As part of their course work, Fashion Branding and Communication students had the exciting opportunity to work with fashion platform SilkFred on a live brief. Students were then invited to pitch to the part of the SilkFred team, earning the opportunity to take part in a placement with them and shadowing the team.
The client
SilkFred launched in 2011 with a priority “to bring the best independent fashion brands to market”. With one million global customers the brand nurtures and supports new brands to long-term success. SilkFred partner with 900+ independent brands and have helped grow brands from market stalls to seven figure businesses, reaching millions of customers in the UK and internationally.
The brand has a large social media presence, with a following of over 1 million followers across its social platforms, with a UK audience as its main demographic. SilkFred are also growing their presence fast in both Australia and America.
The brief
Students were briefed to create and pitch a brand with the aim of it being sold on SilkFred, including name, brand mission, target audience, market analysis and more.
As a live industry project created by SilkFred’s brand scout team, students were put in teams of four and allocated with job roles of either brand manager, photoshoot manager, digital PR manager and project delivery manager. Every aspect of the brand were to be considered, from visual creative direction, brand content and a social media plan; all with justified reasons as to how these ideas would improve brand engagement and fit onto the SilkFred platform.
Clarissa Clarke-Williams, Brand Scout talks about the day and briefs: "Collaborating with the fashion students at Birmingham City University was a fantastic opportunity to highlight talent and forward-thinking ideas and opportunities.
"The project brief focused on creating and launching a brand with SilkFred. This involved in-depth customer and market research, as well as design, production, merchandising, shooting and promotion of the brand."
Felicity Jenkins - Hughes, Brand Scout, adds: "It was an absolute pleasure to listen to all the projects, which were all extremely innovative and visionary. All the teams involved showcased how they could implement new ideas into an established e-commerce business and proved how their skills could be applied for future career paths."
Benefits of working on live projects
Collaborating with brands like SilkFred gives students an insight into the day-to-day running of a large online retailer and a chance to explore the job roles at the organisation. Not only that, but the partnership has sparked new relationships between the university, its talent pool and potential links for placement and graduate jobs.
The winning student will spend a week in SilkFred's Brick Lane Offices shadowing the team, and will be given the opportunity to work with multiple teams such as marketing, tech, shoot and merchandising, allowing them to gain real hands-on experience within the fashion industry. They will also learn how a brand team operates and what drives a successful brand online, as well as how to create best selling styles and learn what our customer loves.
Georgia Glenn, a Fashion Branding and Communication student that participated in the live brief presentation, said: “The SilkFred Live Industry Project was one of my favourite modules to date. I feel like it really helped me consider time management when working in a team in line with a brief and consider the needs of other members of the team. I loved presenting to SilkFred, it was interesting to hear from the Brand Scouts about their jobs and the industry they work in as I would like to join this industry one day. They were open and honest and the Q&A we did was insightful. Their feedback was encouraging and a real confidence boost”.
