Cultural insight unveiled: Condé Nast College lecturer Ruth Marshall-Johnson explores strategies for identifying future trends
‘Culture is not finished or defined, instead it is an exploration. It is the thread that enables us to be creative and commercial simultaneously’ – Ruth Marshall-Johnson.
As a College Lecturer, Cultural Analyst, Trend Forecaster & Consultant, Ruth has many facets to her work. Within this interview, we discuss finding the common thread that lends your personal brand to a range of creative job roles. Ruth shares her career path, top three tips for graduates and her predictions for the future of fashion. In the interview, we discuss the key areas in the fashion industry that hold the most potential for positive change and her innovative ethical technology consultancy EVEN. If you are intrigued to learn how to predict future trends, what exactly a trend forecaster does and how to better equip yourself to maximise your positive cultural impact in fashion, then this interview will make for an informative read.
By Hannah Tappin
Hannah: Ruth you are a senior lecturer, founder & cultural analyst, could you talk more about what your job title means & your career path to the roles?
Ruth: Yes, sure. I started at Central Saint Martins, where I studied Fashion Communication & Promotion. Quickly after this, my focus became journalism and writing about fashion from a cultural point of view. During my studies, we had to produce a magazine which led me to being very interested in publishing and the creation of content. At this time, I definitely thought my career was going to be solely in magazines. My university graduation coincided with the internet and the explosion of online, which led to traditional print publications being very different from before. This changed the trajectory because I went and looked for online businesses instead. These were new at the time; I was referred to WGSN. (WGSN is a trend forecasting company for primarily consumer and design trends).
WGSN were building their output into what trends were and how we could use them. I went into the company as a writer and I wrote weekly responses to trends and culture. The possibilities of what we could offer grew vastly due to more technological advances, with much more tech abilities being made available online. I then moved into the more cultural strategy division of WGSN. I was thinking more about what the trends meant opposed to simply predicting them. Previously, for example, I had been discussing the new trend of red trousers, but switched into analysing why the shift occurred to red trousers?
‘What is causing the trend? - This is where I found the niche that makes me tick. Asking, WHY? Why do humans do what they do? Why do clothes have an impact over our souls and emotions? Why do we choose one thing over another? It’s a very interesting psychological aspect to humans’.
What is causing the trend? - This is where I found the niche that makes me tick. Asking, WHY? Why do humans do what they do? Why do clothes have an impact over our souls and emotions? Why do we choose one thing over another? It’s a very interesting psychological aspect to humans. In all honesty, this sent me on a pathway less fashion focused, but it was more design focused. I expanded my reach to include technology and innovation. At the time, the innovation industry was booming, classic businesses began to consider design in their thinking and different methodologies that allowed you to be a better designer. At this point, I left WGSN and started a little business of my own, which only lasted for a year. It was a very good experience to learn about starting a business.
From there, I went to work for The Future Laboratory. The Future Laboratory is a world-renowned future consultancy that uniquely blends trend forecasting, consumer insights, foresight, brand strategy and innovation and inspiring and future-proofing organisations.
This experience was where my personal approach was solidified, which is probably why you hear me focus most on futurism and cultural analysis when lecturing today. At the time, I was helping them to think about the business of futures but I wanted to have a bit more of a social impact and I was already doing some mentorship with some community organisations. I was working with start-ups and on the fringes of it so I decided to get more involved. I was talking to people interested in sustainability and ethics and social aspects. I took the leap and left The Future Laboratory and thought I would start a business about trends in gender. At the time unisex collections were happening and people were discussing gender fluidity a lot more. I wanted to do a project on how you could research and forecast what will happen with gender expression.
As life happens, I met the founder of Feminist Internet not long after that, an organisation that merges feminism and technology. We gelled and eventually set up EVEN, which is the consultancy arm of Feminist Internet. Feminist Internet is a collective of artists and designers that aims to disrupt inequalities in internet products and services by educating and equipping the people who build them and use them. We do this by bringing together technology, intersectional feminism and creative practice. I hope that you can see the connections between all my jobs and the step-by-step process of carving out a career.
