Meet Louisa Rogers, a remarkable individual seamlessly managing the worlds of fashion, academia, and her ongoing studies. As the founder of ‘Trendlistr’ and ‘Studio Courtenay’ vintage fashion brands known for their unique and high-quality pieces, and a lecturer at Northumbria, Louisa embodies the essence of multitasking and dedication.
In this interview, Louisa navigates the challenges of running a fashion brand, teaching, and pursuing her own studies. Her story reflects determination, resilience, and a commitment to excellence in various aspects of her life.
Louisa Rogers modelling a vintage skirt for her brand Trendlistr
Louisa never planned to go into education, when she finished her Master’s, her fashion brand became a gateway into a whole new career she never saw coming. This all started when she won a grant in a competition though Newcastle University back in 2015.
Her vision was a platform that allowed you to shop for vintage clothing without being an expert, meaning you didn’t have to spend hours scrolling through Ebay with search terms that were only available if you were ‘in the know’ (this was back before Depop had really taken off) through this she was invited to start teaching on the fashion communication course at Northumbria to share her experiences as someone working in the fashion industry.
The Trendlistr Instagram @trendlistrvintage
She told me that she’s found teaching “really fun” and that even as an introvert she found running a small business to be quite isolating, so teaching allowed her to get out and about and talking to people. She shared something that I’m sure many people looking to break into the fashion world can relate to, saying going down the fashion path was “always quite discouraged” and though her parents did come around to it when they saw how serious and passionate she was, Lousia has always felt strongly that “even though the creative economy and fashion is a huge part of the British job sector and that it has created a lot of value in this country we still see it is something that is kind of frivolous”.
Going into teaching meant she had the opportunity to shift people’s mindsets and help the arty kids like her growing up who were looked down on for being more creative than academic and aid them in valuing their skillsets.
Louisa Rogers
Louisa said that some of the most fulfilling parts of the job are seeing her students develop their personal identities, style and creative outputs and that not only does she get to inspire these talented young creatives, but she is often inspired by them too.
Her students allow her to stay more plugged into current trends. She loves to see what they’re wearing and how they each interpret trends and put individual spins on them stating that “you get to see more experimental fashion than you would get in a more conventional degree program”. This all comes together and is a big help in how she chooses to market her brand, gaining insight from those who have a more deep-rooted knowledge of day-to-day trends that she simply doesn’t have the time to keep up with.
Louisa Rogers
Being diagnosed with ADD, Louisa has faced some barriers in trying to balance everything she has going on, so she shared some strategies on how she manages and ways to stop life from getting too messy and chaotic. She recommended a Google calendar, hers is apparently colour-coded “within an inch of her life” to make sure nothing goes amiss. Breaking things down into actions also helps by letting her follow through with tasks and do things step by step. Although these aren’t foolproof because of course no one is perfect, they help whittle down time spent feeling panicked and disorganised.
Louisa Rogers graduating with her second masters earlier this month
Louisa also told me how she’s really enjoying how her life is set up at the moment as she isn’t a traditional academic, this means she can stay flexible and have a foot in both the industry world and in teaching. “It keeps things interesting day to day because not only are you reading about things and thinking about them, but you are also doing them at the same time.”
I also asked her what keeps her motivated and she told me “What keeps me going is that everything is super interesting, I’m not doing this stuff because someone is telling me I have to do it and I’m super lucky for that!…..it’s such a privilege to do what you are interested in so why wouldn’t you want to work hard for that”.
To conclude the interview, Louisa also provided some tips on how to break into the fashion industry as a young person and here’s what she told me:
-Be reliable
-Be transparent
-Skills are teachable, a good attitude is not
-Always follow up if someone doesn’t get back to you
-Be a good communicator
-Own it if things go wrong and try to find a solution
-Be proactive
-Research people before contacting them
-Put the effort in!
Follow Louisa @lougrogers @trendlistrvintage on Instagram for her upcoming projects such as an event on the meaning and symbolism of pink in fashion, politics and popular culture (hopefully happening in April 2024 at Northumbria) also follow her progress in academia as she aims to start pursuing a doctoral degree.
