PROCESS by vicki fong

www.uel.ac.uk/adi

@fashion_UEL

www.fashion-UEL.com

Design

Te x t i l e s

Marketing

RI &

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W M

M E AT S E

AD TO DY E S C H 24 . TE OW AM CRE EN 26 . NE CH CA SE U . T 28 G W IN U DI 30 . TR ES ORK G T IT 36 . PL IPS SP ING AL AC EA 40 . G E K R M A ER 48 . C AS DU ENT S . AT 60 BE E S 62 . TH HIN STU E F A 66 . PO E C D T DIE SH H IO S E 70 . AL RT RIT N SC W .T UM FO EE E LI HA NI NE O K NK S AD YO VI C U E .S

CONTENTS

Our Fashion and Textiles Department offers three exciting programmes, which have recently been newly developed to mirror the rapid changes and working practices within the fashion industry. This will ensure that our students leave fully prepared for a career within the discipline.

HEAD OF FASHION AND TEXTILES

Today’s fashion industry is not one of boundaries and clear divisions of roles. The industry is a lot more sophisticated and adaptable in its process.

We are very dedicated to providing a wide range of industry resources in order to boost our students’ learning and give them a true insight

D O R OTA

All three programmes have been designed with this in mind and we provide a variety of opportunities for students from all programmes to work together and learn from each other in order to achieve their goals.

WAT S O N

into the fashion industry. For example, our final year students work in a dedicated designsampling space that uses audio and visual technology to enhance their learning. Our department consists of a diverse team, both academic and technical, who offer a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience. Our team is focused on preparing students for a career in the Fashion World by providing a hands-on experience and uses our industry connections to complement the students’ learning. Please read on and learn more about our perspective on fashion and how we prepare our students for their future careers. We look forward to seeing you during the forthcoming academic year!

VISION

We create a diverse and innovative learning environment that will not only challenge you academically but also celebrate the mix of cultures and characters that make East London so distinctive.

We are proud to be based here. We work very hard as a school to motivate our students to take influences from such an exciting, fast paced and inspirational part of the country. Our academic and Technical staff are professional practitioners within their own fields who contribute to the development of the creative industries on a variety of different levels. The School aims to provide an education, which is exciting and relevant to build and develop a career within your chosen field.

S I M O N

Through exhibiting and networking with each other on a regular basis, it allows the students to see creativity from a wide variety of perspectives and builds their confidence with regards to what can be achieved with Art and Design.

A vast array of; artists, designers, musicians and visionaries, have developed their crafts in the area and consider it an organic and rudimentary catalyst for creativity.

D E A N O F A R T S A N D D I G I TA L I N D U S T R I E S

The School of Arts and Digital Industries has a great breadth of academic activity from a collective of disciplines such as fashion, photography, graphics, illustration and fine art. All students are based in the same building and benefit greatly from studying alongside each other.

R O B E R T S H AW

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OFFERS OUR STUDENT

OF INSPIRATION BOOK SHOPS TO WE ARE INCREDIB BASED HERE AND WE TO DEVELOP CON WITH LOCAL EVEN 4

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PR OG RA MM ES

NEW The Fashion Textiles department at UEL has undergone change for the better. We have restructured and created new programmes to ensure that we offer exciting and completely relevant learning environments to our students. Our three programmes concentrate on delivering the foundations you need to prepare yourself for a career within fashion. Both staff and students aim to grow and develop our programmes into fun, challenging and engaging courses that every individual can relate to and learn from.

BA (Hons)

FASHION

BA (Hons)

FASHION

BA (Hons)

FASHION

DESIGN

TEXTILES

MARKETING

A FAST PACED, HANDS-ON AND EXCITING FASHION D E S I G N P R O G R A M M E T H AT F O C U S E S O N B U I L D I N G STUDENTS CONFIDENCE VIA HAND CRAFT SKILLS AND CONCEPTUAL EXPERTISE.

THIS PROGRAMME FOCUSES ON TEXTILES AS A 3 D I M E N S I O N A L M AT E R I A L . E X P L O R I N G A L L P O S S I B I L I T I E S O F F A B R I C M A N I P U L AT I O N A N D A P P L I C AT I O N , C R E AT I N G A N E W P E R S P E C T I V E O N W H AT W E C O N S I D E R FASHION TEXTILES.

THIS IS AN EXCITING AND LIVE PROGRAMME OF STUDY. W E F O C U S O N C R E AT I V E D E L I V E R Y A N D M E T H O D O L O G Y , S Y N O N O M O U S W I T H M O D E S O F C O M M U N I C AT I O N , P R O M OT I O N A N D B R A N D I N G W I T H I N F A S H I O N .

WHERE WE

Our focus is on offering space that you would associate with a thriving Art and Design College. Bright spaces, white walls, industrial furnishings and equipment that are synonymous to the subject. The ability to change spaces to suit activities is very important within our practice. It allows for a varied and dynamic approach to learning and helps our students to become accustomed to adapting their environments to suit their needs.

C R E AT E

Our studios promote an ‘open space’ vision of the learning environment. “If we expect students to work in our spaces, then we have to deliver what we know to be working environments. These will never be classrooms with specific times for students to be rotated within, but spaces to own and to access every hour possible. This is how a studio works and that is how our spaces must work if we expect the students to develop great work ethic”.

David Thomas Programme Leader - Fashion Design

“The teaching tutors and supporting tutors have been very helpful with their advice and experience in helping and pushing us all to produce our best collections yet! I’ve met some fantastic people on my course all with inspirational drives and producing fantastic and stunning work!” Emily Meaney

Our students regularly display their work within our studios. This allows the whole department to get a great insight in to what type of work everyone is producing and offers a great sense of pride of achievement for the students. It’s exciting for the staff to see our students progress and communicate their ideas to one another.

