THE STYLE SERIES: Here's how a former finance major became one of fashion's most sought-after social media consultants

Get the Full StoryCandace Marie Stewart is one of fashion's most desired social media consultants.

After receiving a BA in finance from the University of Arkansas, she went on to obtain an MBA in marketing and finance from Seton Hall University and work at, among others, JPMorgan and Prada.

In 2020, Stewart founded Black in Corporate, an organization that seeks to champion Black individuals who work in corporate spaces.

In an interview with Business Insider, she spoke about her career transitions, diversity and inclusion in the fashion industry, and what inspires her to create top-notch social campaigns.

This is part of Business Insider's "The Style Series," highlighting fashion entrepreneurs and businesses across the globe.

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If Candace Marie Stewart's life story proves anything, it's that finance is the perfect background to have in fashion after all, even fashion is a business.

She was tapped last year to become the head of Social US at Prada and her LinkedIn bio identifies her as working there, but she told Business Insider that she currently works as a social media consultant in the luxury fashion industry. She also serves as an adjunct professor at Parsons School of Design teaching its first graduate-level social media course and she's the founder of Black In Corporate, an organization that seeks to champion Black professionals working in corporate America.

But before trying her hand at all fashion had to offer, she obtained a BA in finance from the University of Central Arkansas and an MBA in marketing and finance from Seton Hall University.

Over about a decade afterward, she worked in PR at Alexander Wang, as a manager at JP Morgan Chase, freelance at Lucky Magazine, a market editor at Essence, and in social media at Refinery29, before becoming the senior social media and influencer manager at the late Barneys New York.

In an interview with Business Insider, Stewart talked about her rise to the top of the social media ladder, and how she and other Black professionals in fashion such as those who created the Black in Fashion Council are advocating for the equity of Black people, both in fashion and beyond. "I was born in Oklahoma and raised in Arkansas for most of my life and then moved to New York City and have been here for 10 years."

"Even when I was back at home in Arkansas, I knew I wanted to be in fashion, but more so, I knew I wanted to be in New York City so that I could have access to the best of the best. The cream of the crop is right here in New York, so I was willing to do whatever it took to get here but also stay here.

"Upon moving to New York , I knew I needed to do something drastically to set myself apart. The city is already extremely competitive and being a Black woman, without connections, who is from rural Arkansas, I would have to do something that made my resume stand out. It was then I decided to pursue my MBA with an emphasis in finance and marketing. While finance wasn't my passion, I wanted to truly learn the corporate side of the fashion industry so I would be prepared to and know how to start and operate a successful business and have a different perspective than my fashion counterparts."

"At the end of the day, a business is a business, no matter if it is fashion, marketing, retail, food."

"For me choosing finance , it was like, it does not matter what industry I go in, I can always build off this degree, because at the end of the day, you have to make money to stay in business no matter what company it is.

"In my 10 years of being in NYC, I have heard the word no so many times, it is somewhat ridiculous. But, I knew it only takes one yes. I always could fall back on that one thing. You can receive a million nos, but literally all it takes is one yes. Then from there, the yeses start to become easier to come by. I am at a good place in my career where I do not even have to reach out or look for opportunities. People consistently come to me, which I feel is a testament to my work ethic and tenacity over the years."

"My very first internship started working for the editor-at-large at Essence Magazine at that time. I learned so much about the editorial industry that I had only seen from afar growing up in Arkansas."

"To this day, I remember him saying, 'What do you want to do after this?' And I told him I wanted to be at Vogue after my Essence internship. He then wrote me my first letter of recommendation and I went to Vogue right after. My career started with me thinking that I wanted to be in fashion journalism, because that was what I had visibly seen and read about at home, but writing and journalism led me to a path of social media that I could not have foreseen. What started at Essence, Vogue, and People led me to Refinery29 within their social media department.

"At that time that I was trying to pursue journalism, social media departments did not really exist. Therefore, if I wrote an article for a publication, I would also write social captions to go on Facebook and or Twitter. I found myself loving that aspect of the work more because I could visibly see an article garnering more traction based on the social posts going out. It was then that I wanted to find a place that was ahead in the social media space and try to soak up as much as I could. And that for me was Refinery29."

See the rest of the story at Business InsiderSee Also:The 10 most expensive US cities for homebuyers on a 250,000 budget they're not just in California and New York DJ Steve Aoki and designer Samata Pattinson dig into the impact music has on the clothes we wear and what it would take to make sustainable fashion the new 'It' lookTwitter billionaire Jack Dorsey just announced he'll fund a universal-basic-income experiment that could affect up to 7 million peopleSEE ALSO: The Style Series: Twitter's preeminent black fashion historian on 'white nepotism' in the industry and the urgency of recognizing black America's impact on luxury

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