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- NETWORK -
Dior Bediako is a woman of many forces. Since graduating from University in 2013, leaving Burberry and guest lecturing at UCA, she has created an incredible platform for young fashion creatives.
Pepper Your Talk is a community of support based on delivering critical information needed to navigate the fashion career crossroads. PYT is a platform that is phy-digital. What is phy-gital you ask? It is the disconnection from your screen for just a moment to speak to people face-to-face and build your career network.
Pepper Your Talk came around when Dior was looking online and there weren’t any existing roles in the fashion industry that her skills matched up with. But brand partnerships was something she definitely wanted to pursue. With zero experience, she didn’t just run with it, she sprinted towards it. Burberry was the company Dior was working for when she realised all she wanted to do was to help young fashion professionals. No one was doing it and years later, Pepper Your Talk is still the only ones doing it. The idea was to share everything she had learned in her career and brand partnerships, then return to full-time employment. That did not happen and I am definitely grateful it didn’t.
"ONCE YOU BUILD A HOLISTIC VIEW OF SUCCESS, YOU WILL THRIVE" - Dior Bediako
The Junior Network is an extension of Pepper Your Talk. It is a members club for young fashion professionals. It is open to anyone in their first or second job with under 4 years experience who are keen to learn and keen to develop a network for themselves. Want 1-1 help? The Junior Network is here for you.
I ask Dior how it feels to know that she is literally building the next leaders of the fashion industry. “It excites me immensely, it’s so exciting to know we are supporting peoples careers and building their confidence. We are connecting them to their potential business partners or bosses. It is such a beautiful thing to know you are having an impact on someone’s career.” People are going to be working for the next 50-60 years, which is a hell of a long time. “Humans thrive on human interaction and the fact that we are facilitating that with these moments where young fashion people connect to each other and really start building relationships from the very beginning is amazing that we help with those moments.”
In answer to the biggest threat to a woman’s career, Dior straight away said confidence - without a doubt. From backing down from asking for more money, going for a job they want or building a network; girls are stopping themselves from excelling further. Knowing and identifying your barriers to then work on them is a powerful tool to behold. It is all about the confidence, learning to take criticism and turning it into something powerful.
But it isn’t all about your career. “You should never focus on building your career,” says Dior, “if you keep giving and giving to your career, it is easy to believe you “are what you do”, when in reality you aren’t.” It’s all about the balance. From reading, learning, and relationships. They may not be equal but find time for everything so you feel whole.
You aren’t your job description. It is as simple as that. The more you spend time understanding yourself; what makes you happy, sad or stressed, will then give you that holistic picture of yourself. You will be so much stronger at life in general. “We don’t just speak about how our Junior Network girls keep their head up at work but also how they can get ahead of their needs, how they can feel better and money and feel good.” Success will never be career career career.
Success is when you truly feel happy and whole.
Growing up, all Dior wanted to be was Naomi Campbell. Looking at her, she was the only visible black woman in the fashion world. But as she grew older Dior found all she wanted in life was to be a prominent black woman in fashion. Dior wanted to be what I saw what Naomi was. And you know what? I think she has most definitely lived up to that dream.
One simple aim of setting up a business to help people turned into this incredible platform and has given a network to creative professionals. The Junior Network runs yearly, starting every September with events running throughout the year for everyone - not just for The Junior Network members. Past speakers include Freddie Harrell, Henry Holland, Maghan McDowell and Jo Elvin. To name a few!
And yes, her name really is Dior. She was born a Dior and always will be.
Go follow @pepperyourtalk on Instagram and keep up to date with everything happening in the industry over at www.pepperyourtalk.co.uk!
Written by Hannah Mathieson.
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