Watch the Fashion Industry's Go-To Illustrator Share Her Career Tips

We’d venture to guess that if you’re a regular Who What Wear reader, you’re probably interested in fashion and have even thought about pursuing a career in the industry. If that’s the case, one of the biggest tips we can give you is to find a mentor who you admire and respect, someone who is on the career path you’re aiming for. And that’s where the #SORELstyle program comes in.

Not familiar with the program? Every year, the initiative offers people who want to work in fashion an inside look at how the industry works and gives them the chance to be featured in a SOREL video and photo shoot. With this year’s first phase complete, we got a chance to talk to fashion illustrator Katie Rodgers, renowned painter at Paper Fashion, and her mentee, Riley Sheehey, a 27-year-old freelance illustrator and elementary school art teacher from Arlington, Virginia, and learn more about their creative process.

The pair worked together on various illustration projects during the program, and Rodgers shared invaluable tips on breaking into the industry, the importance of keeping passion alive, and what it truly means to be an entrepreneur. One thing Rodgers hopes Sheehey will continue to work on throughout her entire career? “Having fun with her art and branching outside of her comfort zone,” Rodgers told us. “It’s the best way to keep the inspiration and love for what you do alive!”

Watch the video below to get an inside look at what the pair worked on during the program, and keep scrolling to shop the SOREL shoes they’re wearing.