“The University of East London provides excellent and accessible digital facilities to students within print design which facilitates lots of scope for creative development. Discussions with fellow course students broaden analytical judgements and evaluations of work.” Yasmin Mselli

“Working in a studio alongside my course mates was extremely helpful because I could receive immediate feedback from them. Discussing my work with fellow students helped me to learn how to form and voice my opinions. This helped teach me to look critically at both my own and other peoples work. One-to-one tutorials helped with my development by helping push my conceptual ideas further and consider different ways of using the techniques I’d become proficient in taking my ideas in unexpected directions.” Amandeep Aujla

“We’re very lucky to have our university campus in London’s east end. Our textiles studio at UEL is a large, white open space - the perfect back drop for working on busy textile collections. There is plenty of space to experiment on all scales. Often we’ll have classes in the Mac computer suite which allows for a more intimate teaching experience and this room is a great place to work quietly and individually. All our work spaces are situated near other design studios such as graphics and fashion design etc. therefore the building always has such a good atmosphere - a busy hub of creativity! Having group discussions and critiques among my peers on the course is always useful and a great chance to see so many different interpretations of what print design can be. Also practical it makes us better at presenting ourselves and our work and we can gain confidence from speaking in a group.” Sinead Feeney

“Here at UEL textile students are treated to a large open plan studio area where an overhead skylight gives a light and airy feel. It’s a great space to discuss work and exchange ideas with classmates in a positive and exciting environment. I have found the support of classmates to be a valuable addition to my experience at UEL.” Kate Sarah Williams

CUT

PROD UCTIO N Our construction rooms are equipped with lock stitch machines, overlockers, coverstitch machines, felling machines, button hole machines, embroidery machines and are growing as we develop. Our presses are housed within a great space for access and our mannequins a good fitting resource for our students. Video presentations are regularly shown within our construction rooms in order to offer modern and very clear modes of delivering technical information and guidance. 12

SEW

We develop our workshop rooms to reflect industry level production spaces. Our aim is to facilitate design development and refinement through 3 dimensional exploration.

PRINT Offering our students an opportunity to explore and experiment is extremely important within the department, and our school. Unfortunately a lot of resources that focus on the development of handcraft skills in textiles are being depleted from higher education establishments. We consider these processes to be the foundation of all our learning. Without first understanding how to mix colours in a dye lab or experiment with binders for printing onto different materials, our students would lose out on a variety of skills.

DYE A P P L I C AT I O N

A great eye for colour and an appreciation for how fabrics and materials react to a variety of processes is an absolutely vital aspect of our students learning. It would be very difficult for any designer to convey their ideas without these attributes. That is why we promote and grow our â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;handcraftâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; facilities. So when our students are producing CAD manufactured patterns or giving instruction via specification packs for designs, they can be confident in their own decision making process.

SILK Our team believes strongly in the development of hand mastered crafts in Fashion and Textiles. The foundations of silk screen printing are a good example of how important it is to develop your ability to organise and prepare a workspace in order

to produce a great final outcome. From mixing colours correctly to preparing artworks to expose on screens, all the processes require a great level of accuracy and focus that is reflected in the success

of your final outcome. Our students gain a significant amount of skills by experimenting by hand developing their undertsanding of what can be achieved.

HAND

SCREEN Our studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; sensibilities to colour and placement are enhanced by their experiences in our textiles workshops. This results in digital print development that is well composed and succesful with regards to how print can compliment fabrication.

Our facilities allow the students to test their colour balance and layout skills by producing artworks prepared for digital textile printing. Fab pad is our commercial in-house printing service that works with our students and a wealth of different designers to produce contemporary and forward thinking prints for fashion.

D I G I TA L

C A D

Computer Aided Design and Manufacture is an ever growing and important resource to the modern fashion industry. From development of technical specifiation packs for production to innovations in fashion promotion and event management. These are a few of many areas that look to innovations in technology to find efficient and dynamic ways to evolve the way in which we interact with fashion. Our aim is to stay in touch with the latest technology and perspectives on all things digital. Our students embrace it at different levels which creates some very exciting outcomes.

C A M Using Adobe software, as well as Lectra software, students are given the opportunity to be creative with the possiblities that software provides whilst also learning about efiicient, mass production processes.

SHOWCASE Moving image is an extremely important mode of communication in todays fashion industry. Our students push themselves to collaborate with different creatives in order to realise their concepts via film. This offers an exciting and expressive outcome for their hard work to be realised through.

IN D I G I TA L

Questioning roles of ‘aesthetic’ and good taste can be really exciting via the medium of film. Our students challenge these pre-conceptions and when they produce considered and dynamic outcomes, their opinions can’t be ignored.

HAND

A D E

TECH U v

We are constantly looking for ways in which to improve our modes of delivery when it comes to teaching our students about the production of garments. The technical aspects of Fashion are extensive and very difficult to master when you are beginning your studies at BA degree level. Our Fashion Design technicians have worked tirelessly on producing an application that offers

DI GI TA L

extremely detailed and clear guidance on how to get to grips with all the different stages within the production of a garment. The app will not stop at explaining garment manufacture. The department plans to develop everything from research methodology lectures to colour mixing masterclasses that will offer an invaluable resource to all UEL Fashion and Textiles students.

