How Grace McVilly Built a Career in Fashion Marketing Without a Degree

What do you do, and for how many years have you been working in your field?

I'm Global Marketing Manager for Abrand Jeans, and I run my own creative agency specialising in marketing, production, art direction and styling. I'm 25 and have been working in the fashion marketing industry since I was 19.

What did you do post-high school? Do you have a degree? Did you do anything in school / afterwards that you feel has impacted your career?

I never enjoyed school, I didn't even sit high school exams. Learning from textbooks and theory was never really for me. When I graduated school in 2019, I was adamant I was going to find a way into fashion without a degree. For 3 months I was working full-time at a real estate agency (which I hated) and it seriously motivated me to hustle on finding a way into the fashion industry. By May 2020 I had secured a job as a customer service assistant at a fashion label - and the rest is history!

What do you wish someone had told you when you were starting out?

Find a mentor whose you're inspired by trust and gel with. You'll learn so much more than you could ever imagine by doing this. I only wish I'd done it earlier!

What does breaking into your field actually look like - what are employers really looking for?

Someone with a strong work ethic, good people skills, a great attitude, and a willingness to have a crack and learn. When you're starting out, having the basic skills is important, but I think employers value the qualities above just as much.

Any advice for young people who want to do what you do?

Sometimes, you just need to get your foot in the door and then you can prove yourself to the business. I started out in a customer service role, within 2 months my boss handed the marketing over to me. She saw my work ethic, passion and willingness to learn. Also, utilise your connections and continuing to build new ones is super important. Relationships matter. Put yourself out there, meet people and keep building your network!

What do you actually do day-to-day — what does a typical week look like?

During the day (as I work full time at Abrand), I'm mostly working on leading the marketing strategy - so constantly ideating and planning our upcoming campaigns and projects, and working closely with our marketing team on execution including social media, content, PR, photoshoots, events, etc. I'm also in a lot of meetings with the design team, ecom, digital and external clients. At night and on weekends is when I focus on my creative agency - which for now (since starting with Abrand) is just project based work such as photoshoot production, styling and content creation. I'm definitely not working on this everyday (I think I'd break in half) but it ebbs and flows.

What is the most exciting thing you've done/encountered throughout your career?

Being offered the role as Global Marketing Manager for Abrand and being flown to LA and NY x4 a year would have to be the highlight - it's such a pinch-me moment that I've built this life for myself. I'm incredibly grateful.

How did you get into your field? Was it a straight path or did it take a few unexpected turns?

I started as the customer service assistant for a fashion brand, and worked my way into the marketing role 2 months into my job. From there, I learnt everything on the job.

What's the best and hardest thing about working in your industry?

Best would have to be the creativity. Sometimes I laugh with my team mates that our job is as fun as it is… working on photoshoots, throwing parties, flying across the world, working on crazy campaigns - and we get to come up with it all! Honestly... is it bad to say there isn't much I can complain about? Maybe the crazy hours and late nights when things get really busy and stressful, but I'm genuinely grateful to be tired because of the job I used to dream about.