Hannah: Yes, I think it’s very evident how you built upon your interests and the wider cultural element. It definitely comes through strongly during your lecturing.I think you are an excellent example of someone who interlinks their interests to broadly utilise them different pathways within your career.
‘I think it’s good for women, for families, for new ways of thinking to try different hats on and be flexible. This is a human evolution whereby we can have flexible businesses and jobs these days. It’s more appropriate and less frowned upon and gets things done more efficiently’.
Ruth: One thing I will say is that when I was young and starting out, having multiple career paths wasn’t the plan. You were encouraged at the time to move around less and stay in one place for longer and strategically move but make it linear. I think these ideas have now been thrown out of the window. I think it’s good for women, for families, for new ways of thinking to try different hats on and be flexible. This is a human evolution whereby we can have flexible businesses and jobs these days. It’s more appropriate and less frowned upon and gets things done more efficiently.
Hannah: Certainly! I think the pandemic has especially shown it’s easier to adapt when you have skillsets in multiple different areas and industries. Cultural analysis has been a prevalent part of your career and lecturing, why do you believe cultural analysis is so vital for brands to incorporate?
‘Culture is not finished or defined, instead it is an exploration. I think culture is the thread that enables us to be creative and commercial simultaneously – that is what I focus on as a lecturer for Condé Nast’.
Ruth: Culture is the fuel for any design brand. This is why I lecture with a focus on culture because I am continuously studying what culture is. Culture is not finished or defined, instead it is an exploration. I think culture is the thread that enables us to be creative and commercial simultaneously – that is what I focus on as a lecturer for Condé Nast. It is a way of visualising the world that allows you to spot the opportunities and see where we could be better. It allows you to see the holes in the market and spot where people are being innovative. It is the landscape that allows you to become interesting and find good stories. A lot of the time telling a good story is vital, which is what culture is. Culture is a collection of good stories told in multiple different ways. I have focused on that as my toolbox, a cultural set of possibilities that allows you as a brand/charity/government to be relevant and maintain that relevance. The feeling of there being so much stuff to know about the world, can be overwhelming. However, if you put it into the field of culture, you can track, navigate and create frameworks. It is important to have a process and a way of quantifying the change, otherwise you drown.
Hannah: I agree, as everything has become so digital, the information overload and pressure to know everything can be overwhelming. It seems culture is the common thread to follow when trying to learn all you can. On the subject of change, what aspects of the fashion & the beauty industry have changed most and have the most future potential? (to positively impact society).
‘But there is also a large part of the industry who now are interested in embodying creativity, innovation and how we identify as human beings. For me this is the most interesting part that gets my brain working. I believe within this area of fashion; many future solutions will be found which are beyond fashion. This could be how we communicate sustainability, how we tell the story of what matters to us and how we as women see our bodies. How we say what is sexy, how we give words to what is versus isn’t appropriate about the way we talk about ourselves’.
Ruth: This is a really interesting question because if you are someone who enjoys buying high street stuff or Boohoo/Missguided style brands, this can be an element of fashion - there is nothing wrong with simply dressing up and being interested in clothes! But there is also a large part of the industry who now are interested in embodying creativity, innovation and how we identify as human beings. For me this is the most interesting part that gets my brain working. I believe within this area of fashion; many future solutions will be found which are beyond fashion. This could be how we communicate sustainability, how we tell the story of what matters to us and how we as women see our bodies. How we say what is sexy, how we give words to what is versus isn’t appropriate about the way we talk about ourselves. A big thing will be how we move from being humans to trans-humans or automated humans or robots, but that’s very forward thinking. Fashion is at the forefront of being able to practice how we communicate such things, with a voice that should feel very democratic. Anyone can get involved in the visuals and the content. You may not be buying Gucci all the time but you can still be involved in the message. Fashion is a workspace or draft if you like. A place where we can ask questions and gets things wrong. I think fashion gets things wrong a lot but I actually think that is correct. That is what should be happening. Where commerciality becomes involved in making money off these mistakes, I think is problematic. If we react to issues and see the opportunity fashion has then we can do things that have ripple effects into different industries.