NETWORKING Our students are encouraged to work with their peers in order to produce new and exciting ideas. Working on projects together gives the students great experience in the importance, and a lot of times, the awkwardness of having to network. Not enough is explained about the phenomenon that we call “networking”. Therefore we try and tackle the subject a little more directly and ensure that the students have opportunities to meet a whole variety of creative individuals who are studying under the umbrella of Fashion. The ‘pitch’ is one of the examples of those environments. Final year students are encouraged to display work in progress in order to ‘pitch’ for assistance or collaboration. They learn the importance of communicating their ideas successfully, as well as the fulfillment of offering learning opportunities to their peers.

IN HOUSE

THE PITCH 25

MAGGIE STOTT WAREHOUSE

JUSTIN WILSON DUCHAMP THE PEOPLES PRINT LYNSEY C DAVIES BRYAN OKNY

EMILY CLAIRE THORN AES

JOSHUA ROB DASHA SELYANOVA ZDDZ J JAM DESIGN

JENNI SUTTON FASHION ENTER HELEN PEGGE J Our guest speakers offer fantastic insight in to industry. We try to cover as broad a subject matter as we can within fashion, so that the students can get a great perspective on the different types of job roles within the Industry. It is important to us that our guests speak frankly and transparently about their own experiences. Offering an invaluable source of information.

DENTON THE TREN

GUEST

JANE BOWLER MELANIE BOWLES COKE COKE LOVE HYWEL YANSKY SHOES BY BRYAN

STHETICODES

JAMIE ANLEY

BERTO SCACHERI JENNY HOLLOWAY R DEREK SANTANI JACK JONES STUDIO SALLY

ND BOUTIQUE

SPEAKERS 27

TRIPS “Premier vision was a great insight into the trend forecasting industry, seeing brand new trend books, materials and designs. It was a great opportunity to speak to professionals and get advice for the future!” Georgia Wing

“Of all the wonderful things I saw at the 3D Printshow, the one thing that highlighted my experience was actually seeing the physicality of the printing process. We’d talked and studied it so much during class but seeing something quite literally print itself into three dimensions before your eyes is a thrilling experience whether you’re a maker or not” Sabrina Faramarzi

“I never really knew much about 3D printing before visiting the show but there is a world new world of technology out there. It was great to learn about the 3D products and interact with the company owners.” Lindsey Portas

External visits are really important to our students. Either visiting exhibitions where they get to view creative outcomes from a huge variety of projects, to studio visits, where they can ask direct questions about design and process to industry professionals. It all helps them to put their own learning in to context and to feel motivated and excited by possiblities of what will happen in the future.

“Visiting the Holition studio has opened up my eyes to new inventions and knowledge to how exciting the future of retail and marketing will be.” Lulu Russo

“It was really inspirational to visit the Inition studio and see all the behind the scenes installations they are working on. To have the chance to play around with the technology and try it first hand was a valuable experience.” Milita Jonusaite

A GUIDE

CHLOE CURRY DAZED GROUP WALL PAPER MAGAZINE ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

F AY E H I N D L E GARETH PUGH

MATTHEW RUDDICK TO D D LY N N THE COLLECTION

D A N I E L L E D AV I E S JENNY PACKHAM URBAN OUTFITTERS

JAMES SEPHTON J.W ANDERSON KARLA OTTO

J A D E D AV I E S BLUE NILE URBAN OUTFITTERS

DANIELLE SPENCER H O L LY F U LT O N URBAN OUTFITTERS ASHLEY WILLIAMS

K AY L E I G H WA L M S L E Y ERDEM CHRISTOPHER KANE

SHARAN SAMRA CHRISTOPHER SHANNON TOM BAKER

Some of the BA Hons Fashion Design Sandwich year students have offered some insight on working within the industry as a student. Here are some of the important details that really make the difference when you are working as part of a professional team.

PLACEMENTS

First days – What was it like? Faye: Mine was pretty difficult, no one spoke to me and I wasn’t sure what I had to do. When did it change? Faye: After the first fashion week, they saw me as part of the team so it got a lot better. How did you cope with the beginning of the placement being quite difficult? Faye: I just made sure that I watched how everyone

worked within the team and picked up as much as I could. No one really spoke a lot because there was so much focus on producing the samples. The experience for me got a lot better once I understood the studio environment and everyone could see I was dedicated. James: My first day was good. It was really quite friendly. Kayleigh: Mine was really friendly and not too intense. It was really relaxed and all the team

really appreciated the work that we had done for them. I felt really lucky with my two placements. Do you think you learnt a lot about the importance of communication when you were out on your placements? Group: YES definitely! Kayleigh: I think you grow as a person as well. I wasn’t that confident before my placement, but after being given tasks and having to complete as quickly as possible for a company, I learnt about 31

using initiative and felt confident that I could handle a lot of different scenarios. I feel a lot more capable developing my own work and believe in my abilities. Danielle S: You also learn about how communication is important in every organisation process. At Urban Outfitters, learning how to develop tech packs and ensure everything has been communicated perfectly was so important. Danielle D: We learnt a lot about how important all the little details are and that you can’t overlook them because if you do, the whole job you send off to factories can fail. So it taught you a lot about the importance of small details? Danielle D: Yeah, a lot, and that’s why I think it helps with our work now because it’s taught us to look at the bigger picture and realise that all elements of the design process, no matter how small, are as important as each other. Danielle S: Also when you’re sewing for a designer, obviously if everything is not perfect, it will need to be re-done. It taught me a lot about practicing sewing skills and really focusing on doing a good job. It was good to have two different experiences. In one placement, there was a big team and I didn’t have that much responsibility, but learnt so much from others in the team who were more 32

