Alumni
Grad is a Creative Producer at Audio Network in London
Visual Communications Graduate Kendra Abel was born in Toronto, Canada and raised in Vancouver, B.C. from the age of six. After receiving a degree from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, she moved to the West Coast to attend FIDM Los Angeles where she scored an internship with Dolce&Gabbana with the help of the Career Center. Kendra received her Professional Designation degree from FIDM in 2010, and continued working for the Italian fashion house in entertainment public relations before earning an MBA and working for Shiseido Group’s portfolio of beauty brands. A role as Beauty Project Manager for Victoria Beckham brought Kendra to London where she’s currently a Creative Producer for Audio Network. We caught up with this globetrotting grad to learn more about her exciting journey.
What was your path to FIDM? I was living in Montreal, a vibrant city for Canadian fashion and the arts, so I focused my extracurriculars on volunteering backstage for local fashion shows and volunteering for Phassion, McGill’s annual student fashion show, where I discovered a real interest for marketing and visual production. In my final year at McGill, I challenged myself creatively to design my own capsule collection for Phassion’s ‘Circus’-themed show. I self-taught myself how to sketch up looks and how to sew, bought my first sewing machine, and designed three looks to feature as a student designer in the show.
While sewing was not my forte, the experience helped me realize that sitting at a sewing machine and designing was not my true passion, however art direction and styling was. The summer before I graduated university, I visited FIT in New York to start exploring potential post-grad programs, however FIDM was the best fit for me. I also wanted to switch things up and move from the colder East Coast to warmer West Coast, so I only applied to FIDM and I can still remember exactly where I was standing when the acceptance call came through from Kathi [Gilbert] with the good news!
How did you choose your major and campus? I chose Downtown Los Angeles campus because LA was a bigger city with more networking opportunities and brand offices for internships. I also had two friends in the program who started a quarter ahead of me and vouched for the campus and courses offered there. I chose Visual Communications as my major due to the breadth of courses that would allow me to explore different visual skill sets and figure out where my strengths were.
What led you to pursue an MBA after working in the fashion industry? I always say to anyone I mentor that it’s important you explore all paths available to you before coming to a decision on an MBA. And I did exactly that. I had reached a stage where I wasn’t feeling challenged in VIP PR and found myself ideating more strategic brand marketing or partnership ideas, so I started interviewing for roles in that space to feel that out. At the same time, I felt there was a gap in my Marketing knowledge because my BA was in Art History so pursuing an MBA would offer me a crash course into broader Marketing, Brand and Business Strategy functions outside PR.
As I began to research programs, the Schulich School of Business really stood out as they had an exchange program with ESSEC Business School in Paris, so I could carry on specializing in luxury retail goods. I spent a full year weighing both options and when finally faced with a job offer or MBA acceptance letter, I ultimately decided it was time for a new adventure. Plus, who would say no to Paris?
Tell us about your time at Dolce&Gabbana: Fun fact: I was hired at Dolce&Gabbana as Entertainment PR Assistant off the back of an internship in my last semester at FIDM. I will always be thankful for the support and mentorship from my FIDM Career Advisor, Lynne Stroner, who made the introduction to Dolce’s HR team for my interview. The LA office was the North American hub for Entertainment PR, so as PR assistant, my role was to grow the brand’s relationships with Hollywood’s top stylists and the media through product placement, partnerships, and events.
Memorable moments include co-styling a young Justin Bieber for his first Golden Globes red carpet and scouring the Los Angeles jewellery district for extra crystals to make Scarlett Johansson’s 2012 Met Gala dress sparkle. I also had to hand carry that gown to New York pre-Met Gala on my birthday, but that’s another story. The best aspect of fashion PR was working with the incredibly talented & creative fashion stylists who I still collaborate with as I continue to build my styling portfolio via assisting freelance and producing in-house music videos and photoshoots.
You also worked in various roles at Shiseido. What did you most enjoy about working in the beauty industry? Yes, Shiseido Group owns a portfolio of luxury/premium beauty brands and fragrances, including Dolce&Gabbana, Alaïa, and Laura Mercier. I managed PR and creative projects across Shiseido’s portfolio of brands, so I most enjoyed that the role felt more like working at a creative agency with a variety of projects on-the-go at any one time. There is so much personal discovery in beauty and great storytelling; it was so fun to learn the story behind a scent or how to create that perfect smokey eye evening look.
Then you were a Beauty Project Manager at Victoria Beckham. The biggest highlight was the opportunity to work in a head office environment and manage end-to-end all aspects of the launch in partnership with Estée Lauder. Coming from Shiseido Group, I was equipped with all the right tools and expertise to collaborate with VB’s in-house marketing, creative, e-commerce, and retail teams to make the launch a success. One memorable highlight was pitching how-to tutorial video content into the comms plan which resulted in a collaboration with Vogue and also collaborating with Sephora to manage video content production for an IG takeover. Victoria’s success with the VB x Estée Lauder capsule collections were a stepping stone to her launching her own beauty line, Victoria Beckham Beauty, so I’m grateful I had the opportunity to contribute to that success story.
What led you to Audio Network? London has a large freelance industry, and Victoria Beckham was my first long-term London contract. When that wrapped, I landed at Audio Network via an agency referral. Though Audio Network is in the music industry, my job function as Creative Producer combines all creative management aspects of my previous roles in fashion and beauty in that I manage all in-house production for our brand campaigns, photoshoots, content, digital, gifting, and events, in collaboration with global marketing stakeholders.
When I joined, I was the creative team’s second hire so I also had the unique experience of setting up an in-house Creative Services team from defining briefing templates and production processes to expanding the team’s capabilities by hiring in additional design and copy talent. Now in my fourth year, I head up a team that includes Studio, Copy, and all creative freelance bookings (Producers, Designers, Video Editors, Photographers). This team fluctuates between four to 13 people during key campaign periods as we hire on project-specific talent, so it’s incredibly fast-paced and busy at times.
As a Creative Producer, I most enjoy the hands-on aspects such as being on set at campaign shoots or music videos assisting with art direction and styling. With my PR background, I also love producing events and client gifting briefs, working with various creative suppliers to bring an idea to life and create those Instagrammable moments.
What do you love most about living in London? London is a vibrant international cultural hub with so many interesting, creative people that keep you energized and inspired. That’s why I love my job — depending on the marketing brief I have the opportunity to work with amazing new talent every week.
Keep up with Kendra on Instagram @kendraabel.
Categories: Visual Communication Alumni
