The Unspoken Rules of Working with Luxury Fashion Brands with Kate Bartlett
Fashion & Founders The Podcast
Fashion creator Kate Bartlett shares her decade-long journey from a fashion student at FIT to a prominent figure in the luxury fashion space
Key takeaways
- Luxury brands prioritize brand aesthetic and values over raw impression numbers or view counts.
- Professionalism, including being on time and having polished hair and makeup, is an unspoken rule for attending luxury fashion shows.
Main topics
- Career trajectory in fashion
- Luxury vs. mass-market brand partnerships
Notable quotes
You cannot expect to be invited to something if you are not purchasing the brand, you're not talking about the brand throughout the year.
Conclusion
An insightful guide for aspiring creators on how to professionalize th
Transcript preview
Speaker 2 (0:00) I think when it comes to building relationships with brands, you cannot expect to be invited to something if you are not purchasing the brand, you're not talking about the brand throughout the year, not just when Fashion Week is rolling around. When it comes to, you know, really building a relationship with a brand. It's a two-week street and loyalty goes a long way. Speaker 1 (0:20) Fashion and Founders is your resource for breaking into fashion, leveling up your career, and building a breakthrough business. So let's get into this week's episode. Speaker 2 (0:29) Hi, Kate. Hello. I Speaker 1 (0:31) am so excited to have you on. And I didn't tell you this when I reached out, but when I started the podcast, I made a list of dream guests and you were one of them. Speaker 2 (0:40) Oh my gosh, I'm so honored. Thank you so much for having me. I'm super excited. It's been a while since I've done a podcast, so this will be fun. I can't Speaker 1 (0:47) wait. And that was because I think you have a start that a lot of people can see themselves in and where you've gone is also so inspiring. So I really hope that we can share so much of your knowledge with everyone listening today. Speaker 2 (1:00) Well, thank you so much. Speaker 1 (1:02) So I want to start with your beginning in fashion. What was your first job? Maybe your first blog post? How did it start? Speaker 2 (1:08) Yeah, so my first job, I feel like I have been working ever since I was probably like 12 or 13 years old. I grew up in Orlando, Florida. And there's not really a lot of fashion going on there. So I grew up wanting to get into like commercial acting. So that's kind of where I started. I would do commercials for like roller coasters. And that was kind of my first experience having a job where I was earning an income. But when I was in high school, I really didn't feel super passionate about anything. I was not into sports. I was not good at any of that. So I decided to start a fashion blog. And that's kind of where everything started. What were those first posts? Speaker 1 (1:50) Who were taking your photos? Like, where was the inspo coming from? Speaker 2 (1:53) Yeah, so I will preface this by saying that not many people were reading this. I was getting max, I think my max page views on a blog post were like 50. And I was so excited. 10 Speaker 1 (2:04) of them were probably my friends and family. Speaker 2 (2:07) But my mom would help me take my photos, my outfits every single day after school. And it was kind of just a little passion project for me. To Speaker 1 (2:16) see what it's become now is incredible. You went on to study at FIT. Did you always know you would want to go to fashion school? I Speaker 2 (2:24) did. I think ever since I was a little girl, I really always dreamed of moving to New York. That was going to happen one way or another. I was not staying in my hometown. And FIT was an amazing option because it's a state school. So it was within my budget. And it kind of put me exactly where I wanted to be, which was in Manhattan and had the exact major that I wanted to do, which was fashion business management. I Speaker 1 (2:47) get a question a lot from people of, do I have to go to fashion school to work in fashion? Is it worth it? You actually went to fashion school and then did an MBA, which we'll get into later. What was it really like being in those classrooms, having these peers in the space? Would you say it was worth it? Speaker 2 (3:03) I definitely think that it was worth it, but maybe for reasons that you wouldn't necessarily expect. I mean, I think with any undergrad program. how much do you really remember? I don't really remember anything that I necessarily learned in the classroom. And I would argue that most people couldn't tell you something that they learned in the classroom at undergrad. But I think it was so important for me because it put me in the exact place and city and neighborhood that I needed to be in to be able to start working and making these connections. And, you know, FIT is amazing. I am so happy that I had that experience, but it is not a traditional college experience at all. are not there to make friends at all. They come with a very specific purpose. And, you know, when you would sit down in a Speaker 1 (3:49) classroom, it would be pretty silent. Speaker 2 (3:52) Everybody's kind of just like there to work. They're not there to make friends. You go, you sit down, you do your lesson, and then you kind of leave. And so I wouldn't say it was a very traditional college experience in that sense, but it really got me into the working mindset immediately. I mean, people are just hustling and that kind of energy is very infectious. Speaker 1 (4:12) So I loved my experience. I'm very happy. Did you have a specific purpose of going there? Like, did you have a dream brand to work at? So Speaker 2 (4:19) when I... Moved in, I originally thought that I wanted to be a fashion buyer, which I think is pretty common. A lot of people go in thinking that they want to be a buyer and then they take one class and they're like, oh, this is actually not what I was expecting. So I originally wanted to be a buyer. And then after working my first fashion week, I was like, okay, I really want to go into fashion event planning. And about a month later, COVID happened and wiped out all events. So that dream kind of shifted a little bit. Speaker 1 (4:49) But then that's where I got into really going on TikTok. And you had a TikTok that got, I think, 100,000 followers overnight. