Julia Von Boehm

I attribute my success to having a strong work ethic, being grounded, hardworking, honest, loyal, and trustworthy. My ability to speak multiple languages and being multicultural has helped me tremendously - that worldliness came from my parents and has been invaluable. Being agile and adaptable has also been key. I came from a small town in Germany called Heidelberg, and I was driven by passion rather than connections. Sometimes being naive was even a blessing because I just had this passion and worked incredibly hard to pursue it. I didn't come from a fashion background - my drive came purely from my love for the work.

The best career advice I've received is to work hard, be humble, and learn how to listen to others. Mentoring is extremely important - it's very fulfilling at a certain point in your career to actually mentor people and share what you have learned and achieved. But you should never stop learning. I love learning, and that's what my new adventure with A Blue World has brought me - extreme joy because I'm diving deeply into new subjects. If I had to put it in one sentence, I'd say never stop learning. Curiosity is extremely important. You can't take an escalator or elevator - you've got to walk up the stairs, and you'll fall back down, and you've got to take it again and again. Knowledge is extremely important, and nothing comes from nothing. Don't immediately ask for time off - I really worked my ass off. It's about learning by doing, really sucking out all the information when you have a mentor, being very attentive to your mentors, and knowing their value.

My advice is to do what makes you happy. Try to listen inside to what makes you happy, what does not feel like work, and try to pursue that direction. Passion is the most important thing - you need to be passionate, otherwise you cannot succeed. In fashion specifically, the most important thing is to find a mentor. Do internships. I know that it is not only glamorous, but a lot of hard work, and you've got to put in that hard work. Find someone who can teach you and be very attentive to learning from them.

The biggest challenges in fashion are the schedule - the fashion shows you're supposed to attend take up basically two months out of the year when you're traveling the world, which is very tricky with children because they usually happen in September when children go back to school. Fashion can also be very tough, judgmental, and really hard on your self-confidence. It's not always honest, and there's a lot of superficiality that is challenging. People can be mean. Things also change constantly - it's very fast-paced, and you've got to keep up. Another challenge is that you can be very high up and then very fast down. You're either in or out, and it's hard to stay in. The opportunities are wonderful though - you get to travel, create, meet very interesting people, and be surrounded by beauty. You can attend a lot of incredible events and meet a lot of creative minds. There are so many different facets of the job, so many different angles, that it literally never gets boring.

The most important values to me are staying grounded, having empathy, and working hard. You can't take an escalator or elevator - you've got to walk up the stairs, and you'll fall back down, and you've got to take it again and again. Knowledge is extremely important, and nothing comes from nothing. I don't believe in immediately asking for time off or trying to protect yourself too much. I really worked my ass off. I believe in learning by doing, really absorbing all the information when you have a mentor, being very attentive to your mentors, and never forgetting those teachers. My first boss is the godmother of my youngest daughter, which shows how important those relationships are to me.