Renowned for her insightful presentations and workshops, delivered with great energy and passion, soon to be former WGSN’s Director of Consultancy, Vanessa Belleau, has always let her senses guide her. Channelling her surroundings and trusting her instincts, she tells us how she predicted her future in the most special way…
“Having a job for me is a 24-hour thing that is led primarily by passion, it never stops! And I love that I love what I do so much!”
Tell us about yourself, who is Vanessa Belleau?
I am a very energetic person who speaks loudly and boldly with a French-Caribbean accent. I laugh a lot and wear lipstick everyday! I am currently the Director of Consultancy at WGSN, the number one trend forecasting agency in the world. My job is to inspire clients to understand what is coming in terms of new products directions, consumer behaviours also, to support them in developing new strategies to prepare themselves for their future commercial success. The industries that I cover are fashion, beauty and home.
As a child, your dream was…
As a child, I was unsure about what I really wanted to do, but I knew that I wanted a job that would allow me to be myself and make other people feel good and be the best version of themselves because I love people! I was a bit of a geek, the ‘odd’ one out – the one getting the best grades with a big personality. I even jumped a class. At some point, I wanted to become a journalist or have my own talk show because I love to chat. I never thought that I would work in fashion! I didn’t have any connections in the fashion world and to a certain degree I still don’t LOL.
How did your career journey begin?
After studying two master’s degrees in Management and Business Administration at a business school in France, I wanted to export myself and work outside of France. I always felt European and not only French if that makes sense. Knowing that this was what I wanted to achieve, I had to work very hard and be the best that I could be to broaden my choices as I did not want to specialise in one area. Although Maths was not my forte, I attended a seminar in Market Research during my postgraduate studies because I knew the importance of data and the impact it would have in the future. This opened the doors to London, where I interned at Kantar Worldpanel. I stayed in the company for 4 years, in few roles where I covered Fashion and Beauty.
“You always have to be on top of your game”
Describe the way you see yourself and the added value it had on your career.
I look at myself as a beautiful tree with leaves and branches. I have a strong core and I always look to develop a new specific area – like growing more branches and leaves if that makes sense. Once I grasped knowledge about the competitive landscape and consumer behaviour at Kantar Worldpanel, I decided to learn how to build ad-hoc research programs so I moved on to a company called Conquest. I stayed for 1 year and a half, covering beauty product testing for L’Oreal, working with Pizza Hut, The National Lottery, Nationwide, etc – I wanted to broaden my expertise and discover new product categories. Then I wanted to deepen my knowledge once again, this time on branding and brand advertising research. How does advertising impact the perception of a brand? How do you keep consumers engaged? How do you win consumers with a new campaign? These questions brought me to Ipsos Connect; one of the leading market research companies specialising in brand and communication research.
At this point, you worked on projects outside of fashion.
Working for Ipsos gave me the opportunity to work on many FMCG categories including alcoholic beverages with InBev (Stella Artois, Becks, Budweiser), nutritional drinks & toothpastes with GSK and even tea with Tetley. I did still work a little on beauty with Boots No7 and 17 but much less than in the past.
Some people told me that I “lost some of my glamour” as I was not working in fashion anymore, but I believe that when you bring your a-game, you actually define your glamour. Glamour is all in the work that you do and what you bring to the job, not defined by the categories you work on as much.
Let’s talk about your job at WGSN, how did it happen?
I have known about this agency since my days at Kantar Worldpanel as I was always invited to an agency day at London College of Fashion, where one of their employees introduced the company to the students. Whilst working at a rather corporate company, I always thought that WGSN employees were a bowl of fresh air to be honest – so creative, quirky and cool!
To my surprise, I was headhunted for a Senior Consultant role at WGSN in 2015.
How was your interview process?
I loved the interview process to be honest! Straight away I knew that in this job, I would be able to be myself! During my first interview, I had a healthy debate on what femininity and feminine beauty meant at the time. I remember referencing the Dove advertising campaigns.
Overall, I had two interviews, then had to give a presentation on my analysis of the global menswear landscape. I loved this experience and I even thanked them for the opportunity.
The interview process lasted for few months so it made me really think about what I wanted to do differently in my career and I was already feeling like a winner.
I was actually convinced that I wouldn’t get the job, but I got the offer the next day! This proves that when you do things from the heart, it resonates with others and can take you closer to what you want.
What is a 24-hour day like for a Director of Consultancy at WGSN?
To be honest, every day is very different and that is the beauty of it. I wake up, meditate most days, read my emails, check relevant sources for inspiration, work on projects with the team. However, the next day, I could be travelling to meet clients to engage with them, working on insights and research. As fashion is so broad, you always have to be on top of your game and I tell my team that my expectations are very high: 98% excellence + only 2% mediocrity. It’s not a 9-5 job but that is what makes it exciting and challenging at the same time.
“The market always evolves so reinventing yourself is key.”
Tell us about your biggest career accomplishment, what made it so successful?
As a consultant, the number one thing that we are working towards is to drive or impact change in a business. I have accomplished it few times in my career and that is the best feeling ever!
One of my greatest memories was working with a client in El Salvador, Central America. They had a few doubts on whether they could achieve their creative and business goals but, with my support and getting them to trust me, they couldn’t believe their own accomplishments a year and a half later. When you see the growth and development of how people think and what they have implemented, it is very rewarding.
Another one of my achievements is that I have always been focused on coaching my team by empowering them to do better and be the best version of themselves.
What is the most important skill to have when approaching a business like WGSN?
At WGSN, there are different types of people working in different parts of the business. One thing that is very important overall is to have a humble ambition. You also need to be versatile and show your personality. It’s about having much more to you and being passionate about your work, than only having a fashion education.
What advice would you give to aspiring trend futurists?
Trust your gut and believe in your instincts. If you trust yourself, it will take you on the right path. I would also say do not put yourself in a box, give enough space for opportunities. The market always evolves so reinventing yourself is key.
Speaking about reinventing yourself, what is your next career move?
I have actually resigned from my position at WGSN to start a new exciting job at Disney where I will be working as Head of Fashion and Home Shopper Marketing. I start at the end of May and I feel blessed that I am getting this opportunity. Contact me in few months and I will let you know how everything is going ;)!
“Bring your A-game, believe in your work and be the best version of yourself ”
THE INSIDER
Tell us something most people don’t know about you. I come across as very confident but, I never take credit for myself. I also have doubts and that is what pushes me to be the best version of me.
What is your “must have” fashion item(s) ? I love glasses! I have 8 pairs with the same prescription! And you will often see me wearing denim on denim as my staple look.
Your best fashion prediction for next winter? 2017/18 We are going to see new and interesting shapes and it is all about being comfortable! Think oversize and big trousers and flared cuts, that is what is coming next!
What is your motto? If you believe you can do it, you will work hard and achieve it.
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