Blog by London Fashion Illustrator Elyse Blackshaw
After participating in the Unseen: Fashion and Figures Exhibition at London College of Fashion, I have been reflecting on by submission. I created three figures depicting Chanel looks from the Manchester Fashion show held in 2023. There was controversy over the brand capitalising off the North’s working-class culture without respecting the class struggle that defines the region. My Unseen in fashion illustration is working class identities.
I write the below honestly and sincerely. I am aware of my own privilege of being white British, growing up in a safe country with a loving family, clean water and access to food. The concerns I have from my experience is, if I found it challenging to enter the creative industry, how do others with even less financial security pursue their dreams? It can take a lot longer to achieve your goals due to a lack of financial stability, and it can feel like everyone around you is progressing faster. It feels frustrating and unfair. It makes you realise having a creative career is a privilege in itself.
I rarely discuss the specifics of my background or personal circumstances. For a long time, especially whilst growing up, I felt a deep sense of shame about my financial situation. The gap between myself and friends became most apparent during secondary school. Teenagers can be so judgemental! I felt shame over my parent's jobs not being as academic as others. I felt shame over not having been abroad on holiday, of not being accustomed to certain foods, for not having branded clothes, or having SKY TV. I felt so left out when all my friends could go on the school skiing trips whilst I stayed at home over half term. Superficial things that can feel really big when you are a teenager as other's opinions of you can make you feel so small. In my school in particular, I felt that there was a culture of judging others if they had less money. It was so ridiculous that some people were made fun of for bringing their P.E kit in an Aldi bag! Ok, so it was the early 2000's and it was a small minded, teenage mentality, but it really made me feel less than everyone else and ingrained an insecurity about not appearing "poor".
I grew up in a small town in Greater Manchester, where my dad worked as a bin man and later painted cars, whilst my mum looked after me and my two sisters before becoming a teaching assistant at a local school. My parents had never been to univeristy, and my dad worked so hard to buy his dream house on a road that overlooked a beautiful view of the valley and moorland. He was brought up on a pretty rough council estate in my town and managed to improve his lifestyle so that his family could benefit from a better life. My childhood was happy, and I lived in a really lovely place due to the sheer luck of postcode lottery i.e having my family history rooted in a pleasant area.
We never went on fancy holidays or had fancy things, but my parents made sure we had great birthdays and Christmas. I was quite shy as a young girl but had an alternate life through playing Barbie. They gave me so much joy and imagination, that my parents generously supported this love. Sometimes I would get new Barbies and other times they would get old ones donated off family friends whose children had grown up. I reflect on the sacrifices my parents made to make me and my sisters happy. I have so much respect for them, their work and dedication to being amazing parents. I used to think my dad being a car painter wasn't a good thing, but now I am older I realise he is incredibly hard working and creatively talented. He crafts a lot in his spare time. At 63, he is still working the same job! I wish he had the opportunity to follow his artistic talent, but his love as a father was greater than that.
As I left secondary school, I was aware that I had less financial freedom than some of my peers. I worked a part time job in a cafe, and was also entitled to the Education Maintenance Allowance during college of £30 per week, a means-tested payment for students from low-income households who stay on in school or college. During university, I worked at a local Tesco and lived at home. I commuted an hour to and from the Manchester Metropolitan University every day. After graduating with a First, I continued to work at Tesco despite dreaming of moving to London and completing an MA at a prestigious university. Many of my peers moved to London shortly after graduating to start their creative careers, whilst I stayed at home. For the next 3 years I sketched fashion illustrations at my mum's house and continued working in the supermarket.
Realising I needed a stable income to reach my own goals, I qualified as a textiles teacher, which eventually allowed me to save enough to finally move to London and pursue a master’s degree at the Royal College of Art (RCA), age 27. It took me a few years to have just enough to get through the first year of RCA. During my two year MA, I had to work part-time to support myself, which meant missing out on many social and educational opportunities. I was advised by one RCA tutor to "be cautious about taking on too much work... too much outside work can have a detrimental affect on your studies and can lead to exhaustion so please be careful of your health and wellbeing". Sadly I had no choice. The course fees were £18,000 and although I had a postgraduate loan of £10,000, it wasn't enough to cover the cost of living in London and materials for my studies. I needed to work in order to live and complete the course. Aside from missing out of education, I feel like I really missed out on developing friendships as whilst I was going to work my peers created deeper bonds. I would say, many of my peers I met had their course fees and/or living costs funded by family, they didn't have a part time job, and lived in affluent areas such as Notting Hill, South Kensington, and Soho. I once declared to a peer that I had no financial support from family for my MA. Shocked, they asked, how did you pay?
Covid hit about 7 months into to the first year of my MA, meaning I could not access my part time job. Everything at university had gone online, and before the university closed I requested a laptop. There were no student laptops for loan and so I was given access to a staff laptop. A few months later, the university opened on a 2 week in 2 week out rota, whilst also continuing with online learning. The university asked for the laptop to be returned. I explained that I couldn't afford a laptop at this time therefore could not access online learning, yet they insisted I returned the laptop. I found it shocking that student laptops weren't available under the assumption that all students would have access. Frustrated, I wrote a letter to my Head of Faculty and to the Dean to voice my concerns that university should not be exclusive to those who can afford it and advocating for more inclusive resources to ensure all students could benefit fully from their education. The Dean granted me a bursary to buy a laptop and to help with the rest of my course fees. I wondered how many students were suffering in silence due to financial shame? I was also granted something called the Continuation Fund, a tuition fee bursary from the RCA to support students to continue the second year of their MA.
Since graduating, I have been incredibly lucky to receive commissions so soon after finsinhing RCA, especially without any prior connections, network or agency. I am also incredibly lucky to be a qualified teacher, with access to flexible work at any given day. I couldn't have continued my creative career without a part time profession. The road to become an established fashion illustrator has been long, and there is still a very long way to go. It is really difficult without financial security. I often wonder, how long can I continue?
This lived experience deepened my commitment to supporting young creatives and promoting accessibility in the arts. Since becoming a qualified teacher in 2016, I’ve worked with young people aged 3 to 18, and through fashion illustration, I continue to engage, support, and inspire local communities, creating inclusive spaces where creativity can thrive.
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