experienced than me. In the other, the team was very small so I had a lot of responsibility. This gave me a lot of confidence and it was amazing to see work that I had helped produce on the catwalk. Sharan: I worked really closely with people that ran the company, which was brilliant. I learnt a lot about how companies deal with suppliers, when you have to be stern and when you have to be understanding. I learnt a lot about the difference between working towards a show and working towards production. For instance, on the day of one show I was part of, a lot of details changed because the designer felt it was right for the vision of the collection. In production, such a last minute change may not happen, but for the show, it was important to have that power and not be restricted. I learnt a lot about how important reaction is and that things do change last minute within the industry. Chloe: I noticed the same type of thing. I was surprised to see it. Sharan: They were completely used to it though and it didn’t faze them in the slightest. If the designers felt things weren’t working then they would change up to the last moment to ensure the collection worked. Did your perspective of how business and design bounce off each other? Matthew: I realised that a lot less time is spent

drawing ideas, and there’s so much more focus on development through fabrics and changes in cuts. The illustrating stopped quite quickly and ideas were developed through the making of the garments. Kayleigh: I think it’s because they don’t have time because the pace is so quick. When you’re being asked for produced designs in a week, I think you learn to be a lot more efficient. Chloe: Signature looks were really important, I think designers are completely aware of their customer and what look they expect from them. In that sense, did it change your perspective on what design is? Kayleigh: Yes, I think as students we’re learning how to develop and research at the moment, in order to successfully realise them but once you’re working within a company, that’s all taken for granted. You’ve got to be able to go through that process at a very fast pace in order to get the job done on time. What was a really memorable aspect of your experience? Chloe: Probably how hard everyone works and that it is literally non stop! Kayleigh: I couldn’t believe at first how hard everyone works. James: I think, for me, I was just really happy to see everything from

start to finish. From first sketches to press shoots. It was a really interesting and exciting experience. The cycle that the clothes went through was so interesting. The way they’d be popular at one point, then fade away, get put in to an archive box for a certain amount of time, then become popular for the second time. Faye: Having friends doing placements in different roles. It was really good to talk to them about different perspectives of working in industry. What was it like to experience the intensity of a catwalk show? Danielle S: The run up to the show is really intense! Not a lot of sleep and loads of hard work but the day of the show was really chilled out. Danielle D: I didn’t get to see the show because it was in New York but the run up was crazy. Getting everything ready and packed away was very hard work. A lot of worrying that everything had been sent and nothing was left behind. Were you surprised to see how stern editing can be within the industry? Kayleigh: Yeah, sometimes you’d work on something for days but it might not be selected for the show. Matthew: A lot of the time, you’re waiting for the stylist to make final decisions and you might be asked to produce a pair of trousers in 33

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS BE FRIENDLY AND SAY

HELLO

TO PEOPLE, EVEN IF IT’S A BIT SCARY AT FIRST.

half an hour. Chloe: It even happens a lot with magazines I worked on a shoot that was pretty extreme and took a very long time to shoot but it was not used for the publication. Does it make it more exciting or disheartening? Kayleigh: Quite disheartening at first. Chloe: Yeah I’d agree. Faye: I wasn’t really fazed by it because I expected it. When we got to Paris there were so many garments for the company to choose from, it completely made sense that editing was really important. Sharan: I think although it’s disheartening, it does really teach you to edit your own work. If the designer that you’re working for has to edit and drop garments or whole outfits for the good of the show on other individuals say so, then why are we getting precious about our work? If someone tells you that changing your work by adding this or taking away that, then why wouldn’t you be reactive to that? What would be your advice for students looking to pursue a placement? Sharan: Don’t be scared of getting in touch with the company that you aspire to be like or design within. You might be scared at the beginning, but it might be completely different than you imagined when you get

there. I think everyone has a chance to work for the company that they’d really like to be a part of so I think you should just go for it. Kayleigh: Work hard, no matter how daunting it may be. If you’re always there and you’re focused, it gets noticed and in the end you get thanked for it. You don’t always have to go to a big brand name, you could start off somewhere small. It’s something I’d like to do because you’d get to work really closely with the designer. Danielle S: Think about where you’d aspire to be. With Ashley, she’s done Fashion East and I would love to be able to apply after I graduated. So just to see how she’s beginning her career is great for me. As well as that, I think it’s important to do placements for long periods of time so that you’re considered a part of the team. At the same time though, you should be open to exploring possiblities. Before I was at Urban Outfitters, I saw myself as just concentrating on designing but it’s really thrown my ideas on what I would like to do. I enjoyed the buying role so much and am really grateful to have experienced different aspects so I feel that I can make a more informed choice as to what I do in the future. Jade: I think I would say, don’t be afraid to work for a small company because I worked for Blue Nile for six months and not a lot of my peers knew who they

were. They were really nice to me, they paid me whilst I was working there and I got to do a series of projects for people like ASOS and other designers. Now they have grown really big and are working with a lot of different well known labels so probably in a few years time everyone will know who they are and I had the opportunity to work with them whilst they were still building a name for themselves. Also I’d say don’t be scared to ask. Because of asking about a lot of different things, I opened doors to other placement opportunities and I got a chance to gain a bigger range of skills. James: I think one of the most trivial, yet important things that I’ve learnt is to always say GOOD MORNING! That’s through every single placement that I have done.

as an assistant and getting paid and had a chance to interview interns, which was a great experience. Chloe: I’d say that don’t think that any task is below you. You’re not given “boring” tasks because they think you’re not skilled, you just need to understand that jobs need to be done for the good of everyone. Faye: It’s important to understand that you’re working as a team and you’ve got to support that team. Kayleigh: Definitely agree, I think it’s noticed if you don’t take on every task positively which is really bad so you should always be willing because it means that you’ll come across as dedicated and a good member of the team.

