Fashion Futures
Summer Projects 2004

This summer’s Fashion Futures project took place over two weeks in July at London College of Fashion and was centered on garment construction. The students came from Greenwich and Hackney Boroughs, and each was given two briefs – Fresh - and Tropical. These included a range of colours for each topic, and the students were taken through the complete process from designer inspiration to preparation for the catwalk.

Colours suggested for Fresh ranged from light-headed ochre through aqua to dark driftwood, while those for Tropical spanned lime and acid through yellows and greens to a dramatic peacock blue.

The project opened up for many students the idea of a career in fashion; others realised that this involves real hard work and not just glamour, and decided it was not for them. All those taking part made an informed choice after this introduction into the world of fashion, which made the whole project very worthwhile.

Top designers Elspeth Gibson and Lezley George were at hand to give students their end of course certificate and to encourage them to pursue their career dreams in life. Coverage was given by the Greenwich and Hackney local Press with photos of all the students displaying the finished garments.

Trip to Barcelona!

In September FAD ventured into a new project taking a group of 15 girls from a school in Hackney to Barcelona to develop further their cultural and professional knowledge of the Fashion and Textile industry.

The students were given 2 briefs to work on: to design an outfit based on the work of Antonio Gaudi and a research project on why the Spanish retailer Mango is so successful.

They visited several Gaudi buildings, Park Guell and of course the Holy Family Cathedral, and every day the students recorded their visits with sketches and photographs, to get inspiration for the designs they were asked to produce. They also visited two factories, Armand Basi and Mango which made them realise the hard work that goes into the making and distribution of clothes.

The pupils finally gave a presentation to an audience of Spanish pupils at Pineda, a local secondary school A fantastic experience!

Summarising what the students had to say about the trip, they realised that they had learnt not just facts but attitudes, such as:

‘I learnt the importance of taking pride and care in your work, and of making lots of drawings and sketches whenever visiting museums or other places’ (Martha Attang, year 11)

The trip also gave the students a broader picture of the fashion industry:

‘I learnt about the busy atmosphere of fashion industry, also the amount of work, thought, time and effort spent’
(Melissa Akimbawale, year 13).

All the students thought that the trip had been beneficial for their schoolwork in different ways, some pointing out that the trip had helped their attitude towards their own work:

‘The less structured atmosphere of the trip made me more comfortable and confident in my design work. I have found that my designs are much more ambitious’
(Patricia Tambi, year 13).

To sum up one of the students wrote:‘I loved being busy all the time even though it was hard getting up for breakfast. The trips around Barcelona were fantastic, and have inspired me greatly. It has also built up my confidence. I know where I am wishing to head in life’.

Thanks are due to The Learning and Skills Council through the Enterprise Path Finders who funded the trip.