Hannah: Yes, fashion’s wider application has always been very interesting to me. I think sometimes that fast-pasted tech innovations can seem threatening and scary to some consumers but when translated through the medium of fashion it becomes much more accessible to people.
‘It is almost indescribable why fashion is so magnetic, apart from that it gives you a vision of yourself. It allows you to reflect what you believe is most important. That’s so powerful!’.
Ruth: Absolutely! I interview candidates for Condé Nast for the MA courses and often ask why people want to study fashion. Often people cite that gut feeling of it being something ‘I love! and have done since I was a child’. I think the power of that is hard to miss/escape. It is almost indescribable why fashion is so magnetic, apart from that it gives you a vision of yourself. It allows you to reflect what you believe is most important. That’s so powerful! I am surprised that the more progressive governments around the world don’t tap into that more.
Hannah: What are the best ways to utilise trend analysis to facilitate inspiring future work?
Ruth: The important thing is that you should always be looking and observing. I love the historian Mary Beard. She talks about ways of looking, seeing and reading the world. Essentially that is what trend analysis is, it is a way of stepping outside of yourself, analysing what you are seeing, what is happening and, for fashion, why would someone want to wear something. All in the context of the environment of which they live and how they collate this to other areas of their lives. What words they use and tastes they have etc. Trend analysis is a way of seeing these things and putting them together in a cohesive, ‘So what does this mean?’... An overview output of what people find important and how they want to be represented. There are lots of different ways of doing it. Some people minimise trend forecasting’s value, but every industry does it in some format. It can be very serious or not, as long as it fits the brief. It is the ability to stop and reflect on things happening around you, why are they important? Crucially, what could come out of that understanding?
Riel Miller, who is the Head of Futures Literacy at UNESCO, describes Futures Literacy (of which trend forecasting is a part) as ‘a universally accessible skill that builds on the innate human capacity to imagine the future.
He talks about ‘the power of the image of the future in how we perceive the present’ and how to imagine the future. Once you have a process to imagine that landscape you can then identify the things that should be in that landscape and design them. That’s really what trend forecasting is.
Hannah: Evidently, the pandemic brought seismic shifts in creative industries and mass cultural change, how do you think this will impact the future of fashion?
Ruth:I have a sneaking suspicion that in 5 years’ time we will be back to where we were. The majority of people will return to old habits. For example, I was having breakfast this morning and I really wanted my nails done. I felt guilty after having survived a year without a manicure – it’s not a necessity for my life and isn’t very sustainable - but I still had the feeling of wanting to do it. It made me think of all the other things I get joy from but actually are unnecessary. There is a deep personal audit to be had and I don’t think a lot of people want to go there honestly.
Hannah: Yes, that is an interesting point. It feels similar to what we discussed in some lectures where forecasters predicted a re-run of the historic 20’s boom in the 2020’s.
Ruth: I think that will happen, partly because the media will make it happen. It looks good and its fun. I don’t have anything against that and I think fun is important but it would be sad to have 6 months of crazy 2020’s, then back to pre-Covid-19 normality. I personally would like to see the mainstream introduction of new fabrics – like decomposing, more recyclable ones and fabrics made from waste. The evolution of fabrics means the products we know and love would be materialised in a different way.
Hannah: Perhaps this could be another creative challenge for the industry; how to sustain the better changes that have come out of the pandemic in the longstanding future?
