Influential mentorship for fashion student

Jessica Roye, in her second year of BA (Hons) Fashion Culture and Business, will start a 16-week programme with the (Fashion) Minority Report (FMR) in May.

The FMR aims to increase diversity within the fashion industry which it says has long had a problem with diversity across hires of ethnic minorities, people with disabilities and female professionals.

They work with emerging creatives with a range of backgrounds (race, monetary etc) and they provide mentorships to help people get a foot into the door of the fashion industry. The FMR is an opportunity to push for reform of the industry by championing existing talent and nurturing future fashion stars.

After the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh which killed 1,129 workers in 2013, Jessica had decided that she wanted to go into fashion to make a change.

Having initially worked in psychiatric care looking after young people and with asylum seekers after finishing college, Jessica found the University of East London’s course and it offered exactly what she wanted from a degree with a careers-first focus so she applied.

Jessica said,

I knew from the start that I wanted to get into the fashion industry but knew it wasn’t the space I wanted to work in due to its issues. If I was going into it I wanted to do it with purpose to bring about change and address systemic issues in the industry. 

I want to work on issues including improving workers’ rights, the treatment of models within the industry, diversity, equity, inclusion, and false claims around sustainability. My goal would be to work in government policy. My lecturers encourage me to research what inspires and interests her.”

Jessica has freelanced through her degree to build experience, including writing articles for relevant websites as she particularly enjoys writing and researching. She recently had an article posted on Original Magazine platform which explores beauty equity and how a lack of access to clean/safe beauty products reflects wider systemic health inequalities for women of colour.

Jessica’s advice to others at the start of their career is to network as much as possible to find mentorship and internship opportunities as well as work placements. “Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there, message companies and build connections. It can be daunting but it’s something to keep working at. Go to someone who’s a couple of years ahead and see if they can help mentor you, and work up from there,” Jessica added.

Jessica is currently writing a piece on the authenticity of CSR around ethical fashion, and at the end of the mentorship at the FMR, there is the option of being put forward for an internship.

Tania Phipps-Rufus, Jessica’s course leader, said, “Jessica is an excellent student with a strong drive and ambition to actively change the way we think about fashion business. Through her studies on the Fashion Culture and Business BA Hons programme as well as modules taken in fashion marketing, she has already developed a good understanding of the contemporary cultural issues facing the fashion industry today and is already showing the potential to be an impactful changemaker in the industry through these two recent opportunities.

“This is a great example of UEL’s careers-first approach and helping students gain the skills needed to bring about change in today’s society.”

Daniel Peters, founder of the FMR, said, "What struck me about Jessica during the short interview, was that her passion and interest in the fashion industry sat outside of more traditional creative based roles, and her potential to shine in these areas of interest is what stood out to me as something that we needed to try and nurture." 

More information about UEL’s BA (Hons) Fashion Culture and Business degree. 

View Jessica’s work and essays.