-
dustry is worth ‘$1.2 trillion’ globally today according to (Maloney.house.gov, 2015).
The graph from (Fee.org, 2017) shows the estimated global increase within the in-
dustry since 2011 and where they expect it to be in 2020. This report will look at
three individuals who have creatives
job roles in the fashion industry.
FashionUnited say there are
‘555,000’ jobs in the fashion industry
in the UK alone, from retail to manu-
facturing (Strijbos, 2018). Whilst they
are all different, they all inspire my
ambition to be a creative in the fash-
ion world. The focus' will be; Quentin
Jones, who is a freelance film maker
and fashion illustrator, Tom Ford, a
fashion designer and Lydia Millen, a
fashion and lifestyle blogger. Specifically, this report will focus on their journey to
where they are now and the job roles they have individually.
Fashion films are used to advertise a fashion collections, they can be done main-
stream through the brand itself or people like Quentin Jones can be approached to
make more alternative videos for them.
Fashion Design is the most well known role in the
fashion industry, Tom Ford is a lead designer with his
own fashion brand and has a large team of people
working with him in order to make his collections.
Fashion Bloggers are now a vital marketing tool for
fashion houses/colections/brands. They are mostly
freelance and can choose what fashion designer/col-
lection or item to write about. The graph provided by
(Econsultancy, 2018) shows how they brands find
influencers in order to share new products and
clearly shows that 84% say they find them through
social media. Brands approach bloggers to get the
word out about a new product. Bloggers like Lydia
Millen who have a large following can also collabor-
ate with brands to make a product, again creating
buzz around that brand.




Section 1 - Quentin Jones 


The first person that is going to be focused on is Quentin Jones, Jones is a freel-
ance film maker and fashion illustrator. On her website ‘about’ page, it states that
Jones is a ' Director, Illustrator and Photographer whose films and images have ap-
peared in magazines such as ID and
Vogue'. When you look at her work it is
something instantly recognisable, This
is because of the painterly style that she
uses on her images. She also uses cut
out style images to overlay onto other
images as well as sometimes duplicat-
ing the same image. She uses similar
techniques throughout her portfolio of
work making it something that is visually
interesting and recognisable as her
work and brand. Some of the brand that
Jones has worked with are Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Victoria Beckham.
Quentin Jones didn't start within the film making and fashion industry, she started by
studying philosophy at Cambridge university. After this she went to study a MA de-
gree in Illustration at Central St Martins. Before leaving and becoming a freelancer.
Jones' work has a painterly style to it, she manipulates the images by duplicating
them or opposing an image on top of another. Her videos contain a lot of effects and
have a dark feeling to them. Her style could be described as edgy and is something
new and different that stands which is crucial in the fashion industry. Her style stands
out from the crowd and would make you look twice. Jones’ work is something that
inspires me to try different techniques.
As a freelancer Jones puts her work on social media and on her website in order to
promote it. Like other freelance work Jones would be approached or would have to
approach brands, her work would also come around by word of mouth when brands
choose to work with her on a project. As Jones’ work is something new and original it
stands out from others meaning brands are more likely to approach her. There is not
anywhere that states Quentin Jones’ current net worth and earnings. However what
is known is that it would be dependant on how much work she is getting at that time.


Section 2 - Tom Ford 


To follow Quentin Jones, the second person that is going to be focused on is Tom
Ford, Tom Ford is a world renown fashion designer, which is also a widely successful
brand. Ford studied architecture at the Parsons School of Design in New York and
finishing his final year in Paris be-
fore changing his career to fashion.
In 1990 he worked as a wo-
menswear designer for GUCCI and
later became a creative director for
the brand in 1994. He resigned
from GUCCI in 2004 and started
his own fashion brand. Fords
designs a wide range of products
for both men and women, from
ready to wear, bags eyewear and accessories to beauty products for both men and
women from makeup to fragrance. Ford has also worked on film and made his own
film 'The single man' (2009) which he says in interviews was about him and his life. A
type of biography.
His brand is known for the Tom Ford logo that features and remains the same on his
products. There is no theme throughout his creations as fashion is constantly chan-
ging, from colours to styles. However Ford is known for creating new and existing
designs that push all aspects of fashion. Ford is currently still working designing new
products in clothing, accessories and fragrances for both men and women. It is said
that he is focusing on women’s evening wear as women’s daytime wear is something
that is dying as they choose to grab just ‘Jeans and a T-shirt’ (Ford, 2018). The role
of a fashion designer and in Ford’s case, he would also plan and organise, with the
help of others, fashion shows in order to showcase a new collection. Ford likes to do
his shows in an ‘old fashioned’ way of talking about the pieces as they go down the
run way. According to alux.com Tom Ford’s current net worth is estimated at ‘$300
million, with his salary being $30,000,000’ (Alux.com, 2018) this is because he has a
high position within the industry, opposite to Quentin Jones.

