In May 2011 FAD celebrated the conclusion of an exciting pilot project, working with young people and teenage mothers from London and Essex through the medium of fashion.

FAD (Fashion Awareness Direct) worked in collaboration with Family Mosaic a housing association which also provides supported accommodation to vulnerable young adults aged between 16 – 25 years old. Fifteen Family Mosaic residents took part in an eight week fashion course from January to March 2011, where they researched, designed and created their own version of the iconic ‘Little Black Dress’.

BOYS IN FASHION: Creative Industries Project

This project featured in a recent article by The Guardian - read it here

This summer FAD expanded on the Fashion Futures portfolio, with the launch of a new project targeted at Year 10 boys interested in the creative industries. Fully funded by Aspire, the FAD course was held at Lewisham College in South London and was open to students studying business, art or design.

Over the course of five days, the 14 and 15 year-olds explored design with a focus on marketing and product development. They learnt about the workings of industry - from when and how new products are brought to market, researching trends and producing original designs to building a brand and marketing campaign to promote their own collection of sports/street wear.

At the end of the week each student presented his designs and marketing to a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style industry panel and an overall winner was selected. Congratulations to Alan from Trinity School Bexley, who impressed the jury with his brand ‘Magic Sturling’ named for and inspired by a friend lost to gang violence in 2008.

Reporting from the workshops, FAD Volunteer Coordinator Varsha Odedra

This autumn FAD organised a series of two day career workshops at the Fashion & Textile Museum for 16-19 year olds. Targeted at college students getting ready to take their next step towards a creative career, the project was generously funded by The Ashley Family Foundation and New Look Foundation.

Day one of the workshop; students learnt about choosing the right university, course or apprenticeship and the tools they would need to succeed, from preparing a creative CV and interview techniques to putting together a portfolio of work. They also got an inside look at ‘university student life’ with a Q&A session from a panel of FAD beneficiaries, all of which are currently studying creative degrees.

Day two of the workshop; an insight to the different careers in the fashion industry, followed by industry professionals talking about their careers and the paths they took. Speakers included trend forecaster and The Women's Room founder, Jane Kellock, Retail Specialist and WGSN.com Editor Francesca Muston and former FAD Competition finalist and ethical designer, Anna-Marie Hesse of boutique 'Here Today Here Tomorrow'.

The workshop ended with a retail visit, and a session on market research analyzing how different retailers target their customers.

Teachers, could your students benefit from some specialist careers advice? FAD offers a range of career focused workshops. Please conact us for further information. E: info@fad.org.uk | T: 020 7490 3946.

Embroidery skills used to create ceremonial dresses for British monarchs down the ages will be passed on to a group of young people in East London thanks to an exciting new FAD project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).