‘I think the pandemic also showed us what we really need. I think this psychological shift has happened and people have reconsidered what they need most in life. They may not stop shopping and buying fashion, but they might have a new awareness of why they are doing it. Which is significant in itself’
Ruth: Exactly. I think the pandemic also showed us what we really need. I think this psychological shift has happened and people have reconsidered what they need most in life. They may not stop shopping and buying fashion, but they might have a new awareness of why they are doing it. Which is significant in itself. Before the pandemic, I was having physical meetings four or five days a week, which was a lot. It can be mentally tiring and just having to think about your screen time as your sole place for engagement has been quite healing for some people. I think there is something in this that the fashion industry should not be ignoring. There are tools to make people feel less anxious or more confident and it isn’t necessarily about the right shoes or outfit. Instead, focusing in more on bespoke needs and allowing people to manage things one step at a time.
Hannah: Yes, I agree. Which of your previous clients stood out to you as being a pioneer for innovation with strong cultural awareness and what about their strategy created this?
Ruth: A lot of people say this but Adidas are great at this continuous process. They do this in the hierarchy of their business, they are constantly looking at who is necessary and what roles are needed. They shift and they change. They are also very culturally ambitious and want to know what the new things are all of the time. They are very intrigued by psychology, anti-pollution materials, architectural developments, different cultures and contrasting perspectives on the same subject for instance. Despite their large scale as a business they are highly invested in culture. This commitment shows in their profits and their popularity.
There are also particular times where it is very useful to hire a trend forecaster. For example, design teams will want to implement something into a product or innovate a new idea, but when it’s presented to senior boards, there is a disconnect between the product idea and why it’s important. The hiring of a third-party acts as a translator. Often, they highlight points and justifications the business is already aware of, but explain the roots of why. Sometimes it’s about giving the design team the language to say to the CFO, ‘ I need this investment because of X’. It goes beyond creative inspiration because it also connects those dots to ensure there is a reason for what you are doing.
Hannah: For new graduates who are exploring career options what advice would you give on how to stand out and ensure they have awareness of cultural contexts?
‘We need more voices, more thought, more people in the industry to diversify it. We need new views as it can favour only a few aesthetics. I think it has even been justified in the past when we have been accused of gentrifying through trends and making everything aesthetic aspiration the same’.
Ruth: There is a kind of an image of a trend forecaster of creatives wearing avant-garde clothes with wacky haircuts etc. - a very specific image! For young people, I would say forget about all that. We need more voices, more thought, more people in the industry to diversify it. We need new views as it can favour only a few aesthetics. I think it has even been justified in the past when we have been accused of gentrifying through trends and making every aesthetic aspiration the same. To an extent everyone has the same touch-points due to trend forecasting. I think that is something to address and be accountable for rather than be afraid of – we need to show other possibilities.
So, to answer your question don’t’ worry about not being ‘the type’. Standing out instead requires a point of view. An opinion. Something to say. For me personally I have become an advocate for social justice and this is evident in everything that I do as my personal brand. Decide what you love, what makes you excited about the future. Consider what is the piece that impacts you most and focus on why that is something you find so magnetic? Use that as your spring board.
However, it is vital to not make it about your own taste, which is the difficult bit. It can be unavoidable but try to minimise it where you can. Be authentic about when it starts to show its head. You may like it; it may be something that you would choose, but vitally explain why it is also part of a wider trend journey. Include as many voices as you can also to make your point.
‘A crucial personality trait as a forecaster is a willingness to talk about new topics, despite not having all the answers. Raise the questions and be brave enough to explore some of the darker corners of culture and humanity’.
With regards to the second part of the question, I in relation to cultural awareness people are very worried about making mistakes these days and people don’t want to be offensive. So there has to be an element of bravery. I think forecasters are incredibly brave, often you have to suggest ideas that people aren’t ready to talk about yet. I think that is required. A crucial personality trait as a forecaster is a willingness to talk about new topics, despite not having all the answers. Raise the questions and be brave enough to explore some of the darker corners of culture and humanity. In this modern context of the world, trend researchers act as an insurance to say, even if we pursue an avenue and something goes wrong, it has been researched properly and based on justified evidence. It helps businesses make defensible decisions , so they can justify their decisions and purpose. It is all about meaning and purpose.
