The new CSM alumni platform bridging the gap between students and grads
This is A HOT MINUTE WITH, a quick-fire interview series championing all the rising talent catapulting into fashion, art and music’s fickle stratosphere. From pinch-me moments to bad dates and even worse chat-up lines, think of it as an overindulgent conversation – like the ones you have in sticky club toilets at 4.A.M. Except these guests don’t regret the overshare…
Courtesy of @csmalumniclub
Remember those things we once had called hopes and dreams? Holidays booked to coastal islands promising a holiday romance and flight full of heartbreak? In any case, Covid - which selfishly celebrated its first birthday of late - has single handedly dashed our chances of getting close to a sweaty club to nailing down a job and everything in between with the never-ending saga of lockdowns and quarantines.
For the students, both current and graduating, at universities such as CENTRAL SAINT MARTINS, it’s been a nightmarish adventure studying practical courses completely online. Instead, degrees have promised cancelled lectures, broken Zoom links (don’t even get me started on the disgrace that is Microsoft Teams), studios and libraries closed, facilities inaccessible and thousands of pounds wasted on studying a course in the discomfort of our home. Lest our children forget the anxiety we went through ensuring our microphone and cameras are turned off for a bathroom pit-stop or holding our laptops to the ceiling with hopes of a better wifi connection.
And yet, maybe those currently studying are the lucky ones? If you’re in placement year or a recent graduate, many companies, brands and publications are on a hiring freeze, unwilling and unable to take on interns or new staff members in the wake of a total economic crisis (so they say). “Finding an internship was like chasing the holy grail,” says third-year CSM fashion student CÉCILE BOUSSELAT who, together with MAÏSSANE ZINAÏ have taken measures into their own hands to launch the CSM FASHION ALUMNI CLUB, an initiative that aims to connect students with internships, jobs and graduates.
“Our ultimate goal for the club this year and for the future is to create a common place so that all these talented students around the globe can feel like they are physically part of this brilliant creative family, regardless of where they decide to establish themselves after graduation,” Zinaï explains. “We want to make you feel like you’ll never really leave CSM. This would help tremendously with internship opportunities but also collaboration between fashion design and fashion communications pathways.”
The club also features a Family Programme, offering students one-to-one virtual meetings with past students. “Life at CSM can be overwhelming,” says Bousselat. “Finding help from other fellow students that went through the same struggles, not so long ago, can make things simpler. Having this circle, this family in which friendships blossom is part of the CSM experience helping students to grow in an environment that has your back.”
The reputation of Central Saint Martins, for both its alumni and ability to nurture the most innovative students across design and communication is profound spanning everyone from ALEXANDER MCQUEEN STELLA MCCARTNEY, RICCARDO TISCI, JOHN GALLIANO, KATIE GRAND, KIM JONES, ALEXANDER FURY, IB KAMARA, CHARLES JEFFREY, CHRISTOPHER KANE, GRACE WALES BONNER, DIPETSA, SIMONE ROCHA…the list goes on. But until now, there hasn’t been a singular platform for its extensive network of creatives.
Ahead of their launch, the founders gathered to share their thoughts on CSM life, the fashion industry at large and how students and graduates can get involved with the CSM Fashion Alumni Club.
Jeffrey Thomson: Describe CSM in 3 words?
Maïssane Zinaï: Daily. Adrenaline. Dose.
Cécile Bousselat: Fashion’s Microcosm.
JT: Best thing you’ve overheard on campus?
MZ: The piano in the hall, playing in a bubble for more than an hour after a full day running everywhere from workshop to studios to library.
CB: Tipsy friends singing cheesy karaoke songs after an emotional crit!
MZ: And the cider pause at 6:00pm!
JT: Favorite tutor?
MZ and CB: Heather Sproat and Anna-Nicole Ziesche of course! They are the BA Fashion Design Womenswear tutors and complement each other beautifully.
JT: Worst fashion trend you’ve participated in?
CB: I was very gothic for years but the worst was the scene phase.
MZ: I’m currently growing my silver braided rats-tail haircut. Maybe I'll regret it in a few years or maybe never?
JT: Style icon?
CB: DEVON AOKI, it's more like a muse.
MZ: At the moment it is LOUS AND THE YAKUZA. Also Trinity both in Zion and in the Matrix.
JT: Which designer are you most excited about at the moment?
MZ: YUHAN WANG, STEFAN COOKE, and I have a renowned obsession with Kim Jones.
CB: ERNESTO NARANJO, GOOM HEO, ROBERT WUN.
JT: What’re you looking forward to this year?
CB: Sitting on the grass on a sunny day.
MZ: Sitting on the grass on a sunny day too, but after finding some money to complete my unfinished projects.
JT: Any last words?
CB: Slow down the fashion industry!
MZ: And keep giving voices to the new generations - we have so much to offer!
If you are a CSM undergraduate, postgraduate student or alumni from a Fashion Design or a Fashion Communication pathway, become a member by following our Instagram @csmalumniclub and fill out the form in our bio!
For any enquiries, email media@csmfashionalumniclub.com