Do you have different passions that you wish you could bring together? Bunmi is a student who has done just that, combining her law degree with her love for fashion to launch a website about fashion law. The Fashion Law Chronicles is an interactive online platform exploring the legal and business side of fashion. It’s a unique blog informing you on the latest fashion law news, frequent blog posts, legal and business tips, exciting interviews, recommended resources and top-notch events in and around the UK. We caught up with Bunmi to learn more about her project, the skills she has learned and her plans for the future.
What is your blog and what do you want it to achieve?
The Fashion Law Chronicles (TFLC) is truly a unique blog, as the content isn’t to do with ‘style’ but actually to do with the legal and business side of fashion. It is therefore a fashion law blog that seeks to educate and advise fashion designers, industry insiders, students, lawyers, those working in the business of fashion and those with a general interest, on the commercial and legal issues that affect the running of a fashion business. Recognising and raising awareness of the legal side of fashion (fashion law) is one of my primary aims, as fashion law is not common or even spoke about in the UK in comparison to the US. It is for this reason that TFLC will bridge the gap between fashion, the law and business.
What was your inspiration for the blog?
I attended an event back in February which was hosted by Frederica Boateng (founder of Let’s Talk Fashion Business) and Dior Bediako (founder of PepperYourTalk) and during networking, I mentioned to various people that even though I’m a law student, I wanted to start fashion writing but I didn’t have any experience or knowledge of the fashion industry. The response I got back from each and every person I spoke to was “Why don’t you start a blog?” At that point, it had never ever occurred to me that starting my own blog was the best way to gain experience in fashion writing but the only problem was, what was I going to blog about?! The day after the event, I sent an email to Frederica thanking her for the wonderful event and asking how I could pursue fashion writing and combine fashion and law together. From that email, birthed The Fashion Law Chronicles! From phone calls, emails, coming up with a name for the blog, deciding what content to feature etc. my fashion law blog really started to progress from just an idea at the time to something that was now becoming a reality.
Starting a new venture always has challenges, what has been your biggest and how have you overcome it?
Whilst TFLC journey has been really exciting so far, it has got to be one of my biggest personal challenges to date. Even though I’m an independent person who knows what she wants and knows how to get what/where I want to be, I have personally struggled with my confidence. It’s something that I’ve been dealing with ever since I was in primary school and over the last 7 years I’ve transitioned from the girl who said minimal words to a young woman who creates and seizes opportunities that come my way. Never would I have imagined that I would be starting my own blog! Also, very rarely do I encounter people who know what fashion law is all about or even know it exists for that matter and because of this, I don’t have a lot of people and wide access to UK resources to guide me through this journey. However, that hasn’t deterred me from what I am doing and instead I’ve had to improvise by using what’s currently available to me whether they are UK or US content such as websites, books and podcasts to fill in the gaps.
What new skills are you gaining by undertaking this challenge?
I have to say that since starting TFLC, I have gained so many new skills and actually improved the skills that I have already grasped. As the founder and chief-editor of TFLC, I’ve had to now use my leadership skills when it comes to things like decision making or giving out instructions; everything that I do and say within my role is now on show and reflects through TFLC. If I want TFLC to be successful and fulfil the mission statement, it all starts from the way I lead. Even though I would like to think I have super networking skills, I must say my networking game has just gone up by far! I cannot stress the power of networking especially within the fashion industry and legal profession, I have literally connected and built relationships with so many people in the little time that I have started TFLC and it’s amazing to see how fast my network is growing!
What are your plans for the future?
With regards to the blog, my plan for the future is to expand The Fashion Law Chronicles beyond being an online platform and actually bring TFLC to universities, law firms, fashion businesses etc. across the UK. As mentioned earlier, Fashion Law is currently not recognised as a legal area in the UK and very few people know it exists. In fact for the first time, London College of Fashion will be offering Fashion Law as a short course- so there is definitely a place for fashion law in the UK and I believe that everyone should be aware and have access to this niche area. In terms of myself, I actually want to pursue a legal career as a barrister specialising in Family Law ( a totally different area in contrast to fashion law!) so after I graduate, I will be going to law school as a continue the route to becoming a barrister.
Check out Bunmi's blog here. If you have a business or project to share, get in touch with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and/or apply for the Varsity Pitch Competition for your chance to win £10,000 equity free.