Danielle D: I agree with James, you should always be friendly and say hello to people, even if it’s a bit scary at first. I would say ‘Hi’ to the pattern cutter at one placement everyday, even though I was a bit intimidated by it. At the end of the placement, it really paid off because they knew me and instead of telling assistants to give me instructions they personally talked me through tasks. Faye: Don’t get disheartened. At the beginning I could have easily given up, but because I didn’t, by the end of my placement I was working 35

G R A D U AT E FASHION WEEK

Our students have the opportunity to showcase their talent and skills every year at Graduate Fashion Week, an event that continues to work as a platform for fashion students both nationally and internationally. We want to talk you through a couple of aspects that are going to make this a very exciting year for new emerging talent, both at UEL and around the country.

Every year, each university has an opportunity to design and build a stand to act as a flagship for their courses throughout the event. This year UEL are examining the role of process and looking at the stories that every object tells. We’ve been looking at reclaimed wood from different decades and locations all around London. We want a sense of history and location to be captured in our stand and working with local companies that reclaim parts of London’s identity from mindless new builds has been a pleasure.

GRADUATE FASHION WEEK 2014 UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON STAND FLOOR PLAN - BIRDSEYE VIEW

PORTFOLIO VIEWING TABLE TO BE EASILY MOVEABLE FOR SPACE UTILISATION.

Our second year Fashion and Textiles students have been offered the opportunity to work as part of the organising team at Graduate Fashion Week this year. They will be working with many different universities and the event organisers, in order to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

WOOD IPAD CASE - TO VIEW STUDENTS WORK, DIGITAL PORTFOLIOS

EXAMPLE OF FRAME UNIT INTERACTIVE ACETATE AND PAPER WORK INSTALLATIONS

HANGING PORTFOLIOS

The Truman Brewery, off Brick Lane will host Graduate Fashion Week this year. It’s a venue that’s at the heart of East London’s cultural hub and has been popular with locals and tourists a like for over a decade. The space is industrial and raw adding a complimentary feel to energy of the space. Through presenting work that is raw in refinement and full of ideas, our stand hopes to really push this perspective and offer a great environment in which visitors can view the achievements of our students.

This is a fantastic opportunity for our students as it will provide them with a new perspective on all the hard work that goes into such a well established annual event. We are very thankful to Graduate Fashion Week for giving our students this opportunity and are incredibly excited about the event.

CASE LUIZ JOSE NASCIMENTO FILHO

STUDIES What’s the inspiration behind your final collection? I drew inspiration from the colours and textures of coffee whilst I was creating and developing my final collection. Throughout my research there’s a strong emphasis on texture and colour, and these two topics are the basis of my collection. I also researched in to certain tribes native to parts of Africa that harvest coffee. Which aspect have you enjoyed the most? Beyond question, the aspect I enjoyed the most was the beginning of the entire project. The idea of focusing on research completely alien to my outcome was intriguing and inspiring. I also enjoyed immensely the process of manufacture for all my garments. The idea of experimenting with new techniques of fabric manipulation was very appealing and exciting. I used this technique as a way of enriching my collection. There must have been a lot of challenges to overcome whilst developing your work. Do you feel you have learnt a lot from the experience? Definitely, many challenges, which is a good thing. I would say that the biggest of them was trying to discover a different technique to apply on the fabrics I chose to work with. I was looking to get as a result, a rustic, raw appearance material and at the same time sophisticated and light in order

to give my garments a unique identity. In this collection I have used two different techniques of fabric manipulation. Being based in east london, do you think that the city has had a strong influence on the way that you design? I believe that London, as one of the most inspiring and cosmopolitan cities in the world, is a natural source of research and creation, especially for the fashion industry. For my collection, in particular, I don’t believe it gave me much inspiration, the concept I choose to work with, led me over to the African and South America continents, where the coffee is a very important commodity. Where do you see your career beginning after UEL? After my degree, I would love to work for a well-recognised womenswear ‘ready to wear’ label and after gaining a significant amount of experience, set up my own business. The chance to have my own ideas impact on today’s fashion industry would be extremely exciting. Parallel with that, I am intending to advance on my studies, I am applying for my Masters Degree and soon after, I plan to study to become a teacher. It has been one of my dreams so I will ensure that I do it.

YASMIN MSELLI

What’s the inspiration behind your final major project? The ‘Samsara’ Collection was inspired by my travels to South East Asia and has the objective to shed light on the consequences of lost identity through displacement, ethnic and religious intolerance. Observations of the poverty, misery and vulnerability caused by political tyranny and abuse of human rights compelled me to interpret the circumstances by visual means. Which aspect have you enjoyed the most? The most enjoyable aspect of my Collection was the experimental processes that re-enacted crimes of genocide in a confined area at an abandoned WWII site in Crail, Scotland. Whilst in control of an AK47 airsoft gun and igniting smoke grenades I formed the role of the attacker, afflicting upon war criminals the suffering they impose upon their victims. There must have been a lot of challenges to overcome whilst developing your work. Do you feel you have learnt a lot from the experience? The most challenging aspect of the collection was the co-operation between myself and outsourced work. Amongst the problems were incorrect colourings, stretching of images, printing on wrong textiles and postal services. Despite believing you are in control you are dependent upon others to fulfil your realisations and they don’t always complete

their deadlines as specified. Bear in mind others are equally as busy as yourself and errors do occur. Ultimately I have learnt to adapt to circumstances and solve difficult situations through the preparation of Plan A, B and even C! Preparation and timing is key. Being based in east london, do you think that the city has had a strong influence on the way that you design? London avidly supports and encourages a freedom of expression within creativity through its immense cultural exposure to galleries, museums, festivals and people. The exposure to the broad range of art forms encourages design students in London to further develop their creativity in experimental processes. The free ideology of the city enlightens the mind to express itself openly. Where do you see your career beginning after UEL? An ideal vocation path would be within the international creative industries, working as a visual artist designing contemporary works for high end markets, ideally in a challenging, creative and innovative organisation with a forward thinking ethos. Whilst designing my graduate collection I developed a key interest in digital and fine art and would hope to further my body of work to present to galleries. An aspiration for the future would be acceptance onto a Master’s Degree.