Hannah: Hannahroseinspired aims to inspire people to pursue their creative passions and interests, what are your personal sources of inspiration? If you're feeling uninspired, what do you turn to?
Ruth: Love this question. I definitely think nature is important, I’m sure everyone will tell you that but it’s worth saying. Go for a walk, observe the world. Observing how nature happens, autonomously without our interference, it’s very magical. How trees grow, how colours develop, how animals communicate etc. Although that may seem obvious, I think it is a fundamentally profound thing. I think going out into nature can feel like a meditation. If I really need help that’s what I will do first. On the other hand, I also think television is amazing and is particularly good currently. There are great documentaries about art, the history of fashion, marketing, politics, protests – the list goes on! Vast cultural elements are being delved deeper into in a way that hasn’t been done before. I love music videos, soap operas and popular culture. I enjoy all this but I also observe it from a trend forecasting point of view, looking at why it’s so popular and what people get from watching it. I also read every kind of newspaper and content platform I can get my hands on, the really serious ones and the much less serious ones, because I think it’s important to see the full scope.
I like it when something makes me angry because it prompts me to start a dialogue from it. I am personally interested in gender and the expression of it (particularly why some gender expressions are treated differently than others) and the history and economics behind patriarchy and racism and how it is connected with the history of capitalism. Patricia Hill Collins, an American academic specialising in race, class, and gender, defines this as the Matrix of Domination The Matrix of Oppression in her book Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. It’s well worth a read!
I also love colour, a love that carries through to abstract art. It gives me relaxation, meditation and enjoyment but also inspiration for work. I think the movement of the art world and art industry gives a good insight into culture and why and how we make money off the back of human expression.
Hannah: What are 3 pieces of advice you would give to yourself having just graduated from CSM?
‘My advice would be to go for as much varied education as you can and make sure you are trying to visualise the connections between fields as they really are all connected’.
Ruth: I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’t studied a creative degree at CSM, but I think I could have been an even better trend forecaster if I had studied something different. In the context of today, where it’s not necessary to do a long full-time degree, I would do smaller, more focused pieces of education. I would have got more history of art and economics under my belt sooner. My advice would be to go for as much varied education as you can and make sure you are trying to visualise the connections between fields as they really are all connected.
Fashion and economics are not so different except for the output - the history and drivers are very similar. Try to get a view on that as young as you can. Also, start a pension, learn about money, do an MBA if you can, even if it’s short. Learn about business, how to start a company and then perhaps fail but start another one. Those things today are key to understand your life’s work can be one thing but how you express it will change all the way through. You have to respond to the market to be able to rely on yourself to make money and create a business. Get those functional bits in your toolbox. Also, take advantage of mentoring and financial advice (often given for free) on social networks like Instagram i.e., how to be more confident, how to be a women or young person in business. It is well worth getting into communities and networks which can guide you through. This idea of collective support is vital, keep making new connections.
Hannah: Some great pieces of advice thank you. For young graduates who are trying to navigate the complexities faced by creative industries, particularly in the current climate, what advisory guidance would you offer us?
‘As long as you are trained to be flexible, think carefully, strategise, make a decision and act, you will be okay. So mainly, don’t panic, don’t go into negative spirals because young people’s lives are completely new and different’.
Ruth: I think the crux of it is, don’t panic. Things happen and they will do so throughout your career. It will feel like this is going to change everything, but it never actually does. It will change an element, but things move forward all the time. As long as you are trained to be flexible, think carefully, strategise, make a decision and act, you will be okay. So mainly, don’t panic, don’t go into negative spirals because young people’s lives are completely new and different.
