Former Chesterfield College fashion student Atalanta Lawson-Coyle is backing the Creativity Pays campaign to highlight what opportunities creative courses at college can bring. She is now studying for a degree in Fashion Communication at the highly sought after Condé Nast College of Fashion and Design. She won a scholarship this time last year for a place with the famous fashion publisher college. A few months into her course, she got in touch to tell us how her degree was going and how her time at Chesterfield College is helping her.
Why do you want to back the Creativity Pays campaign?
“Creativity is behind everything. The adverts and programmes we watch; engaging language; graphics; architecture, and the clothes we wear. I am building a career on that and I can see the possibilities creative skills offer. I want to share how creativity pays for me to encourage others.”
“When I left school, I started training as a dental nurse but soon realised it wasn’t for me. I knew I was interested in fashion but I didn’t know how I would make a career out of it. The fashion course at college helped me to explore my skills and realise what was possible.”
“I can’t believe that a girl from Chesterfield is studying with one of the top fashion publishers, alongside students from across the world. It goes to show if you put your mind to it, and get the right support, you can do anything. I am really excited to see what the future holds.”
How is university life going?
“I have just finished my second term and I have done so much already. It has been really overwhelming but in a good way. It is a really intense course and I have never worked so much in my life but I really enjoy it.”
What are you enjoying the most?
“Every Wednesday is a wow moment. We have industry speakers from across the sector to tell us about the range of opportunities there are – from curators of fashion shows to luxury packaging producers, videographers and advertisers. In our first week, Anna Wintour editor-in-chief of Vogue and global chief content officer for Condé Nast gave us a talk. Stella McCartney is also a regular visitor. She has spoken to us about sustainability in the fashion industry and how important it is for the future. She explained how she works that ethos into her collections.”
“On a media project I have just completed we had to create a magazine and then write a reflection in a journalistic style, which I really loved. We have also spent time researching the background to magazines and looking at how they are put together. This is an area of the fashion industry where I want to be for sure.”
How did studying at college help to get to where you are now?
“I have taken everything I learnt in college to university and it has really got me ahead. Above all else, it has given me an extra stepping stone that I think sets me apart. Whenever I think about myself in the future I think about where it all started and the people who have encouraged and inspired me along the way. ”
“College definitely developed me creatively. My tutors, Laura and Jayne really got my creative mind going by encouraging me to think in different ways about projects. They helped to develop my range of skills as well as my confidence.”
“I am in a good position to have a positive future in the fashion industry with the good grounding that the course at college taught me along with getting the place at Condé Nast. It has opened a lot more doors for me.”
Atalanta with one of her creations when she was a student at Chesterfield College