Section 3 - Lydia Millen



The final person this report will focus on is Lydia Millen. Millen is a blogger who blogs
about fashion, travel and lifestyle. She works with all brands by reviewing products
and sharing her thoughts on her blog and YouTube channel.
According to google ‘In the past year, 40 percent of YouTube users turned to the
platform to learn more about a product before they bought it.’(Insights, 2018) there-
fore, this means that there are more opportunities for bloggers within the fashion in-
dustry similarly to Millen.
On her youtube and other social me-
dia platforms Millen also suggests dif-
ferent ways that clothing and ac-
cessories can be paired and styled.
Her job as a blogger consists of writ-
ing posts about products to post on
her website, informing people about
what she likes, her style is neutral col-
our tones with occasionally a splash of
colour. She mainly sticks with plain
block colour looks rather than opting
for pattern.
Her brand follows her style with not containing much pattern and keeping it modern
and simplistic. Which we see continue from her blog to Instagram and YouTube, she
has a signature logo that follows through too which is a circle with a slightly bigger L.
In a YouTube video she states that this represents her with 'Not fitting into any spe-
cific box'.
In 2006 Lydia Millen went to the University of Northampton and studied BA Retail
Marketing. This was something she thought would 'kick start' her career in fashion. It
was at university where she started her fashion
blog as something alongside her studies.
Millen has recently brought out her own
product and collaborated with Elizabeth Arden
to bring out her own makeup bag. This is the
first product that she has made like this and is
the most recent direction that she has gone in.
She states that there are more things like come
soon, meaning that her brand will have her
own products rather than just focusing on exist-
ing products.
The image is an example of how she uses so-
cial media platforms in order to promote
products. Using hashtags for the brand as well
as a caption that makes the brand sound ap-
pealing and like something that she uses her-
self on a daily basis. The image is professional
and sticks to her own theme of neutral colours
while clearly showing the packaging of the
product in her hand. She occasionally tags the
brands social media on the image as well making it easier for an audience to click
and find the product.
Millen would be approached by brands through her website and on her contact page
which clearly states how to contact and who she wants contacting her. As Millen’s
job is freelance in the terms of working with brands while also working on her own
brand and youtube channel, it is similar to Quentin Jones’ of relying on clients to ap-
proach them for work. According to youtubers.me Lydia Millen earns between
‘$12,000 and $154,000’ (YouTubers.me, 2018) from youtube alone. Her earnings
depend on views and clicks on adverts that appear on her youtube channel and
videos. 








Conclusion and Action Plan

To conclude, the fashion industry is something that is constantly growing and is an

industry that has a variety of jobs in various different areas, such as the three that
have been looked at within this report and many more. The case studies looked at
within this report are all people who I admire and work in and around the fashion in-
dustry. This is an industry I wish to enter as it has always fascinated me how quickly
the current style and whats in can change, I also enjoy seeing whats new and where
the new styles are going. After researching how my case studies entered this in-
dustry I have created a five year plan based on how my case studies entered the in-
dustry in order to realise the path I need to take to enter this industry and where I
aim to be within it. Two out of the three case studies are freelance with one being a
fashion designer which is towards the top end of the industry careers. Their earnings
vary in terms of the two freelance jobs, and youtube is something that may not be a
popular form of social media for a long time meaning that using it as a way to enter
the industry is wise, but it should not be relied on. My five year aim is to be at a sim-
ilar place to that as Lydia Millen. Millen’s job appeals to me as her career partly in-
cludes things that I enjoy and currently do. Making what I enjoy in to something that
can also be my career would be my ultimate goal.
I have made a five year plan on how I plan to get a career similar to her position,

Year One - After completing my degree I will put the time spent on university work
towards creating new videos and content for both youtube and my blog which I have
also started whilst researching this industry, as it is one way in which you can enter
as did Lydia Millen.
I also plan to work more overtime hours at my current job to save up for three or four
months.
I will be applying for the job of ‘advertising sales graduate scheme’ that I found at
Conde Nast for students that have recently graduated, If I get this job I will use my
savings in order to move closer to London while also continuing my youtube content
and blog alongside working. However, if I do not get this job I will transfer my job
from the Asda I currently work at, to one that is closer to London and is in an area in
which I can afford to rent a property.

