On 2nd March Fashion Marketing and Management students from the University of Southampton visited The Factory.
With many students showing a keen interest in becoming a buyer the tour gave them an opportunity to see how the production side of the industry works and they soon learnt that it was so important for a buyer to be aware of the processes involved in manufacturing.
The group were able to hear from CEO Jenny Holloway and with her background as a Senior Buyer and now owner of the Factory they were able to gain an insight into the both the role of the buyer as well as how a supplier operates.
The tour gave the students an opportunity to meet with Production Manager Caroline and learn what makes the factory ethical and fully compliant. They saw first-hand each stage of the garment life cycle both in the Factory for bulk production and the Fashion Studio for patterns, samples and short production runs.
The students commented:
‘I have learnt a lot about the manufacturing process, the different stages of production and what to look out for as a buyer.’ Elizabeth
‘Very interesting. I look forward to continuing this in my career!’ Alice
‘I know understand about the importance of fabrics and how vital it is for buyers to understand this. Really interesting – Thank you!’ Maddy
We look forward to welcoming students from the University of Southampton again next year.