Fashion Enter & FTA At Graduate Fashion Week 2019

Members of the Fashion Enter / FTA team are fresh back from Graduate Fashion Week 2019 at the Truman Brewery where sustainability heavily featured across the board. Graduates from all fashion disciplines from marketing and communication to photography and design explored the sustainability theme, which aside from Brexit, has been the most dominant news story this year. Fashion Enter CEO Jenny Holloway gave a workshop at the ‘Considered Design Hub’ stand on ‘What an ethical UK Factory looks like’ while Chantelle attended catwalk shows and visited the various stands.

Development Manager, Chantelle said: “It was notable that many textile and design students utilised natural yarns and fibres and used these to creatively push the boundaries in proportion, colour and styling. Messages about the environment and climate change were loud and clear, along with several others concerning diversity and inclusion.

“Texture and vibrant colour clashes hit the runway from Manchester School of Art graduate – Rafaella Konstantinou. She combined ultra feminine shapes and frills with sheer panelling in bright turquoise and yellow. Her appliqued oversized flowers and fruits gave her collection a frivolous and fun feel.”

Chantelle explored the exhibition and met with course leaders to inform them about the various services, workshops and courses that we provide at the Fashion Technology Academy and the Factory. Many were interested in our ‘Factory Uncovered’ workshops providing real insight into fashion manufacturing and the many stages involved in garment production.

GFW attendee Karolina Najdek commented on Jenny’s talk over at the ‘Considered Design Hub’ powered by Farfetch, she said: “Thank-you for your talk at Graduate Fashion Week, it was very informative. You made me aware of issues that I didn’t realise existed.” Karolina was so impressed by the company that she sent in her CV the very next day to apply for a work placement at Fashion-Enter.

Jenny Holloway Fashion-Enter CEO added: “We were delighted to be asked to talk on sustainability and ethical production but we were equally delighted to see so many of our apprentices attend the event too. If our learners are going to be industry ready then they need to confident, self assured and network effectively. We encourage our apprentices in particular to visit GFW with their tutor Jo and this way they can also become inspired to consider HE options too. I talked to a few of the apprentices on site and explained that sometimes it’s more about perseverance and commitment than thinking that some people get all the luck. Does luck really occur or is it hardwork and gritty determination?

“I accompanied some of the apprentices around the show and we highlighted various stands such as UEL which has a strong fashion background. We discussed the importance of being aware of market variables such as the importance of etail v retail, bricks and mortar v online selling. We also discussed how order quantities are now much smaller and that means people are buying at full price rather than buying on discount – this equates to less disposable fashion.” 

Apprentice Gee commented: “I found GFW inspiring and it was great to walk around with Jenny and the rest of the apprentices. By being industry focused made me realise that all I am learning on my course puts me into a strong position for the rest of my career.”

GFW culminated in a prestigious awards ceremony on Wednesday the 5th June, where selected graduates across several disciplines won funding and scholarships.