Day in the life at ASOS with mentee Stephanie Daley

ASOS, one of the most exciting names in trend-driven fashion, opened its doors to Stephanie Daley through our mentorship program. Though, her journey started in 2016 with an internship at Alexander McQueen, where she got her first taste of the fast-paced, high-stakes world of design. This ignited her passion for creativity and craftsmanship, pushing her to complete an Art Foundation in Fashion Design at Kingston University in 2020. Afterward, she took a bold step into styling, working with YouTuber KSI as an assistant stylist—a role that fuelled her love for menswear and set the direction for her career.

While studying Fashion Design at Nottingham Trent University, she specialised in Menswear and worked as a tailor at Levi’s, sharpening her technical skills. During her final year, her talent stood out when she was selected for H&M’s prestigious Knit Programme in collaboration with the charity THEDO, tackling industry-wide diversity and inclusion challenges. Now at ASOS, Stephanie is living proof that breaking into the fashion industry is possible with perseverance. As a Design Assistant for Collusion, she’s learning firsthand how to create designs that resonate with Gen-Z consumers—researching trends, developing collections, and working with teams to bring creative visions to life. From compiling mood boards to seeing her designs go live on the ASOS website, every day at Collusion offers new opportunities to grow and leave her mark.

For those dreaming of a career in fashion, Stephanie’s story showcases the incredible opportunities that can come from programs like our mentorship scheme. If you’re interested in applying, her experience offers a firsthand look at what a day in the life at ASOS could be like—from collaborating with designers to spotting trends and creating collections for Gen-Z consumers. By stepping into Stephanie’s shoes, you’ll gain insight into the fast-paced, creative environment of one of the fashion industry’s most dynamic brands, inspiring you to take the first step toward your own journey.

9am: I arrive at the ASOS Headquarters at 9am sharp! The office is based in Camden, so it’s such a lively area to work! Once I arrive, I go straight to my desk, dump my bags and go to the canteen! 

9 – 9.30am: I never start the day without breakfast here! Today’s choice was an English breakfast, as I knew today was going to be a busy day so I needed fuel. The staff here at ASOS usually take the first half an hour or so to eat and grab drinks, so we have quite a relaxed start to each morning.

9.30 – 10am: Today I went up to the loft to start my day, which I began with checking my emails. I do this every morning, catching up on any messages I may have missed during the evening and making sure I’m up to date. I always take time to do this every morning, away from my desk so I’m ready to face the day ahead.

 

10 – 12.00pm: After I’m all up to date with everything, I head down to my desk to start the day. As an intern here, I work in a different department within collusion each week! So it changes week to week, between knitwear, Jersey, Outerwear and Denim. This week I’ve been allocated to Formal Jersey, which is essentially tops and dresses that are slightly more dressy!

10.15am: I have a meeting with the Senior Designer for Formal Jersey and find out what I need to be doing throughout the day! As New Years and party season is coming up quickly, I was asked to research any new interesting shapes for party tops and skirts that I’ve seen. This inspiration can come from anywhere really, but I mostly use Tiktok and Instagram to see what’s really trending at the moment. For this research, I mostly focus on trending or new silhouettes I haven’t seen before, and compile my collected images into boards. 

12.00pm: I do this research pretty much straight up to lunch, and then head down to the canteen at midday. The menu changes daily, but today I picked freshly made pizza. 

12.30pm: On a busy day, I’m very guilty of eating at my desk as there’s always bits here and there I need to do. So today, I allocated my lunch hour to getting all my Christmas presents for family and friends ordered and prepared. It’s not often you get the opportunity to have 40% off the ASOS site, so I make sure to take full advantage! And honestly, that discount may be one of the best things about working here! 

1.00pm: After lunch, I’m straight back to work.. Every few days I make sure to check any of the designs I’ve worked on that have gone live. This is the opportunity to look at how the styling team has done on shoot day, and check all the pictures look good. It’s important to keep an eye on how the pieces have been shot, are they worn correctly, are the models wearing the right sizes etc. Luckily, today’s uploads all looked good – so no need to flag anything up! It’s definitely got to be one of the best parts of the job when you see your designs on site.

3.00pm: I pretty much just continued with the research I’d been looking into this morning and this afternoon, and kept making boards ready to send to the senior designer for 3pm. Once I sent my boards to her I headed down to the basement to pick up some parcels. 

3.10pm: The basement is another great thing about working here, you complete staff orders separately and they are automatically sent to work – which saves you from any delivery issues. I had a couple bits for myself, and also some samples arrived which I brought upstairs. 

3.15pm: I brought the samples up to the wardrobe – it’s what dreams are made of! And slotted them into their allocated spaces. Depending on the sample, they may need to be fitted onto a fit model at a later date and resized.

3.25pm: Coffee runs for afternoon energy! 

3.30 – 5.30pm: I spent the rest of the day doing CAD’s (computer aided designs) based on the research I’d done today. I took the inspiration, and adapted them to ensure they gave a ‘collusion feel’. Collusions designs tend to be aimed towards the Gen-z customers, so the clothes need to have a younger and slightly alternative feel. 

5.30pm: I did that until the end of the day! And headed down to the Underground, in the basement to go to the gym. (This is not an everyday occurrence)

6.45pm: And then I clock out, and head home!