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Speaker 2 (5:01) Yes. So I posted a video and at the time, TikTok was very much an app of people were dancing, people were lip syncing. That was kind of the content that you would get when you logged on. But I grew up watching a lot of YouTube and I would watch YouTubers that lived in New York. I would watch beauty gurus. And I thought, you know, like I'm not seeing any of this style of content on TikTok. So I'm going to kind of try to mimic like what a YouTube style video might be or kind of what I was posting on my blog. So I decided to outline a day in my life as a fashion student and what I was spending that day because I was on a very tight budget at this time in my life. And I was living off of maybe like spending like $20 or $30 a day. And I thought that maybe that would be interesting for people to see. So I made. this video and I posted it. I went to sleep and the algorithm was very different a few years ago, as we all know. And, you know, one video could really start your entire career and you could gain millions of followers in. week, a few days. And I woke up and I had gained 100,000 followers. And after that, I was like, okay, this is, it's time to lock in. Speaker 1 (6:13) This could actually be something. That must feel crazy to wake up to that. Had you been making those videos before? Was that the first kind of like day in the life you had made? So Speaker 2 (6:22) this was the first vlog that I had made. Before that, I was doing some styling videos. I had maybe like 50,000 followers. But at the time on TikTok, that didn't really mean much. I mean, you could post like one viral video and gain 50,000 followers. So it didn't really mean anything. I was not making any money at all. So this was the first like vlog style video and that kind of catapulted, you know, all of my other vlogs. Speaker 1 (6:48) And I can see why someone followed that video. What do you think has made people stay all these years? Well, Speaker 2 (6:55) I mean, I'm so honored that people have stayed. It means so much to me. I think my just it's interesting to follow somebody's career trajectory and people are very nosy. And I think like when your first video that blows up is a lifestyle video or a vlog that I've got very lucky with that because it invests people into like every little area of your life. And I've been very consistent over the past 10 years. I would say I owe it to that. Speaker 1 (7:23) Now you have, you've really like made it in the fashion industry. You started with more accessible content. A lot of people can see themselves in a budget video or living in New York or as a student. What do you think has made people kind of stay through this journey as you go to fashion shows and you have things that aren't as relatable? I Speaker 2 (7:43) mean, I think people have followed. that have followed me from the very beginning. They've gotten to see, you know, that trajectory. And I've always been very honest about how excited I am to be in these situations. I will never act like I'm too cool to be somewhere. I mean, I'm so honored to be in every room that I'm in. And I think, you know, that authenticity, I hope that people can see that. And, you know, when somebody is very positive about a situation that they're in and is showing you every single aspect of it and the behind the scenes, I think people like to see that. And maybe they're like, if she can do it, maybe I can do it too. Speaker 1 (8:17) Yes, of course. You've achieved a lot and you're 25. You found yourself in these business environments. You're with high level people in the fashion industry. You're negotiating probably large amounts of money. All these incredible events. How did you learn how to navigate these new environments you were in? Speaker 2 (8:35) So at the beginning, when I started to monetize my social media, it was definitely kind of the Wild West. Like nobody really knew what they were doing. Brands didn't know what they were doing. Even the way that we will post an ad now on social media is so different than it was in 2021 when I would say I started to monetize. I mean, at the time, you didn't need to use. a royalty-free audio. There wasn't like a paid partnership toggle that you would turn on on TikTok to show that you were making money from it. You didn't even really have to disclose. So things have changed a lot. I would throw out random numbers to brands and hope that they would take them. And, you know, it worked to an extent. But I also signed with my management that I'm still with to this day very early on. I think I was part of their first wave of like, TikTok girls that they signed on. And they have changed my life and have been so instrumental in my career. And like I said, I'm still with them to this day. And so that really was helpful on the business end of things. Speaker 1 (9:35) How was the decision of choosing an agency? Like, did you know you're at DBA, right? Did you they're kind of like the most well-known, I would say. Did you know you wanted them? Did you hear from other people that they were trustworthy? It's kind of a big decision. I Speaker 2 (9:49) agree. It's definitely a big decision. And I think. What most girls would say when they're signing with a management is they would look at the roster of other talent and see what those girls are doing and like, oh, they work with this person and they really look up to this girl. I love what she's doing. And I think they had so many reputable talent that I looked up to and their careers were so aspirational to me that I felt like it would be a Speaker 1 (10:12) good fit for me. But I also, they reached out. Speaker 2 (10:15) And they did not sign me for probably like six months. We were in talks and they were like, we're just Speaker 1 (10:19) going to Speaker 2 (10:20) watch, like we're going to have, we're just going to see how you're doing and then we'll circle back. And so I waited for them. Speaker 1 (10:26) Like a game. Was there ever a moment, maybe it was the hundred thousand or signing or social media can move at such a strange pace. It's very, it's nonlinear that you felt that the brand you were building had outgrown. maybe where you were in that moment and was kind of outpacing you when you had to adapt to it? Speaker 2 (10:45) Ooh, that's a good question. I mean, I think I was kind of part of a wave of creators that were kind of figuring things out. We were like the guinea pigs. And like I said, it was kind of like uncharted. And I would say in 2022 was when things started to get really serious with brands were really figuring out how to do this. And I kind of felt like, okay, this is the time that I need to be really like amping up my content, working with photographers, shooting really high quality things, like honing my style. But that was also, I mean, the year I turned 21 and I was also just Speaker 1 (11:19) kind of growing up. Yeah, because I can almost speak from experience. The podcast gained. I think 30,000 followers in the past month. And now I walk into rooms and it's kind of a different, you've got put in a different category, I think, depending on followers. Sometimes it's the metric you can see the most kind of adapting to the perception of other people as you're kind of growing into that can be. difficult. So I'm kind of just like almost curious for myself too, because you've been doing this for a decade, I think. Speaker 2 (11:47) Well, first of all, congratulations. Speaker 1 (11:49) That's so exciting. You're doing amazing things. But Speaker 2 (11:52) yeah, I would definitely say in 2022, I had a period of a lot of rapid growth. I think I gained 800,000 followers on TikTok in like a little bit over a week. That's Speaker 1 (12:05) insane. Which doesn't happen these days anymore, but happened Speaker 2 (12:08) at the time. And that was from I started this series of like getting ready, doing my makeup and talking about budgeting tips and financial tips. And that was kind of another little growth spurt for me. Speaker 1 (12:19) But definitely, you know, hitting Speaker 2 (12:22) that million follower mark was really instrumental, whether it means anything. I mean, it doesn't really mean anything, but. It seems to mean something to a lot of brands. And I think brands started to take me seriously. After that, I started, you know, leaning more into luxury and luxury brands started to reach out. So that was definitely a big turning point for me. Speaker 1 (12:42) Speaking of money, do you have any... budgeting tips from those early days you can share with people or maybe where your mindset is around money now? Speaker 2 (12:49) I am still very frugal. I still have a very frugal mindset around money and I still do some of the things that I used to talk about. I mean, I still love like not taking sober Ubers when I can. Speaker 1 (13:04) Yeah, that was a big mantra that I had back in the day. I wouldn't take a sober Uber and I would city bike instead. I need to get back on the city bikes. But I Speaker 2 (13:14) definitely still have a very frugal mindset around money and I really choose to invest my money more than I spend it. But I've definitely kept up with a lot of those traits. Speaker 1 (13:26) I think it's really interesting that that's part of the content angle for you and probably speaks to the educational element. You went and got your MBA. You've learned so much in your career just being in the industry. Why did you want to go back to school? Speaker 2 (13:43) I wanted to go back to school for so many reasons. First of all, like you said, I feel like I've had amazing opportunities in this industry to speak with incredible people and be in rooms that, you know, I could only have ever dreamed of being in. And I just want to solidify, you know, my place in these rooms for as long as I can. And so I really did want to go back and learn about the business side of things that, you know, I maybe didn't learn when I was an undergrad. I think we don't appreciate being in the classroom enough when we're 18. And then a few years pass and you're like, oh, that would actually be nice to like sit down and have somebody teach me something. So that was a big reason. It was also a program that I felt like was such a perfect fit for me. I did a focus in luxury and retail. NYU has a one-year MBA program in luxury and retail. And the one year was also very important to me because I don't think at this point in my life, in my career, I could commit to two years. But I also wanted like a little bit of a routine in my life. Content is amazing. There's a lot of flexibility. But I don't think people talk about this a lot. It can be very lonely. I mean, you're in your home. waking up in the morning and your job is to make a video and have it go viral and come up with something new to talk about every single day. And, you know, after doing this for, I think it was like nine years at that point, it can get a little bit redundant. And I think that it's important to challenge yourself, put yourself in new and uncomfortable situations, do something that might be scary. And I thought it was something that could really Speaker 1 (15:17) benefit me. And it's kind of full circle that you first kind of went viral from school content and then you're going back for an MBA. So congrats. I feel like not a lot of creators are. creating in a school environment and maybe talking about education. Why has that been important to you? Because I know it's something you've talked about and try to like encourage your followers. Speaker 2 (15:38) 100%. I mean, I really believe it's like something