Even if you embark on trend forecasting on a personal level, it can act as a confidence builder. Having something on the horizon to look forward to helps you move forward and decreases your worries. The more you surround yourself with people who inspire you, that you love and think are way more talented than you are, the more you thrive by being surrounded by brilliance. You will spot new opportunities and ideas, try them out, some things will work and some things won’t. Constantly feed your curiosity and passion, irrespective of what job you do. If you feed your brain with the right thing’s, developments will come more naturally and become more obvious. In that sense, you shouldn’t panic.
Hannah: Thank you so much. I really relate to everything you said. I think being a recent graduate in the pandemic caused many people stress and pressure but thankfully the experience has taught me patience. What do you perceive to be the biggest challenges for fashion businesses and employees in the next few years?
‘Fashion is becoming a lifestyle rather than fashion itself. I think there will also be a movement towards clothing designed for function and protection. Beautifully designed sometimes but for sun protection , anti-pollution, cold, survival or armour etc’.
Ruth: For fashion businesses, retail. I think even though the pandemic has prevented it from being physically possible for people to go shopping as much, people were getting bored. Bored of walking around, trying things on, it feels clunky in this age. I think we were having these entertainment spaces. But people had started questioning why? It wasn’t quite an algorithm that worked. I think retailers will have issues with how to get footfall into the building. People might be fooling themselves with showroom concepts and the assumptions that consumers need to touch and feel products. I think people are more cut throat about fashion, sometimes it is enough to see the picture online. You can see the influencer, colour, cut and buy it. However, another issue is when these items are delivered, they don’t fit properly.
I think retailers will need to consider the returns process, perhaps send 3 sizes without paying for them all? They need to work out how this happens. Fashion is becoming a lifestyle rather than fashion itself. I think there will also be a movement towards clothing designed for function and protection. Beautifully designed sometimes but for sun protection , anti-pollution, cold, survival or armour etc. We have discussed the extreme levels, but I sense it gravitating towards this way. I think as more people go into their homes and live-in compounds behind walls, the world feels and is more chaotic. Things that felt easy i.e., shopping in large compounds, queueing up, trying things on, being in busy crowds, feel kind of irrelevant.
Hannah: Yes, the prospect of going to a large shopping area now seems exhausting! What does your style & fashion sense express about your identity? What do you think fashion should mean to women/men/people in general?
Ruth: Interesting, well my personal style is all about power. Not necessarily that I am an executive power woman but expressing a sense of confidence and strength. This has personal reasons for me, I have diabetes so my body feels less stable than other people’s. Dressing for power, helps me to feel strong. I also want to seem like a woman who has considered what it is to be a woman today. Whether I am more dressed up, sexy, or professional, I want it to seem like I have made clear decisions about what that means.
Hannah: That’s a great way to examine style. What different skills are most important to have when working as a client consultant versus a trend researcher vs a fashion journalist, do any skills lends themselves to all job roles?
Ruth: Number one is communication. This comes with experience, drop the b******, learn to be honest. Recognise that everybody is human and everyone has other stuff going on, which I think has been a big cultural shift in the last year or so. It’s okay to make mistakes so long as you fix them quickly and move forward. Say what you need, ask for what you want, be confident to state salary expectations or vital information to do a job. For having different hats, I would also say organisation, have a great calendar and an efficient way of organising research. Have the nuts and bolts organised in a way which fits you neurologically, especially so you can switch quickly from one to the other. Finally, find the common thread, so in essence you have a job which has lots of different parts, in reality my job is for lots of different people but I am the one personal brand.
Hannah: Amazing, I think a strong sense of self awareness, who you are, what you stand for, is helpful when applying skills to a multitude of areas. Could you talk more about your business ventures and why they both align in your objective of creating a better future?
