Our calendar is always jam-packed with activities and this year has been no different; from inspiring studio visits to exciting trips abroad, our MA Fashion and Textiles students have taken part in a number of exciting events.
Christopher Raeburn studio visit
We took a trip to East London in early October to visit the Fashion studio of sustainable designer, Christopher Raeburn. Christopher gave us a guided tour of his studio and talked to us about his brand ethos. We even had the opportunity to try on pieces from past collections and get a glimpse of his new collection. The tour concluded with a Q&A session with the designer, which was an invaluable experience for our students.
Chatsworth House
With Christmas just around the corner we took a trip to visit Chatsworth House in December. We spent a magical day at Chatsworth, which sits in the heart of the Peak District and is home to the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.
The sumptuous yellow stone building is surrounded by gardens, fronted by the River Derwent and backed by a tree-covered hillside. The house was lavishly decorated in the theme of ‘The Nutcracker’ for Christmas with traditional twinkling Christmas trees festooned in baubles and bows. There were over thirty rooms to explore containing works of art that span 4000 years. The surrounding countryside is home to grazing sheep, cattle and deer, perhaps even Rudolph himself…
The students (and staff!) enjoyed dressing up in clothes from the era, exploring the beautiful gardens, a delicious lunch and a day out together in the English countryside. A lovely day was had by all!
Paris
Over the duration of our MA courses we visit various trade fairs and exhibitions and in February students and staff took a trip to Paris to visit Première Vision, one of the B I G G E S T annual events of the fashion industry calendar.
Our students attend as professionals and get the opportunity to interact with the industry’s leading trends companies, manufactures, fabric and yarn suppliers. It’s an amazing opportunity to rub shoulders with 60,000 industry professionals from over 120 countries, get inspired and experience the life of a professional first hand.
We had an invaluable time at Premier Vision and rounded it off with a trip to Avenue Montaigne. After all a trip to Paris isn’t complete without seeing the best of French fashion (Dior, Chanel, Zidag and Voltaire to name a few!) and of course a visit to Angelina’s, the famous Parisian tea room favoured by Coco Chanel for afternoon tea.
MA Fashion show and static show
Our annual Fashion show and static show took place this July in the Parkside Gallery at Birmingham City University.
The MA students across all courses worked together with the staff team to put on an end of year show, whilst raising money for Cancer Research. This year one of our Fashion Media students managed to secure sponsorship from several companies including, Kiehls, the Body shop, Clarins, L’occitane and more. The Fashion show is an opportunity for students to share skills and work collaboratively, as well as take part in model scouting and promotional activities.
Following the fashion show, we held an awards ceremony with certificates and prizes awarded for categories including;
- Creative Innovation Award
- Peer Engagement Award
- Outstanding Effort Award
- Entrepreneurship Award
- Commercial Industry Award
- Most Improved Performance Award
This year’s static show exhibiting work from our MA Textile Design students was presented in Parkside Gallery, alongside showreel screenings of work by our MA students across all courses.
There’s still plenty more to come this year so be sure to keep an eye out on the blog and our Instagram page to see what we get up to next!
If you’re joining an MA Fashion and Textiles course in September and have any questions please feel free to email me on jasbir.kaur@bcu.ac.uk.
