INSIDE BURBERRY: An Insight on the Luxury Fashion House from a Junior Art Director

Nov 14, 2017
4 min read

Familiarisation of briefs, organising meetings, supervising photoshoots as well as working on smaller side projects - the role of a Junior Art Director overseeing fashion campaigns is not your normal 9-to-5 office job. Central Saint Martins graduate and recent member of Burberry's Art Direction team, John Cubillan talks us through what it's like working for such an established fashion brand, his typical schedule, the art of 'directing', securing the role and advice for aspiring fashion professionals.

DT: What is your typical weekly schedule like?

JC: I don’t really have a ‘typical’ schedule. Every week is different when you’re working at Burberry. Monday rolls in and I’m just checking emails, catching up on last week’s work and reading up on current affairs. News, articles and issues – anything surrounding the fashion landscape or just the world in general. After that it’s just catching up with the current projects I’m working on or starting on new projects if I’ve been assigned new ones. The middle of the week usually consists of meetings with the people I am currently working on projects with to stay updated. Alternatively, I could be supervising photoshoots for projects and then overseeing the results over the next couple of days – it really depends.

DT: How many projects do you usually work on?

JC: It varies. A lot of the time, the Art Direction team get short projects that take a couple of days. Other times, we get bigger projects that can take up to 2 weeks or longer. Projects aren’t just a quick hand in either, There’s a lot of back and forth consultations between members of the team and members of the board; the senior management etcetera. This process can take a week or two itself. So, we have big projects and smaller projects on the side, we could be working on multiple projects simultaneously.

DT: What does the job of a Junior Art Director entail?

JC: As a Junior Art Director, I’m more involved in fashion campaigns and overseeing photoshoots. The Art Direction team create concepts for the shoot and are in charge of the projects. The pre-production process of a project normally takes two weeks. The first week consists of creating concepts and ideas for the shoots; the models, the photography style, the location. We present these ideas to the Head of Creative who has the final say on the status of the proposed photoshoot. Once it’s approved, we work with the production team who sort out the budgets and contact agencies, photographers and location scouts to discuss availability and payments. After the two weeks, the shoot happens. As the Art Director, you have the vision. You have to direct everyone. From the stylist, models and photographers. You have to be there to direct all aspects of the shoot, which is a lot of responsibility on your part.

DT: Would you say that directing is a difficult task?

JC: You need to have awareness of dynamics and people, finding the right balance which isn’t always easy. You’re working with creative people who like to be independent and express their own artistry. They don’t like being told what to do, so you have to be aware of how to direct them and say things in a way that doesn’t limit their creative freedom. You can’t be blunt and say that something isn’t working. You need to be able to build on feedback in a constructive way so they benefit from it.

DT: Are there certain things that Art Directors should be aware when they’re overseeing photoshoots?

JC: We need to ensure that shoots are on brand. Burberry is very strict on what they publish. Since they’re a luxury brand, they want to keep the luxury aesthetic and image. Before anything is published online, it goes through a lot of approval. It needs to communicate the right language/identity associated with Burberry. Little things can cost a lot for the brand. Right now, we are working on two big campaigns. Every week we have a shoot that we upload on social media. Although the shoots are quite small, they still have a big budget. A small shoot can cost up to 40k so off brand mistakes in shoots can be very costly.

DT: Working with Burberry is your first proper job; how did you manage to secure the job?

JC: Landing the job was difficult. The competition is insanely high and loads of people apply for Burberry because they know it’s a good brand. The interview process was quite long because I ended up getting five interviews with five different people. The first one was a phone interview; the second one was an interview with my boss. They saw my work and my portfolio; they were excited because it was what they were looking for. They then gave me a two-week project, which I presented to the Senior Art Director and the Senior Vice President of Operations. I realised it wasn’t just the quality of the work. You can produce advanced-level work on paper, but if you don’t come across as engaging and passionate then you’re not the winning candidate. Every week I contacted Burberry to see if they had any updates on whether I got the job. I waited a month before I heard anything and then waited another month for the decision.

DT: Do you have any advice for upcoming fashion professionals?

JC: Put yourself out there. I recommend getting internships and placements. Fashion is such a difficult industry to get into. It’s super competitive and relies, the majority of the time, on the people that you know and the connections you build. Companies want to see experience. They want to know what you can bring to the table and how you applied yourself to do the work you interned for. That’s how you build your contacts and that’s how you get to know people. It’s hard work especially if you’re just starting out. You need to put in a lot of time and effort. It’s good practice. It’s a dog-eat-dog world. The competition is intense but the reward is satisfying.