Ruth: I came out of CSM as the internet was booming, which has played a large part in my professional life. I have become much more aware of the dark side of it, humans of course have responsibility too, but there is so much that has slipped under the acceptable barrier. We need to take notice, put policies in place to make your experience online as safe, creative and good as possible. A safe space for dialogue and progress. One business I started is called Do Your Research, which has been my side hustle for the last 12 years or so. It was my way of having a voice, I do mentorship, I work with accelerator hubs, do research projects and presentations. I think good design is ethical as it considers other people. It cannot be the gentrifying trend forecasting. It could be different, diverse. It was a hobby whilst I had a full-time job which has evolved into a personal project of mine. After that, I met the co-founder of the Feminist Internet and we decided to create a consultancy arm of the company collective.
We created a consultancy business that responded to a lot of the collective work that gets done within the Feminist Internet. They are artists, computer scientists, designers etc. They do a lot of exploratory research and we respond to the research for different businesses. It might be a bank, a big corporation, a brand and they come to us and say all these things are going on in the world and we want to know more. Can you help show us what to do, can you put a framework around this ethical technology and that’s how we provide cash for the Feminist Internet. It keeps them going and keeps them as free as they need to be to explore these big issues.
I am really interested in the idea that a business that is futuristic in itself that, discusses the future and in building businesses differently. For example, in EVEN there is two of us, we hire different people for different tasks and we pay the same rate to everyone. We also ensure a diverse core team - A lot of businesses currently run by white people have realised they need to hire for diversity, but it leads to tokenism. It results in a core leadership team who still all look the same but with separate divisions who are diverse at a second or third level. We aim to get rid of that hierarchy that happens within hiring for diversity. We try to have a core team of decision makers who are all on the same level. We get feedback from each other all the time. We are also intersectional feminist. This is a term coined by an American law professor called Kimberlé Crenshaw.
Intersectional feminism centres the voices of those experiencing overlapping, concurrent forms of oppression in order to understand the depths of the inequalities and the relationships among them in any given context.” (Unwomen.org)
‘A lot of people are investing in diversity which is great. But there is no point considering it if you are simply bringing the previously excluded people into the same system they were excluded from. It won’t work, you have to build a new system from the bottom up which is good for everybody. That’s what we are trying to explore, as it’s not easy for many people to see how you could be commercially successful with it’.
We try to connect all these areas and explore how they affect each other. We also make sure to do things only that could have an impact on the world. I think that’s important but I do realise that if you need money you need to work. I have gotten to a lucky point in my career where I can do that, but I hope and I am studying whether this way of making a collective business is actually the future of businesses. The model of a good successful brand can be fairer, less hierarchical etc. There are better ways of doing it. It is always an experiment starting a business anyway, but you may as well see what you can do with it. A lot of people are investing in diversity which is great. But there is no point considering it if you are simply bringing the previously excluded people into the same system they were excluded from. It won’t work, you have to build a new system from the bottom up which is good for everybody. That’s what we are trying to explore, as it’s not easy for many people to see how you could be commercially successful with it. Essentially this is the point of a business, to make money, I think there are solutions eventually.
Hannah: Yes, I think it’s a genius idea. Finally, how do you maintain positive mental wellbeing throughout your work? How do you stay psychologically happy and feel good in what you do?
Good question, I am in love with it, as I am sure you can hear. It is something I am passionate about. I have an emotional connection to the topics I think about and talk about. I am at a point where I have put the work in so I know what I can do and I have the confidence in what I am good at and knowledge of areas I need more help. I am calmer about this than when I was in my earlier career. As you get older, you get a greater sense of confidence and the ability to know what you can achieve. I also think I am a workaholic I love it, getting it perfect, getting the details right, makes me very happy. It’s such a geeky thing to say. On the aspect of colour in my work, I love design, imagery and finding the best way to communicate something. I think that’s so important, visuals for sure. Outside of work, I do quite a lot of craft that includes colour, design, fashion etc. I like any craft where you can get into a flow of building fabric, stitching etc. I find it almost meditative. I also love organising things, decluttering definitely gives a sense of relaxation!
Hannah: Yes, I think craft is a great stress relief. Well sadly that sums up the interview but thank you so much for talking to me, being so open and honest and inspiring as a lecturer.