I grew up in Glasgow’s East End & flunked out of college, now I’m at the helm of a major fashion label

A FASHION exec has revealed how she went from being a failure student to working with some of the world’s best-known designers.

Stephanie McCartney grew up in Glasgow’s East End.

She always had an eye for fashion but when she went to college for the first time in 2009, she admits she didn’t take it seriously.

But failing was the wake up call she needed – and now she sits at helm of mega brand Alexander McQueen and has worked with the likes of Gucci and Prada.

Stephanie said: “It is overwhelming and an incredible privilege to be working for a brand that I never imagined I would ever get to work for. Little Stephanie would never say that that was even on the cards.”

The now 32-year-old spent her formative years in Baillieston.

As a teen she scraped a place in Kelvin College’s fashion design course in 2009.

But things did not go as planned.

Only child Stephanie said: “I never ever, ever applied myself, I genuinely didn’t take it seriously. I would rather have gone with my friends, I got in by the skin of my teeth.”

Putting ‘silly things’ first saw the young student fail her first year of studies leaving her gutted when she had to leave the college.

She said: “I was prioritising friends, shopping, and silly things rather than my studies. I was still quite immature. It became even more difficult when my dad became seriously ill.

“There was a lot of time where I didn’t attend because I was trying to be there for him.

“Having to leave Glasgow Kelvin College after just one year was the biggest wake up call I’ve ever had. It was the first time someone said, ‘you can’t continue, you didn’t do enough and it’s all over’.

“It was so devastating. The absolute shame and embarrassment of having to tell your parents is something I’ll never want to relive. I owe everything to them for giving me a second chance.” 

Six months later grateful Stephanie, then aged 17, was given a chance to try again thanks to college lecturers who accepted her application to enter a fashion business course. 

She said: “I just needed somewhere that recognised my potential and I owe them everything. Every single lecturer said, ‘of course you can try again, we know you can do this’.

“I had let myself down,  I let them down and my parents down. I wanted to prove them right for giving me a chance and I wanted to prove to everyone else that I could do it. I wanted to do fashion and I stuck to my guns.”

Stephanie worked to get her HNC before getting a into the final year of a Fashion Management degree at Robert Gordon University. Graduating led to Stephanie pushing herself to apply for a Pret a Porter internship in London, which she secured. 

She said: “The shock was unbelievable, that little girl who failed before didn’t want to fail anything again in her life.

“To have that sense of validation was just so overwhelming, I couldn’t believe it. It was like one of the most emotional things that’s ever happened to me.”

Once that came to an end, she landed a role with e-commerce giant, Farfetch before working at the world-renowned Dubai Mall in the United Arab Emirates.

After a stint there she began a top job at Harrods liaising with the most coveted designer labels.

And early last year, she caught the eyes of bosses at Alexander McQueen where she remains to this day as the firm’s senior worldwide E-Concession and marketplace manager, her dream role managing a team of five of the label’s e-commerce operations around the world.

Grateful for her college years, Stephanie advises young Scots to trust themselves and know that dreams are more in reach than they may think. 

She said: “I would tell younger Stephanie and other students to trust yourself, be confident in what you bring to the table, and know that your dream is way more in your reach than what you think. 

“Raise your hand, volunteer, and make yourself known because it’s way more in your hands than what you think.

“The most important lessons I learned at Glasgow Kelvin College, I wouldn’t have learned until a much later date otherwise. The college experience brings to light what you need to work on, how you actually operate under pressure under stress, or how you cope going into new things. You’re able to make mistakes.”