I completed a year in industry over 2012/13 and had a brilliant experience during my placements. My aim for the year was to explore as many areas of the fashion industry as possible including high end, high street, sportswear and sustainability.
My area of interest has always been sustainability but I also wanted to explore fast fashion to discover how those consumers could be educated in sustainability and to see if their practices were as damaging as portrayed in the media.
Finisterre - I set up and managed an online store selling dead stock adding £3.5K to sales in three weeks. As it was so successful I was asked to teach staff and other interns to use the system, which they continue to use to sell surplus stock. I was also involved with quality control ensuring industry standards were met, stock management within a team and organising shop events.
Jayne Pierson - I assisted in designing, pattern cutting, sewing and final fit for garments shown in London Fashion week. The garments I produced were photographed and published in the Western Mail http://bit.ly/WtfxHL. I was the Design Assistant for the ‘Thalia AW13’ film shoot, Lookbook and for Jayne Pierson’s London Fashion Week Presentation.
Lu Flux - I worked alongside Lu Flux in her studio and helped organise and run a pop up store in Spitafields Market, London. I assisted with designing, pattern cutting, decision making, problem solving, commercial acumen, marketing, stock management, managing the shop alone, sales, customer service and making bespoke items in-store.
Zoe Bradley - I was a design assistant in the studio working on a bespoke head piece for a client. I assisted with designing, pattern cutting, construction and crafting of very delicate and intricate items.
Oxfam Boutique - I set up an initiative to upcycle garments which were unsellable. I also assisted with visual merchandising and window dressing.
Peacocks Head Office - I experienced the entire Fast Fashion design cycle while at Peacocks and assisted with sampling, fashion buying, sales targets and mark ups, trend forecasting, creating design specifications for factories overseas and designing prints.
Full accounts of each placement are available, please contact me for more information.