KIRSTIE EELLS

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the inspiration behind your final collection? Tibetan nomads have been a heavy inspiration for my collection, focusing mainly on their use of layering creating their silhouettes. In the latter of the development of my collection, I looked further into Tibetan Buddhist rituals, such as that of the Devil Dancers for their symbolism and costumes helping towards the developments of my fabrics through my embroidery print. I also spent time researching into the nomad form of living, having paid close attention to the work of Lucy Orta photographing Euro gypsies. I brought this research from paper to form by working with tents for silhouettes, manipulating them on a stand which provided ideas for seam and stich finishing along with fastenings such as tent eyelets and securing with cord. This also teamed with the idea of repair that is also crucial to the Tibetan nomads way of living. Which aspect have you enjoyed the most? For me, it has been the development from paper to real garments, the whole toiling process, I feel this is when my best work comes out. The majority of my resolving takes place at this point, although I have previously made decisions on paper, I work better at developments once I have a silhouette. I also enjoy the deadline, although at the time it is a constant wish for one more day, I really enjoy being pushed to my absolute limit, because it is very satisfying seeing the end result. Plus I tend to remember

all the important bits which during paper development I forget to call upon and suddenly realise will work well! There must have been a lot of challenges to overcome whilst developing your work. Do you feel you have learnt a lot from the experience? Yeah definitely! Although I have already had a vast amount of industry experience, both at big and small brands giving me a range of level of trust and expectancy, it is still completely different when it is your own collection, having complete control of your time, decisions and a preference of order in regards to tasks. This I feel is one of the most vital aspects to ensure completion, especially if you are reliant on external services such as print or embroidery. I also think this is when I truly learnt how long things take me to complete, being realistic with my working time to ensure I make the most of each day.

subconsciously. Where do you see your career beginning after UEL? After UEL I am hoping to gain my place at Royal College of Art to continue with my degree at a Masterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s level in which I hope to seek development as a designer, and therefore also as a brand. Further to this I plan to continue to gain as much experience as I can through freelancing or should I be successful in gaining a position at a brand to acquire new skill sets which will help me in the eventual start up of my own brand, seek development as a designer, and therefore also as a brand.

Being based in east london, do you think that the city has had a strong influence on the way that you design? For sure, although at the moment I feel I see very little of it! I think London based designers do have a definite feel to their work, and you can see that in comparison to work produced by other schools. I think everyone is heavily influenced by their daily surroundings. Having my muses being based in and around the city, I think it is almost inevitable that I seek influence from it, whether it be something I have primarily taken influence from or if it be something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve drawn upon

I REALLY ENJOY

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We have managed to get behind the scenes to shoot some work in progress within the final year studio.

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KAMARA APPLETON

KEISHIN BARRETT

LUIZ JOSE NASCIMENTO FILHO

KIM STEVENSON 54

B E N I TA O C TAV I A N A

KIRSTIE LEE EELLS

AMY WARD

VERONICA PEDUZZI DAVIES

KRASIMIRA IVANOVA

THE CRIT THE ‘CRIT’ has got to be one of the most nerve racking experiences for any fashion student. Communicating your ideas with confidence and conviction is not easy for most of us, so our final year students have offered up a few more handy tips to help you stay prepared.

Lilly – Don’t take everything to heart, it’s all subjective. This is important because if you do, you’ll come out of a crit feeling really de-motivated and you might change what you believe in to suit the opinions of others. Alex – You can be respected for picking up on certain points and leaving others behind, as long as your collection is still progressing. Emma – Remember that tutors aren’t trying to make you cry or fail, they’re trying to help you improve your grades and do better for yourself. Joel – Even if you’ve got one page, don’t avoid going to a crit! Don’t avoid the tutor’s help. If you’re the type of person that doesn’t necessarily want to approach your tutors regularly outside of a crit, then the crit is a good time to find out what works and what doesn’t work. Lilly – Your own opinion is important, because you’re the person making the work, it’s your idea and I think that you should believe in what you’re doing, it’s your work, you should own it. Veronica – I think everyone’s opinion is equally important. Obviously you have your own opinion, but even if you don’t like every single thing that

someone says to you, you can still take things from it and you develop the suggestions in to something of your own. Alex – In your first and second year, everyone’s opinions are really important. You do not know as much about the subject so you need to value that aspect a lot more. In the final year, it’s a bit different; you can rely on your own decision making a lot more and stick to your own opinion. Joel – You should feel like you own your work because you’ve got to present it. If you’re not confident with what you’re doing because you spoke to the tutor and they said that they wanted it to be bright orange and you hated bright orange, and someone asks you why you’ve added it, you’re not going to have a leg to stand on. Emma – But you should remember that there will be suggestions that are given at the time, that you don’t like, but when you actually go away and try them, they end up working well. Jenny – Crits are like trial and error sometimes, when you’re discussing what you like and what your tutors like. Joel – You can’t go in to a crit being stubborn and sticking

H O W T O C O M M U N I C AT E Y O U R I D E A

to one mindset. You should take on board what everyone says because, like Alex says, if you’re in your first or second year, they’ll still be a lot of things that you need to learn and pick up ideas from. If you think you know everything when you’re in your first year, you’re an idiot! Joel – Make sure you’ve got images of your garments worn by someone! If you have a model on the day, this really helps. Emma – It’s so important to try your toiles/garments on models. They look so different on a body, compared to on a mannequin. Veronica – You learn a lot about movement in fabric and true proportion when you’re fitting on a model. Jenny – Also you learn about how they think your garments fit, which is really important. You’re designing for real people so it’s good to get that feedback. Lilly – You become proud of your work when you get to see it regularly on a person. Veronica – You should start trying your toiles and garments on people as soon as you can.

