Join Alexa Chung’s Vogue Visionaries Online Class

When I think of an all-time favorite fashion designer, I think of Alexa Chung. She’s worked her way up in life exploring several career paths and is an icon to those looking to break into the creative industries. Now, she’s featured in the second of eight classes from British Vogue and YouTube’s new Vogue Visionaries series, offering inspiration, practical advice and words of wisdom on how to succeed in her chosen field. 

Divided into five chapters, Chung’s class covers the birth of her clothing brand, drawing board, signature style, building a business and notes to her younger self. She touches on the challenges she’s had and things that she’s proud of.

Coming from a creative family, it wasn’t a stretch to imagine that Chung would end up in the realm of fashion. However, in the run up to founding her own company, it’s interesting to discover that her commitment was heavily influenced by other people’s expectations, rather than her own. 

Chung is open to vulnerability, giving us access to what epitomizes her vision behind-the-scenes. For the eponymous brand Alexa Chung, a trench coat was the initial lens through which everything could happen. Chung uses being ‘a magpie for vintage’ to her advantage, mixing masculine and feminine vibes.

As Stella McCartney stated, “fashion is not for the faint-hearted,” yet Chung has managed to find peace by setting a singular goal at a time. She’s been able to achieve a completely transparent business, learning how to embrace her own abilities in the process. “My strength is new ideas all the time – and personality! Being able to take a snapshot of stuff that’s culturally relevant and digging into the past, connecting the dots between music, film, literature and fashion,” explains Chung. 

I admire how Chung herself is her own muse; she holds her brand accountable and makes clothes based on her personal style. “The best thing about running a business is that I have autonomy over my self image. This has been great for my self-confidence and rediscovering my voice,” says Chung. The second most rewarding thing is that “it’s an excuse to self-educate.”

Chung leaves us with encouraging messages: “Life’s too short not to try…being able to believe in yourself and give things a go – you might as well.” Most of all, “be true to yourself, work hard [and] be nice.”  

The series began with Naomi Scott and will continue with experts from the worlds of acting, beauty, music and more, including Sam McKnight, Celeste and Patricia Bright. Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful, hopes that these classes are “a step towards a bright and brilliant future.”

Stay up to date with the upcoming free and accessible masterclasses on British Vogue’s YouTube channel.

Next up, Gigi Hadid Plays Digital Fashion Game For Vogue