The third workshop of FAD Fashion Futures 2018 took place on Saturday 28 January 2018 and the students were in for a treat as we were joined by Vanessa Spence, Womenswear Design Director at ASOS.
“The students really surprised me! It was nice to see how they had taken the original references from the V&A museum and what they were doing to change it up. You could see their confidence building throughout the session.” – Vanessa Spence, Womenswear Design Director, ASOS
The day began with an inspiring presentation from Vanessa about her role at ASOS and her career in the fashion industry. She explained how the design team at ASOS follow trends by staying in tune to social media, and gain fresh inspiration by travelling to cities such as Paris, New York and Stockholm. Vanessa also gave the students some great career advice for succeeding in the fashion industry.
“Vanessa’s presentation opened my eyes to all the different possibilities available within the fashion industry.” – Lily
The students then did garment design which was led by Joanne. This involved thinking about who is likely to wear a piece of clothing and the situations in which it will be worn. The students experimented sketching a wide range of different outfits, from outdoor wear to evening dresses.
“I enjoyed learning how to dart and using the sewing machines, but I preferred garment design because it let me be creative” – Caoimhe
Meanwhile, Hannah continued to teach draping. This week there was a focus on measuring bodies and transferring that into draping on a stand. This exercise enabled the students to visualise how their designs will look on a person.
“I have learnt how to drape; it was my first time so I found it hard to get the draping to look good.” – Raphael
The third group worked on sewing in the morning which was led by the effervescent Hayet. Many bobbins later the students were efficiently sewing away under the watchful eyes of Hayet, Francesca and ASOS protégé Marnie.
“The students were so inspiring and from such a diverse range of backgrounds. The skills they’re learning are so useful, and will set them up well in their future careers.” – Marnie, Protégé, ASOS
This week’s homework is to do some more garment development and come back next week with a final design in mind. As always, a massive thank you to all the volunteers who helped to make the third workshop of the year such a success, and especially to Vanessa who gave up her time to speak to speak to the students and inspire them about a career in the fashion industry!
#FAD Fact of the day – Did you know that at any one time, ASOS has 85,000 items for sale on their website?
“I found sewing really challenging! The industrial machines are really fast and it’s really tricking having to constantly thread them!” – Olivia