Alex – It’s really important to have a good relationship with your peers because you can come out of that crit and regurgitate it at a peer, then they can say things like, “yeah but look Alex, you’ve already thought that yourself”. They can pick out feedback and help you. Otherwise the whole thing is a bit of a mind - boggle when you’ve got two opinions and sometimes they’re completely contradictory to one another it can be really hard to find a middle ground. Leanne – Sometimes it’s really hard not to pick up on negative aspects. Keep notes so that you can go back to them at a later point when you’ve had time to reflect on the feedback. Emma – I record feedback from crits because, when I come out I think completely differently to when I sit down and listen to my recording. Sometimes I find that I completely miss important points when I don’t record. Lilly – It’s good to have a peer with you to take notes for you. I find that I do concentrate on the negative, so when I look at the notes from someone that knows me a little, they can point the constructive elements out to me, because they know how I think and how I work.

Veronica – Prepare really well and make sure that you’ve got a structure that you’re using when explaining work and asking questions. If you haven’t planned or you don’t have as much work as you should, you end up having a negative experience because you’re not in control. Lilly – It’s really hard to walk in to a crit and talk about your work. It helps if you are really passionate and fully committed to what you’re doing because you automatically portray that when you’re asked to explain your work. Be confident about your work! You chose it, so you should be confident about it. Leanne – Talk to your peers about your work. Emma - Explain your project to your peers from the beginning, if they can get what you’re trying to communicate then it really helps. Lilly – It’s harder to get feedback from your friends within your class sometimes. You don’t necessarily want to impress them, but you don’t want them to think that your work’s crap! If you can explain things well to them, then you’ll be fine within a crit.

HOW TO One question that will always stand the test of time and weigh heavy on any student’s mind is............

“WHAT DO I PUT IN MY PORTFOLIO??????” The portfolio is your mode of communication to convey your ideas and showcase your skills through, but deciding how to do this is the tricky bit. We asked a group of our final year students, in their own words, how they define a “PORTFOLIO” and what they feel is important to include in one.

WHAT IS A PORTFOLIO? Joel - It’s a journey. Class - hahahahahahaha. Alex - It’s a refined version of your creative journey. It’s you explaining to someone what you’ve done in an aesthetic way. What is a really important point to remember when creating a portfolio? Lilly - Don’t over think it. Veronica - To sell yourself and your work through it. Joel - You’ve got to remember that it’s a story. Leanne - The story should have different aspects of work, but it all should make sense together. Veronica - You’ve got to show the personality and the character of your own work through it. Alex - The person looking at it may not know you and may not get a chance to talk to you so they need a clear guide to show them what your development has been like.

PORTFOLIO

What is a main aspect of a portfolio, when considering the promotion of the person who created it? Alex - Who you are as a designer, you need to shout about your strengths. Jenny - The person looking at the portfolio should be able to see your personality through it. Joel - They should get a good idea of your aesthetic as well. Veronica - Within it, you should cover as much as you can about your work, so initial development, samples, your technical ability, as well as your personality and “the story”. Alex - Don’t sell yourself short. What’s more important to present within a portfolio? The final outcome or the process that came before the final outcome was realised? Veronica - I think it depends on what you want to do after you graduate. If you want to go and be a pattern cutter then you’d really want to show that you could cut or drape throughout the portfolio and if you wanted to be a researcher, you’d want to concentrate on that aspect. Final outcomes might not be as important for the person that wants to research for example.

ADVICE FROM OUR FINAL YEAR STUDENTS

Lilly - I think the process is more important to show. You want to be able to show how you got to your final outcome because without the skills you need to develop the process, you can’t achieve final outcomes. Alex - If you skipped the process journey then it’s less likely that you’re going to have a good final outcome. Veronica - I think everything is important but you have to tailor the portfolio to what you want to do. If you apply to work for different companies then you would tailor the presentation of the work to suit them. Joel - I think it’s about a healthy balance of all aspects of your work. Do you need annotation in a portfolio? Joel - I dont believe that annotation should be in a portfolio. Lilly - I don’t either. Why not? Lilly - I think that if you’re a visual person then you should be able to visually represent and express your ideas without words.

Jenny - I think it’s fine as long as it’s completely relevant to what you’re presenting. Joel – I think that if your work is visually successful, it’s good not to annotate, then the viewer can interpret your ideas themselves. I think sometimes annotation stops imagination in its tracks. I don’t necessarily think it’s always a bad thing. So when is annotation bad and when is it good to add to a portfolio?

Lilly – It should be a part of showing the thought process. What is really bad annotation? Alex – Just probably telling a little story that has absolutely nothing to do with what you’ve actually done. Lilly – When you waffle on about things it’s pretty bad.

