How this New York fashion student got her start in the creative industry

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Kendra Payne was a fashion student before pivoting to the creative industry. Having now worked on campaigns for L'Oréal, Ben & Jerry’s and YouTube, she tells us how she got her start in the advertising industry and why being a hostess taught her the problem solving skills needed for account management. 

Like every New York City girl, I just wanted to be a ‘fashion girl’. I was watching Sex and the City and I loved the clothes, and I loved getting dressed up, so I went to fashion school to study the business of fashion and I was bored. There were too many numbers, and not enough clothes, and it was definitely not what I had imagined. The school was on Fifth Avenue, and I was working as a hostess at a ​​French brasserie at Rockerfeller Centre when I didn’t have class. That job taught me problem solving. Everybody in Rockefeller thought they were royalty. I had to seat everyone from the Real Housewives of New York City to people who worked at CNN because I was in this hub in New York. It was like, “How dare I not have a seat? For them? Even though they did make a reservation?” Just making sure everyone was happy was a challenge. 

I decided to get into marketing because I felt like it would be problem solving, which I was enjoying. At the time, I didn’t really know what marketing entailed but I knew I didn't want to do fashion, so I dropped out, knowing I would need to start from scratch. I got an internship at Atrium, which was this poppin’ store in Soho. That's where I really figured out I could merge my love for hospitality and people and talking and marketing. I saw, for example, how we’d need to take pictures of the clothing and upload it onto the website, because without that we couldn’t reach our customers. It just clicked. After that, I started my own event company, and I started a blog called Hustle Monday.

Right before Covid happened, I was on Twitter and I saw an ad for D&AD Shift. I thought, “Shit, this is cool.” By then I knew I was a creative, but I didn't have a word for it. I was making graphics for my blog and I was setting up events for my friends, but I didn’t really have a title. Not having words to put into what you do, and then seeing it on Twitter, you're like, “Oh, my God, no, this is me, I can do this”. I got accepted into Shift, and the rest is history. I think it was six months after graduating that I got my first job. People think you can just immediately get a job after Shift, but it was still tough. Looking for a job is a full time job.

I was recently working at Kitchen Table, which is a small Black-owned creative marketing agency. I just wrapped on a L'Oreal project there. I’m proud that the contract has wrapped and I am gearing up to go back into job searching now and figure out my next step. I’ve also previously worked on projects for Ben & Jerry’s and YouTube.

Find mentors and take advantage of the time you have with your mentors. Also, really, really, really invest in your cover letter, your resume and your portfolio. Put the time in, because people can tell when you haven't put the time in. Finally, be flexible. We're all creatures of habit, right? We all like to do things our own way. And you know, it's worked this way this long, and it can't be broken, but be flexible, so you can continue to learn. 

Get in touch with Kendra Payne on LinkedIn. 

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D&AD Shift is a free, industry-led night school programme for new creatives. If you are over 18 and don't have a degree-level qualification, Shift is for you.