Journalism student covers Fashion Weeks around the world
Third-year Haley Sengsavanh (external link) has always been interested in fashion. When she was younger, her grandfather would put on the fashion network to fall asleep and she would stay up watching it.
When she was in grade six, she wanted a career in politics and investigative journalism but once she entered high school and specialized in a fashion program, she got hands-on experience and developed a love for the industry. With some classmates, she volunteered at Vancouver Kids Fashion Week.
By grade 11, “I decided I wanted to start getting published outside of school,” she said. “I reached out to a bunch of magazines and the one that I did was Micro Macro Magazine (external link) , a subsidiary of Vancouver Fashion Week, and they’re the first magazine that published my work,” Sengsavanh recalled.
Although Sengsavanh concedes she’s not the best seamstress, she loves fashion and has always had a passion for reading and writing.
“I think the perfect intersection of those two [fashion and journalism] is being able to interview people in the industry and then analyze different collections and reflect on how that affects our society,” she said. “I think fashion is more complex than just a bunch of pretty dresses. There’s a lot of depth to the meaning of [these] collections, it’s a huge industry, and it has a huge impact environmentally, socially, and I think it’s a sector that deserves a lot of respect.”
Even though Sengsavanh is still in the early stages of her career as a fashion journalist, she has worked hard to land a seat in the front row and report on shows at Vancouver Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week and more.
From top left: Posing with Italian designer Helga Raspa during an intermission at Day 2 of the VFW Spring Summer 2022 season; discussing the runway trends sitting front row on Day 3 of the VFW Spring Summer 2022 season; interviewing South Korean designer Young-Eun Lee on her Fall Winter 2022 collection for Fromwhere before the show at NYFW; posing in front of the photo wall at the GFC x PFW Fall Winter 2022 show.
Haley Sengsavanh on Fashion Week moments
It was her first time travelling alone when attending New York Fashion Week in early 2021, and a few months later, she went to Paris Fashion Week, which was her first time in Europe.
For Global Fashion Collective (GFC), Sengsavanh was not just interviewing designers and writing reviews at shows but helping with social media for the company. She would post behind-the-scenes on Instagram, live stream and coordinate with their press team.
Working at New York and Paris Fashion Week shows helped Sengsavanh create professional connections with other students who were local to where the shows were happening.
“It was an amazing chance for me to meet people who are around my age and working in the same industry.”
One of Sengsavanh’s favourite parts about being at fashion shows is being able to talk with people before and after the events.
“I think the most amazing thing about a fashion show, and this is something that a lot of people I've interviewed have said as well, is that it's all these people who are super passionate about the same industry, and they're all in the same venue at the same time. It makes for a great opportunity to chat, connect, which leads to other opportunities,” she said.
During New York Fashion Week, she started a conversation about a fashion editor’s outfit who worked for The Runway Authority, which led to Sengsavanh being able to help out on a shoot later this year.
Unlike her last-minute New York experience, Sengsavanh was able to schedule more opportunities ahead of time for her trip to Paris Fashion Week.
“I got to put my TMU press pass to good use and applied to a bunch of events and shows. I was super grateful that I got to help at the GFC shows behind-the-scenes, but I also got to attend different events.”
Attending these shows has impacted Sengsavanh’s writing by adding worldly elements and rounding out her writing style.
“I think that the way that people view a subject is based on their personal experiences. Going to Fashion Week and seeing these things first-hand has allowed me to witness a different side of fashion, especially internationally. I think that talking to people from around the world and hearing their take on style and what they do is special because it grounds and inspires me.”
“A lot of these designers who are showcasing from other areas of the world do a lot of work to showcase their own culture. I think that's really admirable and amazing because they get to specifically showcase something so important to their heritage and their story on the global platform. That's something that I love to do with my writing, as well to shine a spotlight on marginalized groups and people who are not as represented in the industry.”