UON: Let's hear it from the teachers! (X)

As the hectic month of global fashion weeks has come to an end, universities across the country have been opening up their doors for the start of a new year, prepared to mould the budding textile and fashion designers who will lead the future of the industry. It is up to the fashion lecturers, professors and designers at these institutes to help guide these students of tomorrow on their way and ensure they are ready to enter the industry when they graduate. But what are their thoughts on the current state of affairs within fashion educational institutes, designers and the industry itself? FashionUnited took a moment to speak to Dr. Julie King, Head of Fashion at the School of Arts at University of Northampton to hear what the teachers had to say.

FashionUnited: How did you first become involved in the educational side of the industry?

Dr Julie King: Well, I was doing my MA in Fashion and Textiles at Leicester Polytechnic and my old tutor from foundation, who was like a mentor to me and had encouraged me to go ahead do my masters, was looking for someone who was interested in doing a little bit of teaching and talk about masters studies to her students. And so she invited me over one day, and I did my talk and spend some time with the students and I really enjoyed it. Then she said to me: 'You know what? You are a natural at this.' And I would have never got into teaching if it wasn't for her. Then she added: 'If you want you can have some hours with us.' So I did that, and I worked part-time with second and third year students and I really enjoyed myself.”

“And then I found a role which would enable me to teach and do my own research as well within the industry, which really fascinated me as well and that was at Nottingham Trent University. So I started there in 1995. I really don't know how this sort of thing really happens, you just sort of slip into teaching. I've taught at a few different institutes part-time for a few years and although it wasn't the particular career path I had thought of, it just seemed to really suit me.”

What drew you to the University of Northampton, how did you end up there?

“So I stayed for about five and half years at Nottingham Trent University. And then I was offered the opportunity to move to Hong Kong Polytechnic University and I set up the first MA in Fashion and Textiles in the Asian-Pacific region over in Hong Kong, which was a great programme. I really enjoyed working there and getting more involved with international students and different cultures.”

“Then, when I was looking to come back to the UK, I went to the head of the fashion department at De Montfort University, which was quite unique because it had programmes such as footwear and underwear design which hadn't really been offered by many institutes at all and that interested me. And also at De Montfort University, I was given the opportunity to take a sabbatical and go to Mauritius to establish the fashion design institute over there. Although Mauritius is more known as a sourcing and manufacturing hub for the fashion industry, its not a major hub like India or Bangladesh or China, but it is still has important role for the UK. So then after that, I went back to De Montfort for a while and then ended up at Northampton, which is very similar in a way to De Montfort because they also offer footwear and accessories design. It was pretty much a no brainer move for me really.”

Did you enjoy working overseas with international students?

“Working overseas has probably been the best thing I have ever done because it has given me a far greater insight into international business, international students and its different approach to learning and teaching as well.”

“We have some international students here at Northampton. We have just started an international exchange programme where students from around the world can come study with us for one term, just to get a taste of what it's like. We offer the exchange at an undergraduate level, so they can decide later on if they want to come to the UK to do a postgraduate course. Of course our reputation for everything leather, footwear, accessories and clothing also draws in a number of international students. We also have a working tannery on site, the only one within a university in the UK. Being located in Northampton, we are in the center of footwear production in the UK. There is so much heritage around here and the brands we work with are just fantastic. So brands like Church's, Dr.Martens and Joseph Cheaney & Sons are just on our doorstep here.”

What are your thoughts on today's fashion educational institutions and their current course offering?

“Honestly, I think that there are too many in the UK at the moment, the market has just become totally saturated because its such a popular subject. So we have every different level of programme you can imagine, from a foundation degree to a B-tech, to a HMD right the way through. And I think the current offerings are variable. Nowadays you really have to have a very strong unique selling proposition (USP) and you have to very strong heritage. For example the London institutes do not have to try quiet as hard because they have that one fantastic USP, which is the city itself and fashion scene around London its incredible. But other institutions outside of London work harder I think, to provide a unique experience for students.”

“Here at Northampton, students can create their own leather, they can print it, dye it, etch it, emboss it, laser cut it, distress, so I think that is a major element for us, that they can create it here. Footwear and accessories is another USP for us, because there is only ours, De Montfort and London College of Fashion that offer footwear design degrees in the UK, so that's definitely one of our major USPs. Also we are right in the heart of the footwear industry, we have an amazing resource on our doorstep, the Northampton shoe museum which has an incredible archive of thousands and thousands of pairs of shoes, which the students has access too.”

Do you think it is important for fashion educational institutes to remain up to date with the current changes/trends in the fashion industry and apply this to their course offering accordingly?

“I think that everyone is reviewing their course portfolio at the moment and their modules which are offered to ensure they are up to date. We update ours every year and if you don't I think you run the risk of being outdated and irrelevant, really. So we look at not just topics such as sustainability, but also things like promotion and communications, which have become more important in the recent years because of social media and the different way designers use it to showcase themselves and their work. I think the curriculum has to be up to date and in fact we are currently looking at aspects of that provision, with the view of revalidating the courses to ensure they are fresh.”

“It is always useful to have friends and advisors within the industry as well, who you can run things by and we are very fortunate we have those connections.”

How important do you think it is to create links and contacts within the fashion industry whilst earning a degree or teaching at an educational institution?

“Well, it goes without saying really because, for example, if you have a live project going on with the industry then the students can really get a feel and understanding of the brand, producing garments to brand's certain specifications and to a particular demographic. They can also potentially get internships with them. And from my experience, if you have done an internship and you have done well then the majority of students are often asked to go back to those companies once they graduate. We have a few fixed companies we offer internships with year in and out, so those contacts are constant. However, nowadays students are also very self sufficient and they go out and are far more able to promote themselves than when I was at university. So some of them do go out and get their own contacts and internships, but we do have people we know and we are also approached by companies looking for interns. It goes both ways.”

“I also think it's vital for teachers to have those links. You can't teach if you do not know what is going on. You have to be very current. You have to be able to bring guest speakers in. You have got to be able to organise competitions and I really don't think you can function well if you do not have that.”

Do you think there is enough support within the industry for fashion graduates entering the industry for the first time?

“Well, obviously setting up your own fashion brand, getting the PR, getting the collections together and presenting at London Fashion Week, I think that it is incredibly expensive and very hard work.”

“However, graduates going into industry and developing themselves in their craft at an established label, thats seems to be working well. There is a variety of jobs available within the industry and I always try to tell students to not only think of themselves as designers but to really look at their strengths. So perhaps they are very handy technical and good with pattern cutting, so they could go into that field rather than being a designer. It may be that they are very good at styling or promoting themselves, it could be that there are avenues in fashion journalism which they want to explore or even on the buying or visual merchandising side, so there are more jobs out there that we use to try and keep the students options open and let them know what is available.”

And lastly, what is the one main piece of advice you would give a student graduating from Northampton and embarking on the start of their career within the industry?

“I would say network. Network as much as you can whilst you are a student, either through internships, short work placements, use social networking to promote yourself and get as much experience as you can. Even taking on a graduate internship if you can't find a job straight out if university could help, but I really think that networking is the most important thing.”