Being in the right place at the right time can be what makes a career in the media so exciting, but two Coleg Gwent media students also proved a little initiative can go a long way after a chance encounter with a TV fashion icon led to the work experience of their wildest dreams.
Whilst filming a documentary on teen fashion for their course in National Diploma in Creative Media Production, students Sasha Tiley and Leah Buffin happened to be filming in Cardiff city centre on the same day that TV fashion presenter Gok Wan was also in the city filming his latest programme, ‘Gok’s Clothes Roadshow.’
The budding film makers, based at Coleg Gwent’s Pontypool Campus, took the initiative and put some interview questions to his publicist, and they were delighted when the presenter of ‘How to Look Good Naked’ met them personally to answer their questions.
Asked about teen fashion, the star told students: “Fashion has and always will be important to teenagers. Teen fashion is a time to experiment! Find your unique style which will shape your fashion decisions of the future.”
Asked about positive and negative portrayals of fashion in the media, he said: “It’s difficult to determine between the bombardment of fashion information being positive, because it gives choice, or negative because it puts pressure on teenagers to keep up with fashion and to fit into a niche. It’s bad to put people in certain boxes or pigeon hole them, because that becomes suppressive.”
“Gok’s answers about teen fashion for our documentary were really interesting,” said sixteen-year-old Leah Buffin from Blaenavon. “He talked about teenagers having fun experimenting with fashion, and avoiding stereotyping people based on it.”
The star also invited them back for the programme’s fashion show at the Millennium Centre the following day. Behind the scenes at the event, students got the inside track on how the programme was put together, picking up skills and advice from the production team, and made valuable media contacts.
Leah, who hopes to become a professional camera woman after her studies and university, said: “Going behind the scenes on such a big show has given me a good insight into the profession and helped me focus what particular area I want to work on in the media industry.”
Well aware of the demanding and competitive nature of a career in the media, Leah said: “Part of being behind a camera means being patient, waiting hours for the right shot, but it is well worth it. Seeing what was involved, even the less glamorous bits, has made me more determined than ever to work hard for a media career.”
Their tutor Katie Lloyd said: “Sasha and Leah should be very proud of themselves. It was a mixture of luck and being proactive, but they didn’t hesitate in taking such a good opportunity for the benefit of their project work. In the long term it may even help their future careers in a very competitive industry where networking and good experience are so important. We are very grateful to Gok and the programme makers for giving our students such a great experience.”
