Inspiring the next generation of fashion designers and entrepreneurs
From 1996 to 2009 the City Fringe Partnership delivered major initiatives to improve the prospects of residents and support London's small businesses.
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Inspiring the next generation of fashion designers and entrepreneurs - Fashion Awareness Direct
The CFP's Fashion Sector Investment Plan (FSIP) showed a high concentration of fashion businesses - from designers to manufacturers to retailers - within the City Fringe. The CFP's fashion programme encouraged new business opportunities, prepared London enterprises for these new markets and improved the provision of training within the sector.
The FSIP also identified the opportunity to draw on the mass appeal of fashion as a means to reach local young people and inspire them to pursue higher education and support future employment choices. Many young people lack the opportunity to discover whether they have the practical ability to pursue careers in fashion so the CFP commissioned Fashion Awareness Direct (FAD) to work with local students to show how the fashion industry presents viable routes to employment.
FAD's Fashion Futures project provided workshop resources not readily available at local schools and took students through an A-Z of the industry by fashion professionals, learning about the design process, sources of inspiration and the technical skills required to create a garment.
With the involvement of Central Saint Martins, students who progressed from the initial stages received practical tuition in fashion design and garment construction. Students gained key skills, from concept development to illustration, pattern cutting and industrial machine use, and embellishment and styling.
In addition, intensive sessions with big name retailers like Asda, Mango, River Island and John Lewis ensured that students were made aware of opportunities in the non-design side of the industry like production, retail buying, merchandising, marketing and promotion, and styling. Advice was also provided about the different routes to higher education to support these various career paths.
A selection of the Fashion Futures students were selected by a panel of industry representatives to show their finished garments at Vauxhall Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week. Winners secured coveted internships with top designers and retailers.
Aysha Simpson, joint-winner of the 2008 FAD Junior Awards
Aysha Simpson was formerly a pupil at Raines Foundation School in Tower Hamlets and was only in her first year of college (Year 12) when she embarked on the Fashion Futures 2 course. Nine months later she was announced joint winner of the 4th FAD Junior Awards, at a high profile catwalk event held at Vauxhall Fashion Scout during London Fashion Week.
"Winning the FAD Junior Awards means everything to me. I feel that the door has just crept slightly open and my future in the industry is within reach."
As a direct result of winning she was offered a placement with London design duo Hemyca. She spent two weeks in February 2009, working with the designers in preparation for their show at London Fashion Week. In her own words: "It was a very busy time, but from this experience I would definitely love to pursue a career in fashion. There was a great excitement on the day of the show which made the experience complete."
Aysha was accepted to the London College of Fashion to do a foundation in Art & Design Studies following her A Levels. While juggling career and higher education plans, Aysha also found time to become an FAD volunteer working as a member of the events team and becoming a key member of FAD's youth forum, meeting regularly to give ideas and valuable feedback on the charity and its projects.
