Q & A with Emma Fenton, Toronto Film School Graduate and Skilled Social Media Enthusiast

Recently, Toronto Film School had the opportunity to sit down with Emma Fenton, a graduate of the Marketing for Fashion & Entertainment Diploma program, aspiring fashion designer and a skilled social media enthusiast. She’s taken us through her story, the fashion marketing program at Toronto Film School and her advice to those who want to pursue a career in the fashion industry. You can follow her Instagram here.

TFS: Can you tell us a little bit more about yourself, the program you are in, your interests and how you came to Toronto Film School?

EF: I am currently in the Fashion Design Diploma program, but before that, I took the Marketing for Fashion and Entertainment Diploma program.

I have wanted to be in the fashion industry and a fashion designer since I was six-years-old and I picked up my first fashion magazine. In all honesty, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking at but I knew I loved it and HAD to be a part of it.

I looked at quite a few schools when looking at post-secondary education, but the Toronto Film School was the only school I applied to. I graduated high school a semester early so I could start the program in July because I was so excited and wanted to seize the opportunity as quickly as I possibly could, even though I was only 17 years-old. It seemed the best suited for me. It was in Toronto – the city I had dreamed of living in – and probably the best city in Canada for fashion, it’s a fast-paced program of 18 months meaning I get three years of education in only 18 months, which allowed me to complete my first college program at 19 and start my second one only 3 weeks after graduating.

TFS: Recently you had the opportunity to cover the Toronto Film School’s fashion show at Toronto Wonmen’s Fashion Week. What was your role at the event? Have you done anything like that in before?

EF: My role at Toronto Women’s Fashion Week was to cover the Toronto Films Schools social media, I was able to do Snapchat and Instagram stories as well as post to Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

I have done social media coverage many times in the past. I even covered the Toronto Films School‘s social media accounts at Fashion On Yonge and for the Toronto Film School Festival of Films. As well as work a lot with the Breakfast Clubs of Canada to cover their events, I even had the opportunity to cover their Black History Month trip to Ottawa. My current internship is as a social media manager and a content creator for an upcoming faux fur brand FURious Fur.

TFS: What do you plan to do after you graduate from the Marketing for Fashion & Entertainment Program?

EF: Currently I have an amazing internship job at FURious Fur a new faux fur fashion and accessories brand, where I get to do social media management and content creation. I get to apply my social media and digital marketing courses as well as my editorial and writing classes that I was able to take at the Toronto Film School.

Now that I have graduated from the Marketing for Fashion and Entertainment Diploma I have moved on to Fashion Design, and my plan after that is to have my own fashion label/brand that will be proudly made and Canada and be able to give back.

TFS: What goes into putting an event like EMERGENCE together? 

EF: I didn’t have a big hand in actually putting the show together, and I had probably one of the more laid back jobs of covering social media. But it’s never just putting it together on the day, there is a lot of work that goes on before the show, weeks even months. The show in the end though turned out incredible.

TFS: What did you think about the show? Any shout outs to the designers?

EF: I thought the show was absolutely fantastic. I thought all the collections looked amazing. It was so exciting to see students from my school show at Toronto Women’s Fashion Week. I even got to sit front row for the show, and although I was working social media while the show was on, I was able to see the fashions up close and it was so well done. A huge shout out to the designers for being able to complete those collections, now starting the fashion design program I can see how hard it is, and it is a lot of work. It paid off because the show and the collections were amazing.

 TFS: Did you have a favourite designer or collection from the show? What did you like about it?

EF: I loved Jordana Seguins collection. It was elegant and feminine streetwear with some grunge thrown in. I just thought the colours, patterns, fabrics and silhouettes all worked together and just made the collection look so amazing. It’s definitely something that I would buy and wear all the time.

TFS: Any advice for those who want to go into the industry?

EF: Be ambitious and don’t be afraid to go out of the box even if you know you’ll be judged for it. It is such a creative industry and it is your opportunity to express yourself however you want.

TFS: What was your favourite part of the Marketing for Fashion & Entertainment Diploma program at Toronto Film School?

There are a lot of things I loved about the Marketing for Fashion and Entertainment Diploma program, but my favourite thing about it would have to be that you get to experience EVERY part of the fashion industry and that you can almost do anything with this diploma. You can be a stylist, you can be a buying, you can work in advertising or marketing, you can be a writer or magazine producer, there is just SO MUCH that you learn and so much you can do.

Check out more highlights from the event by following Toronto Film School on Instagram. 

Learn more about our Marketing for Fashion & Entertainment program here.