Janet – I think when you don’t consider it graphically then it’s bad because it will ruin your page. Veronica – Exactly, because if you have bad handwriting, then you wouldn’t want to cover your portfolio in it. Jenny – Also if you are just stating the obvious then what’s the point? So when is it good? Veronica – It looks quite good when you do toile fittings and you draw and write notes on top of them to show ideas of development. Alex – You should write it for yourself though.

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Since leaving UEL I went on to manage a factory in North London looking after clients such as Victoria Beckham and Erdem. Learning about production, I was then offered the chance to start my own clothing label by the owner of the factory two years ago which I started with Holly Keepfer who was also in my year.

Our University of East of London Alumni is extensive and spans across many different levels of the fashion industry. We keep a good relationship with our graduates and are always interested in how they are progressing within their careers. We asked a few of them to reflect on their time at UEL and what they felt they learnt whilst studying here.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m currently at Jenny Packham as Bridal Production Coordinator, which I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be if I had not interned in the eveningwear department when I was at Uni. Previously to this I was at Cath Kidston as clothing and accessories production assistant. The course at UEL is full on and varied & great preparation for working in the fashion Industry. The combination of the fashion design and marketing in particular balanced the two spectrums of the industry giving students in-depth knowledge. Creating a great varied practical and theoretical skills base across the board on the fashion industry that employers are looking for. Jenny Packham alone has taken on many UEL graduates due to this. The industry placement module where we got industry experience was vital in employment success. Samantha McCune

Last year Opening Ceremony which is an American concept store took us on exclusively to sell in their stores in Los Angeles, New York, London and online until SS15. Charlotte Macke

Studying BA(Hons) Fashion with Marketing at UEL was a great all round experience. I learnt all the essential and practical skills needed for fashion such as garment design, pattern cutting and garment construction, as well as fashion business and marketing skills which gave me the know how and confidence to start my own fashion business and boutique. Having the opportunity to undertake a work placement whilst studying also gave me the chance to reflect on the path I wanted to take in the fashion industry and has greatly influenced what I am doing today. I found UEL to be a vibrant and dynamic place to learn. Partner at Here Today Here Tomorrow, and PhD student at University of the Arts, London. Researching design, garment use and sustainability. Emma Dulcie Rigby

I loved being a student at UEL. The course has really set me up for my career and really given me a strong educational background with which to grow from. The course was meticulously planned giving us an all round view and realistic view of the industry. I still refer back to concepts and theories discussed in my degree in my professional life. Most of all I remain friends with many of my fellow students who I have seen all grow into fashion industry professionals also.

I learnt so many aspects to fashion design and appreciate the level of standards we were taught by the tutors, they challenged us and prepared us for whatever opportunities we were given along the way. Looking back now, it was a fun and emotional experience that I would recommend to anyone thinking about a career in fashion.

Graduated in 2007 and now Senior Assistant Buyer at Dorothy Perkins, responsible for my own department.

I am now owner of womens streetwear label Brahboys.

Louise Schols

ALUMNI After finishing at UEL I went on to work as Press Assistant for Christian Dior and Lancome, and I am now Junior Copywriter in the PR & Communications department for Value Retail (the owner of Bicester Village and 8 other luxury shopping outlets across Europe). Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d say the course at UEL was hard but rewarding... As they say, nothing worth having is ever easy! It set me up with a great work ethic and I have gone into what is a very tough industry prepared with a real can-do attitude. The design and marketing modules were all-encompassing, enabling me to understand the industry from a 360 degree perspective. The industry placement was a great opportunity to make crucial first connections and learn what the industry was like first hand. Rebecca Ellwood

Lucy Johnson

Having studied at UEL, the great thing was to be able to study both design and business within fashion, allowing me to gain knowledge of how to set up my own business and all the different job roles in the fashion industry which I could apply myself to. The facilities within the course is very good, providing a separate sewing room to the studio and if needed, laser cutting, photography studios, textile studios are available for use, along with a digital print company (FabPad) within the premises of the campus, allowing easy access at great rates and a 24hr library. Furthermore, the teaching time with student and lecturers is quite regular on a week to week basis which I found very helpful. I graduated in 2013 and now Freelance garment technologist at Mary Katrantzou. Joanne Tse

LOOKING BACK

A FUN & EM EXPERIENCE TH

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TO NG ABOUT A

THANK YOU HEAD OF FASHION & TEXTILES Dorota Watson

d.watson@uel.ac.uk

Simon Robertshaw

PROGRAMME LEADERS

MARKETING

v.n.fong@uel.ac.uk

Nicola Quilter

Vicki Fong

Lesley Robertson

l.j.robertson@uel.ac.uk David Thomas

d.m.thomas@uel.ac.uk

ADMINISTRATORS Harshey Rana Nadia Shah

STAFF TEAM Emma Carey Helen Carter Caryl Court

Kate Davey

Simone Deegan Joe Hunter

VISITING LECTURERS Wendy Baker Lynsey Coke

Alexis Cawley

Chan Chong

Fotios Savva

HEAD OF TECHNICAL RESOURCES David Ring

TECHNICAL ASSOCIATES & ASSISTANTS Gemma Banks Daryl Brown

Michael Callaghan Karen Ferry

Gerry Grainger Peter Hall

Zoe Hodgson

Craig Madden Glen Marston

Rob Mcclellan Joanne Pybus Mark Sowden Dean Todd

Salma Vohra

Rosemary White Aimee Ward

Emma Watson

Sally Denton

RESEARCHERS

Belgin Vehbi

Georgia Wing

Virginia James James Wallman SHOW PRODUCER Clive Warwick

PHOTOGRAPHY Stephen Holden

DEAN OF ARTS AND DIGITAL INDUSTRIES

Sabrina Faramarzi

INHOUSE FACILITIES The team at Fabpad

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