What really happens to fashion students after they graduate?

By Carlotta Busetto

** Some names have been changed to maintain anonymity.

Have you ever wondered what happens to graduates when they leave fashion school? Considering the increased reports of labour exploitation and the recession the fashion industry is currently facing, the question asks itself: how are they coping? Despite the current economic landscape, pursuing fashion-related degrees appears to still be an attractive prospect for 17/18 year olds in the UK. In fact, according to the latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, enrollments in design (182,370) during the academic year 2023/2024 overtook those in law (144,900), and engineering and technology (179,015). However, what remains unclear is how many leave the industry after they graduate, not because of a change of heart, but because they cannot afford to stay?

With these questions in mind, I approached five graduates from fashion schools in the UK to find out. All of them have graduated very recently, within the last three years, and each of them work in different fields of the industry: design, illustration, photography, journalism and business.

In my conversations with these young professionals, I was told stories of hardship by all of them - irrespective of what field they were working in. Although I had mainly asked about their experience with unpaid/underpaid work, what emerged were accounts of a series of issues consequential to exploitation. Some of these ranged from mental health issues, lack of financial independence, and inability to progress to senior roles.

After graduation, finding full-time stable employment has been an arduous task for all five. Moxi continued her work as a photographer on a freelance basis (without the backing of an agency), while Nerea worked two part-time jobs in retail whilst juggling illustration commissions. Although Jenny - a business graduate - and Kevin - a design graduate - succeeded in landing entry-level jobs at established fashion houses in the UK and France, it still took them between three to six months to secure that position. In the meantime, they had to continue sending hundreds of applications without a guarantee of employment. Alex **, who graduated in fashion journalism in September 2025, is still job hunting and missing out on employment opportunities because they require visa sponsorship.

When a job did come, for all five, it was unpaid or underpaid - so, unsustainable in the long-term. The supposed compensation was “exposure”: the idea being that working for free or for under minimum-wage meant that these young graduates would then attract better conditions in future employment. One of Kevin’s internships as a designer, included one where his salary amounted to €500 per month, often had to work overtime (unpaid) until 9 pm and needed financial backing from his parents to make ends meet. When Nerea collaborated with a fashion communication platform to present her work as an emerging illustrator, she was not offered pay and was instead given the opportunity to sell her work - but with a 50-50 commission. Moxi is often approached by designers and brands to provide her services for free or at a discounted rate under the pretext of a “collaboration” - i.e., they first get to know you and will then call you back if a photographer is needed again. During fashion school, Alex was taken on as an unpaid editor intern at a fashion culture magazine, which did not have the capital to offer a salary. While Jenny **, accepted unpaid roles in brands’ finance departments with the hope that the experience and exposure would enhance her chances of being recruited by a big name.

Out of five people, only one I had interviewed told me that they had managed to make ends meet without financial support from their parents. Some of them relied on their family to help cover their rent in London, while others asked to help with extra costs that come with being a young creative - such as final project fees at fashion school or renting fees for photographers to present their work at an exhibition. What emerged from my conversations is that those fortunate enough to have that kind of support to fall back on tend to be more predisposed to accepting unpaid jobs. My interviewees spoke candidly of the disparity in access to opportunities between their peers, both before and after graduation. As students, there were classmates that missed out on workshops and extra classes, because of conflicting shifts with their second or third part-time job. As graduates, these same classmates are currently struggling to gain experience because they cannot afford to take on unpaid or underpaid work.

Then the issue of connections came up. When asked, if it is possible to land a job without any Kevin said: “Yes, it’s possible - I am living proof of it. But that is 1% of the cases”. He then told me about a former classmate of his who landed a job as a designer for a famous French brand - but who also happened to have a father working within the brand’s HR department. Despite the rest of my interviewees not mentioning incidents of nepotism as explicitly, they still discussed the difficulty of navigating this industry without knowing many people. In fact, Nerea thought that “not having direct connections isn’t necessarily a barrier, but [that graduates] have to work harder to prove [their] value without connections”. Moxi, on the other hand, mentioned that for photographers connections are essentials - as “almost all the jobs [she had found were] through her friends or people [she had] collaborated with before”. Regarding business and retail, Jenny believes it is possible to land a job without knowing someone and of your own merit. However, she said that being well connected is still important, as the industry is small and CVs tend to get passed around HR departments across companies. Alex ** is also hopeful, but nevertheless said that “connections boost your chances of getting hired by 80% to 90%”.

These five graduates’ testimony reveal the reality of pursuing a career in fashion as the first person in your family to do so. Young creatives have to network from scratch and spend time actively searching for opportunities to meet the “right people”. These are only five graduates, but finding others whose experiences echo theirs is not a difficult task. The industry relies on the abundance of people dreaming of making it in fashion to enhance production rates through unpaid interns. As all five of them said, there is unfortunately little sign of things radically changing for the better.