Jacqueline Kilday, store manager, Vivienne Westwood
Jacqueline is the manager of the Glasgow branch of luxury fashion brand Vivienne Westwood, where she’s worked for the last year and nine months.
How did you get into retail?
Worked my way up in retail. I started as a sales assistant when I was at uni as a part time job.
What did you do education-wise?
I have a BA in community arts – totally not related to retail!
Have you worked with other fashion brands?
Yes, quite a few over 15 years. I started at sales assistant during uni and worked my way up through the years after I left uni.
How does working at Vivienne Westwood differ from other brands?
Standards must be of an exceptionally high standard at all times working in luxury retail. I am no longer in a corporate, fast fashion environment, where trends change from day to day. High street brands have a huge turnover of stock and these brands often take inspiration from the collections designers show at fashion week. In Westwood, I work with the ready to wear collections that are shown in Milan, London and Paris. Seeing these designs come from catwalk into my store is incredibly exciting. Vivienne Westwood clothes are completely timeless. It’s wonderful working with such beautifully crafted garments that people cherish.
What’s the best thing about your job?
One of my responsibilities as store manager is to select the pieces of each collection that I would to like to be available to purchase in my store. I go on buying trips twice a year to choose the stock for my store. Another amazing part of my job is working for an extremely strong woman that I have so much respect for. Dame Vivienne campaigns to stop climate change in order to save the earth and future generations, I am very proud to work for such a inspirational lady. You can find out more at www.climaterevolution.com.
What qualities and skills are important for a store manager?
Organisation, confidence, hard work and dedication
What’s your advice for anyone keen to get into fashion store management?
Always work hard and have respect for your store manager – working your way up in retail is the key. Never leave a job on bad terms – the retail world is small you never know who you will meet again in the future.
Check out Vivienne Westwood’s latest collections at www.viviennewestwood.com
