Words by Elise Stavely
I am sure you are all familiar with the beautiful Aussie fashion brand Spell & The Gypsy. One of the remarkable faces behind the brand is marketing manager, Mel Carrero. A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending a live Zoom Session which featured Mel as a special guest. After being so intrigued with her experience within her career, I wanted to bring light to what I have learnt from Mel to you all.
About Spell
First of all, Spell & The Gypsy Collective can be described as a “modern-bohemian” fashion brand. Spell began in the vibrant coastal town of Byron Bay, formed by two sisters who developed a label inspired by a sense of nostalgia, vintage treasures and childhood memories.
What is a marketing manager?
If you’re not sure, a marketing manager is someone who basically manages how a brand or product is sold to an audience. As the marketing manager at Spell, Mel is responsible for many tasks that fall under marketing including strategizing, content creation, working on campaign shoots and working together with her close-knit team to project Spell’s voice and aesthetic that we all love.
About Mel
Mel is a self-described workaholic, and Marketing Manager at Spell, while working as a content creator on the side.
Recently I caught up with Mel to talk about fashion marketing, her advice for anyone aspiring to work in fashion and her current experience in working among the changes brought by COVID-19.
What have you done prior to your current position that allowed you to hold the position you hold today at Spell?
I have a degree in Media and Marketing, as well as spent a lot of time hustling my way to this job! I started off doing fashion retail whilst at university at lots of different Australian retailers (Diva, Cotton On, Sportsgirl, City Beach) and then I became a journalist at the local newspaper here before landing a job at a boutique marketing firm. Before Spell, I was the Marketing Manager at Lismore Square, which was a lot of retail marketing, so my foray into an online fashion brand was a little bit different, but because I had been spending my weekends creating my own blog and making contacts in the fashion world with influencers, I was a bit of a foot in, but had a lot of learnings along the way.
What would you describe as one of your career highlights?
There are really so many, but I think a couple in particular would be my first overseas campaigns I produced in Paris (which included me getting into fashion week in Paris wearing Kmart jeans, haha!) and meeting some of my fashion icons including InStyle editor Laura Brown, Nicole Richie, Jamie King Kourtney Kardashian and Rachel Zoe.
Was there anything in particular that sparked your love for fashion?
I think going op-shopping with my mum at a young age taught me to seek out the beauty amongst the racks, and I always loved to style my friends for events we’d go to. I didn’t actually realise I loved fashion ‘officially’ until I left school – like I never did textiles or anything which is so strange to me now! I worked in fashion retail in Sydney in my gap year and became obsessed and a friend of mine who was studying design told me I should definitely seek out a career in fashion... before then, I wanted to be a video editor, which funnily enough is what one of the co-founders of Spell did as a job before Spell!
As we know, marketing can involve so many different things, but what would a day in your life at work typically involve?
As we know, marketing can involve so many different things, but what would a day in your life at work typically involve?
There is no day that is typical – although that is a little different with COVID! It can be anything from a day of meetings strategising, working with the team, working on our policies and more back-end style things, to being on a campaign shoot or event, creating content and more. We definitely don’t get bored, ha!
What do you love most about working at Spell?
The variation of what we get to do, and our team. Our owners are visionary and lead with their hearts more than anything else. We are a business, and that requires a customer base, but it is actually so much more than that when it comes to the real purpose of the brand. It is very, very special!
What is an essential quality someone should have who aspires to work in fashion marketing?
You gotta be ready to hustle, get your hands dirty and work your way up! And be a jack of all trades as much as you can.
COVID-19 has affected aspects of many people’s jobs within the fashion industry. - How have you been impacted by COVID-19 within your current position?
I have had to adapt my role as we did experience some downsizing in our team so that meant taking on some extra tasks. It has been a challenging and interesting time, but we are learning and growing – everything can be a lesson and hopefully a positive.
Do you have any plans or goals for the future you are working on?
Right now it is navigating interesting waters, but I do have some secret goals, ha! When it comes to Spell I love being involved from start to finish and overseeing that however I can, and working with the amazing team we have. Personally, I love creating content for brands, so I am looking to keep growing my profile in that way and hopefully add a bit of diversity when it comes to body positivity and role models to people’s feeds.
Finally, what advice do you have for someone aspiring to work in the fashion industry?
Be open to learn, be ready to work, be willing to do whatever it takes. Does your dream job not exist? Make it happen! I did so many shoots, collaborations, hours for free to get to where I am, and I also networked my little butt off. You can never have to many contacts and you can never be too kind – kindness means a lot and can get you very far!
To see more about Mel, take a look at her Instagram @melcarrero_
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