Using my YAAAYAYA
Why I started Keeping Up With The Fashion Students
If you are chronically online as I often find myself, you will have seen the yaaayaya trend on TikTok. Essentially, it’s about using your voice to its fullest potential. Now, my family can tell you that I cannot sing at all but I use my voice in other ways. Keeping Up with the Fashion Students (KUWTFS) is a series I started on my Youtube channel where I interview fashion students and alumni. What started off as a review of my second year became on opportunity to use my yayaya as a young journalist.
What was KUWTFS?
Let’s start by getting used to the acronym KUWTFS that stands for the title of the series: Keeping Up With The Fashion Students. I started KUWTFS after spending my free time binging the Kardashians at the end of second year. I knew I wanted to do a review of my time at London College of Fashion so far on my Youtube channel but I wanted it to be a bit more interesting and the name just came to me. It was supposed to be a one off video, but life had other plans.
It is now a series where I interview current and previous fashion students about their beginnings, their course and hopes for the future. This is my version of using my yaaayaya. As a young journalist, I made the decision a long time ago that I wasn’t going to stick to the usual script of interviewing people once they have accomplished everything they hoped for. While that is cool and definitely something I’d love to do, I wanted to use my voice differently.
I thought to myself, why wait for someone to get there. Where they are now is already an accomplishment. Young people need encouragement and exposure because it’s not easy to grow in confidence alone. I want this series to be an opportunity for students to feel validated and seen, to realise their potential and achievements. For some, just attending uni is already a big accomplishment. Many don’t realise how much they are doing, myself included, until it’s addressed head on. This will encourage not just my guests to continue, but also my audience to start their own creative interests.
Episode 1
The first episode is quite different to the following episodes. I was really just trying my best with what I had. It was shot on my phone in the uni during the summer holidays some time in June if I remember correctly. Initially, the review was going to be a sit down video by myself, but as a journalist, I knew that a couple extra voices and perspectives would elevate this video. I asked two of my classmates if they’d like to be interviewed and I had the best time. Speaking to your friends and interviewing them is very different and I got to learn things about them and their perspective that I hadn’t known previously. Something I alway say is that everyone has a story and something to say, they just need the space and opportunity to express themselves.
I recorded on two separate days and prepared the same questions to ask them and stitch together in the final video. We reviewed our experience so far studying fashion journalism and content creation while also looking back on our whole time and looking forward to what we will do in the future. The hardest part was probably interviewing myself as I recorded that section alone in a classroom and had to really think about my answers while also considering the production side of the video.
Looking back on that video, I am still very proud of it. There are some minor things I would change and that make me cringe a little such as audio quality. But it was a practice and the growth is being able to look back and appreciate my efforts and know what to do next.
Episode 2:
This is the official pilot episode for what KUWTFS is now and it was a whole production in itself. The first episode was done with the basics being a phone and tripod, while I went all out for this one. I hired a studio, had videography equipment, change of clothes and a team of 3 people working behind the scenes. Those four people were my sisters and I could not have done this without them. We set up cameras at different angles, I handmade question cards with the KUWTFS logo at the back…it was a whole thing and I LOVED it! This video took me much longer to edit because of some complications post production, but we got there in the end.
I interviewed Aswan Magumbe, a Central Saint Martins graduate who also studied fashion journalism. This was probably my favourite interview I have ever done. We talked about life before and during CSM, her graduation and what life looks like for her now. In all honesty, I needed this interview. I was starting final year and the weight of realisation that my time at uni was coming to an end hit me like a ton of bricks. This discussion with Aswan was refreshing and felt like a pat on the back to remind me and my audience that life doesn’t end after uni.
What you can expect:
The goal is to continue this series throughout my final year and a little bit after. Every episode from now will be supported by a blog post here on tea no sugar and and some fun content for socials. Whether you are or are not a fashion student, these videos are really just for people trying to figure it out. It’s not always about the final product, these interviews present the journey. If you’d like to be part of this series, I’d love to hear from you. You can contact me on Instagram via DM!
