We were lucky to catch up with Wenlu Guo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Wenlu, thanks for joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I initially decided to enter the fashion industry during my senior year internship. At that time, I interned for six months with a luxury jewelry brand under the Kering Group, working on aspects of fashion marketing. Though I got rich experience during this work, I still realized that this type of work wasn’t something I truly enjoyed. I discovered that I need a job where I could create something and fully unleash my imagination. After that internship, I clarified my goals. I realized that I wanted to work in the fashion photography industry. I started to follow more and more fashion photographers, stylists, and art directors. study from their works and continuously learning. I also begin searching for the right job opportunities. Shortly after graduation, I was fortunate to land a great job in the field.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am currently an intern at an artist agency, and I am also a freelance set designer and fashion photographer. My first opportunity to work in set design came from my second job, when I was at a creative studio. Our main business was creating sets for various fashion photography campaigns and designing window displays for brands. If you’ve ever walked through a mall and noticed how each fashion brand has a unique visual with their campaigns and window display, that’s the kind of work I am doing, which shares some similarities with visual merchandising.

After working at the studio for a year, I left to apply to fashion photography schools. I started working as a freelance set designer. and within a year, I had built up a solid client base and was able to successfully gain admission to SVA in New York. I moved to New York, and after graduation, I joined an artist agency as an intern while also doing remote set design and photography work in my spare time.

What I am most proud of is my continuous learning mindset and my ability to approach art direction from a photographer’s perspective. I always try to think of the entire project as a cohesive whole, integrating both the visual elements and the photographic vision, which differs from other artists.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goals are often changing, but at this stage, two main ambitions drive me forward: one is to get signed with an artist agency, and the other is to collaborate with M/M Paris.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

If possible, I wish I had known the concept of artist agencies earlier. In China, most artists work as freelancers. However, in Europe and the United States, many artists are represented by agencies that handle their business and help with promotion. This is a completely different concept from the industry in China.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://981006.cargo.site/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wenlu-guo-9a9ba02b6/

Image Credits

No