Career Path of an Associate Buyer at Elyse Walker
After graduating from NYU with a business degree, Julia moved to Los Angeles to pursue a fashion career, starting with unpaid work for a stylist which "was a great experience because you just learn a lot". This led to roles at Fab Fit Fund, starting as an assistant and progressing to assistant buyer, navigating a team layoff and ultimately transitioning to a more fulfilling associate buyer position at Elyse Walker, focused on "the latest season" of fashion.
Fashion Buying, Career Transition, Entry-Level Roles, Overcoming Challenges, Resilience
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Julia Hamilton
Associate Buyer
Elyse Walker
New York University, 2017
Anderson MBA
Business Management & Admin
Apparel, Beauty, Retail & Fashion
Strategic Management and Executive
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Working for free for a stylist helped her learn about the fashion industry and confirm her career interests.
2. Her experience at Fab Fit Fund, including navigating the shutdown of a program and transitioning to a new role, provided valuable experience in problem-solving and adaptability.
3. Her career progression from assistant buyer to associate buyer demonstrates her growth and success in the fashion buying field.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path? Please start with your experiences in college, and then any internships or jobs you had before your current role.
I went to NYU for my undergrad and got a business degree. After finishing, I moved to LA because I wanted to work in fashion, though I wasn't sure how to get into the industry there.
To be honest, I probably should have stayed in New York for fashion. However, I wanted to live in LA because my family is here.
I started working for free for a stylist. I knew I didn't want to be a stylist, but I needed something to do. It was a great experience because you learn a lot, even from a job you don't want to do. Confirming that it wasn't for me, while also seeing a different side of the industry, was very insightful.
I'm grateful I did that because I worked on an editorial shoot for my first real job. This was at FabFitFun, a women's lifestyle brand and startup that ships subscription boxes four times a year. These boxes are filled with items related to women's lifestyle, including health, fitness, tech, fashion, and beauty.
We styled an editorial shoot for them. I met some people there who were hiring for a style program that focused on apparel and accessories. It was a different product than what I was used to.
I got a job as an assistant for that program. It was essentially the same model as Stitch Fix. FabFitFun's version of this ultimately ended, and they laid off our entire team except for myself and three others.
It was pretty much up to us to figure out how to retire that program and make it as financially successful as possible. That was a really big learning experience for me in the beginning.
After that, they moved me to the fashion team for the main box, where I worked as an assistant buyer. I did that for a little while before being recruited for my current role at Elise Walker. I started as an assistant buyer there and am now an associate buyer.
I like my current role better because it's more at the forefront of fashion, buying for the latest season. At FabFitFun, it was off-price buying, which means purchasing products that vendors were trying to get rid of. It's a very different role, but I love it. It's fun to be on the progressive side of it.