After moving, I will continue to look and apply for jobs within the fashion industry
while continuing my blog and youtube videos. As youtube and blogging is a new way
of entering the industry and there is room for bloggers, I will put a lot of focus on this
area.

Year Two - I will continue building my brand and social media presence by putting
content out. I will also try and attend any events that are available to go to so that I
can network to get myself out there and known. I will continue to look or jobs within
the industry if I do not have one yet.

Year Three - I will Continue adding to my portfolio and creating content. I will also
look around for partnerships who help you with getting work from brands and review-
ing fashion products.
Again continuing looking for jobs within the industry if I do not already have one. If I
already have one look at moving further up and learning new skills within the in-
dustry.

Year Four - Look at working with a professional website designer in order to get a
more professional look to my website and social media. Although my own branding
works well I feel it would need a more professional look at this point.
Hopefully I will be working with a couple of brands, I will also still attend any events
that happen in order to continue networking

Year Five - Hopefully by year five I will be working with brands and my youtube
and blog will be more established that it is now. I hope to have started bringing out
some of my own products that feature my branding in some way. I will continue work-
ing on all of my social media platforms and start trying to push my way into designing
products to move into a different area within the industry while still continuing with
everything else.

Fashion is a vast industry with so many different styles. Not everyone is the same
and we all do things slightly differently. My thoughts on blogging my opinions are that
my style is unique to me and other people out there may gravitate towards my ideas
and style therefore I would gain a following which could help me enter the industry a
similar way to Millen. Within five years I hope to have a job similar to Lydia Millen’s
as her career interests me and seeing the work that she is doing is something that I
hope to do. I see Millen’s career as one that is a way to enter into the industry and is
a good starting career which can lead to a career such as designing and making
products with your own brand as Lydia Millen has done recently with her collabora-
tion with Elizabeth Arden. This would mean it could potentially lead to the type of ca-
reer Tom Ford has who I have also looked at within this report and as stated earlier
is a much higher position within the industry.

References

Maloney.house.gov. (2015). The Economic Impact of the Fashion Industry. [online] Available
at: https://maloney.house.gov/sites/maloney.house.gov/files/documents/The%20Econom-
ic%20Impact%20of%20the%20Fashion%20Industry%20--%20JEC%20report%20FI-
NAL.pdf [Accessed 7 May 2018].



Insights. (2018). Fashion Content Marketing 2018: Top Trends + Leading Brands. [online]
Available at: https://insights.newscred.com/fashion-content-marketing-2017-top-trends-
leading-brands/ [Accessed 7 May 2018].

Strijbos, B. (2018). UK fashion industry statistics. [online] Fashionunited.uk. Available at:

https://fashionunited.uk/uk-fashion-industry-statistics [Accessed 7 May 2018].

Econsultancy. (2018). Eight influencer marketing stats for fashion & beauty brands. [online]
Available at: https://econsultancy.com/blog/67443-eight-influencer-marketing-stats-for-
fashion-beauty-brands [Accessed 5 May 2018].

YouTubers.me. (2018). Lydia Elise Millen net worth and estimated earnings of Youtuber
channel. [online] Available at: https://us.youtubers.me/lydia-elise-millen/youtube-estimated-
earnings [Accessed 6 May 2018]

Ford, T. (2018). Tom Ford. [online] Biography. Available at: https://www.biography.com/

people/tom-ford-5936 [Accessed 6 May 2018].

Alux.com. (2018). Tom Ford Net Worth | How Rich is Tom Ford? - ALUX.COM. [online] Avail-
able at: https://www.alux.com/networth/tom-ford/ [Accessed 6 May 2018].

Fee.org. (2017). Fast Fashion Has Changed the Industry and the Economy | Ganit Singh.
[online] Available at: https://fee.org/articles/fast-fashion-has-changed-the-industry-and-the-
economy/ [Accessed 7 May 2018].