Fashion Buying student Caliesha Lowe is about to finish a year’s industry placement that has taken her into the world of high end style, working for a designer loved by Taylor Swift, Angelina Jolie, Kate Winslet and The Duchess of Cambridge.
Caliesha has been working with Jenny Packham, in London, independent designer and maker of evening dresses, bridal wear and lingerie sold in Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges, to name just a few of their retail concessions. The company also has two of its own stores in Mayfair and Victoria, as well as a presence in Paris, New York and Hong Kong.
“Working at Jenny Packham has given me a sharper edge because you have to be well organised; if something isn’t ready then it knocks on to other areas of the business and this can affect sales.
“I’ve also learnt from working with different people, with many different working styles.”
Caliesha recalls how exciting it was to work on Kim Sears’ wedding dress, as well as bespoke pieces for her bridal party, in the build up to her marriage to tennis star Andy Murray.
“It was overwhelming to see all our work presented to such a huge audience and it was such an effort to keep it all a secret, occasionally having to deal with prying journalists who’d get past our reception.”
Other challenges were sent to try her, such as brides not making their dress sizes and sometimes designs being sold to prestigious stores but then having to be pulled because they weren’t looking or feeling right. Yet Caliesha has certainly valued the very real experience she’s gained from her placement, the things you just won’t find in a text book.
While she’ll miss the London life, Caliesha’s still looking forward to finding a different kind of pace when she returns to DMU for her final year, in September.
She is one of many Fashion Buying students who have left their familiar routines at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) for a year to taste the dynamic, fast-moving and exciting world of fashion retail buying and merchandising.
They’ve swapped contact with lecturers and fellow students for a chance to work with and learn from buyers, suppliers, designers, managers, pattern cutters, merchandisers, retail workers and the like.
Emma-Louise Ingrey is just over a week into her placement with Brora Ltd, known for its colourful, hand knitted cashmere jumpers. She is working as a design assistant in the company’s woven department and supporting the whole team, not just the designers and will have regular progress meetings with the head buyer.
“I’m hoping to gain lots of valuable experience, improve on skills I’ve learnt at DMU and gain some contacts,” said Emma.
“With Fashion Buying, there are many directions students can take and I think placements help you narrow down what part of the fashion field you’d like to progress into after graduating.”
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Zoe Lloyd and Georgia Barnes have both taken up placements at the Lutterworth head office of George at Asda. Zoe is working on the online exclusives section, including maternity, branded product and occasion wear. Georgia is acting as a fashion buying assistant for menswear.
“I hope to gain some real insight into the industry, learn and develop my skills and give myself the best chance of getting into fashion buying once I’ve graduated,” said Zoe.
Georgia also places ‘employability’ at the top of her wish list.
Kathryn Westrep has just joined Associated Independent Stores in Solihull, as show co-ordinator/admin assistant. She’ll be working on the eight shows a year the company puts on for its members and suppliers.
This is a role that will require good organisation and communication skills: “I am very much a people person but to be in the industry I’ll need to be stronger and more courageous – this role is going to help me to become that,” said Kathryn.
Kathryn will join Megan Randle at AIS who has already developed many contacts with suppliers and is looking forward to more networking at the company’s show, this month.
“I know I want to work in the fashion sector and hope to specialise in product development,” said Megan.
“I feel that by having a placement and year-long work experience behind me I can confidently apply for graduate roles and better my chances of securing a full-time job.”
Louise Morley, Fashion Buying Programme Leader at DMU, said: “Fashion Buying students taking the Marketing pathway have an opportunity to do a year’s industrial placement, build their practical knowledge of the business and see everything they’ve learned in context.
“I’m confident from previous experience that the latest cohort of placement students will return to DMU much stronger and adaptable for their taste of the industry and the contacts they’ve made.”
Posted on Monday 10 August 2015