when people think about livery companies they think about their history and
heritage which in most cases goes back over 750 years but livery companies
moved away from their trade origins and the contemporary face of a livery
company is really about philanthropy and support for talent. It's a combination of
their educational partnership with LCF their support and industry connections
that fuels the creative impetus of our students, creates knowledge exchange ,and
really lets the magic happen. There are a hundred and thirteen livery
companies today with fifty thousand members and some of them traced back to
medieval times. The idea of them was to provide a space for people that worked
in the industries. The leather cellars for example was a sort of home, a base a
community for people that worked in the leather trade and some livery companies
also had a lot to do with regulating trade as well, in the 17th century the
AG of London effectively lost their power because they were competing
with lots of new industries outside the square mile and of course we have
our restrictions to the square mile in terms of what we do and so most of the
liveries of that time switch they have to charitable work as well and that what
gives us our charitable basis today and so we've gone if you like to look at
looking after the craft as training charitable works and fellowship and those
are sort of watch words for what we do these days. The college's ethos has been
about shaping lives through fashion through putting better lives and the
opportunities that a fashion education could present not just to our students
but also to our immediate communities has been key to us going forward that
it's more than just creating beautiful clothes or accessories or thinking
how do we provide the best retail experience. It really
is how do we use that to address some of the key issues that are facing us as a
society and as a country and the great thing about livery companies is that so
many of them share the same commitments the same approach to the philanthropic
opportunities that in a way fashion education could present and we're very
keen to be really looking at how we can work with these particular partners as
we go forward into the future. I began a research project which was supported by
the Arts and Humanities Research Council and also then supported by the leather
sellers so for me working with the leather sellers at that early stage was
such an important aspect because they gave me the historical context. They also
gave me the nurturing environment the support in institutions and education.
One of the original questions within my research project was patronage the
patronage that both myself as an artist the college have gained has been crucial
for the development of the course. Without the patronage which has
supported continually through bursaries and through the the nurturing and
development of the course over a 10-year period facilitated us to be able to
celebrate at that period- a ten-year retrospective exhibition. The exhibition
is titled why what who. so why they came to the course, what they produced, and who
they are now. London College of Fashion has been connected with Biennale
for a number of years particularly the art Biennale where we've had both staff and
students or alumni exhibiting work. I became very interested in being
connected with the architecture Biennale because of the relationship of fashion
to engineering and architecture and felt that this was the perfect opportunity to
show the alumni from this particular course because of the interest in
materials, because the fact that we've got alumni
from all over the world and that's what we have here in Venice and it is for me
the perfect setting for this particular course. I think a special thing about the
MA artifact is the context because students can really try to explore
the boundaries so either it could be a research around the body but also I
think also what a product can be because sometimes it ends up like this more as
an artistic piece than actually a product that you can use. A product
always built on heritage of craftsmanship also on a divest culture
and that's something also I think ma artifact really embraces because it has
children from Columbia, China, Korea and they're all bringing different tradition,
different craftsmanship and especially I think different taste is in aesthetics. I
have a BA in culture and I have a background in leather manufacturing so I
found that this course was like the middle point between my practices in my life.
It really focuses in leather and leather craft. I chose to study at
London College of Fashion because the designers that I look up to, they came
from such as Jimmy Choo Nicholas
Kirkwood and also understanding how to pretty much develop the product from scratch and
understanding the stages what it takes to actually finish a perfect product.
While originally I've come from Bristol so I wanted to move to London as a city
because it's vibrant, it's multicultural. Originally I went to Leeds art college
where I did a fashion course there. As time went on, I you know, felt that need to move into
design. While I was 15 I was really into those kind of traditional leather craft
my mum gave me this kind of opportunity. If you want to do something, why not just
combine like fashion capital inspiration and then go along with your traditional
craftsmanship and then let's see happen. London college of fashion is
like they've got the reputation of the cause and then they are the
only one in like really have really big traditional in UK I think. The way the MA
is set up it's all about like finding your own voice and like what you really
want to do and although it's terrifying having the ability to absolute, you can
do anything you want is really scary and probably really daunting at times
and it took me a while to actually get into the groove and actually figure
out what I wanted to do and get a cohesive narrative direct my work. I
do a lots of new material and combining with traditional craftsmanship.
You like to do what you want because is your final collection you can come by
the techniques you want and also acting a little bit more commercial elements
because every conceptual piece they are transferrable to a commercial piece. At the
end I just follow my heart. All of a sudden through first year I had
this all this new wealth of knowledge and in second year it wasn't so much
about learning anymore it was more kind of proving or putting it into practice
that what you had learned and then being able to express that more in design but
going into placement there's just all of all this information that you wouldn't
have. Just because uni is not able to offer that information because obviously
it's two separate things. When you're on placement if you know if you do well and
that's a potential job for you. After university I got a job straight away
working on a a Steven Spielberg film. I feel like the bursary really helped me
because otherwise I don't think I would have been able to afford to live in
London, to work full-time at a fashion brand. When you're outside, you learn a
lot. You just get the clear picture of how who you're designing for, why. I
design with purpose and reason behind what I'm doing and understanding who you
design for is very important which is one thing I never cared as much when I
was doing my normal projects in university. When I went on placement
it just opens your eyes. So having these bursaries available it
just makes it so much easier for you to just focus on what you need to do to
complete and to do at the best to your ability. It's helped me pretty much like
someone believed me like I have people who actually believe didn't I couldn't
have done it without it. I'll probably do the same it whatever in progress or in
the future if I manage to get that, I'll be able to inspire and help other students
too the same way hey did to me.
Without the award I wouldn't have been able to get where I am right now. If I
would have got a job straight after my BA I don't think I would be as confident
or as equipped to do it like do the job that I'm doing. Doing the MA just allowed
me to develop not only as a person but my practice and I am so grateful to them
I think it was one of the best things that had happened to me
I mean personally I'd like to thank them very much. If I could speak to the
careers, I would just express my gratitude really because without that
bursary I might not be not to go. I miss out on all the contacts, all the knowledge,
all the experience and in that just dominos all the way through my career so
you know 20 years time if I'm where I want to be and doing well then
ultimately that's impart down to the careers so my thanks to them. From an
outsider because I'm not British to see that the liveries have survived more
than 700 years so they are able to become modern and to modernize and I
think they actually can really benefit for us in helping and just modernize
themselves and what they contribute to the course and to our students. Well of
course our relationship with the London College of Fashion is special because of
the College which was established by the company
years ago and of course in recent years has become part of the fabric quite
literally because the building belongs to London College profession as
well and with the results of that relationship I think you can only be
developed so when you do move to Stratford in 2022, see what we can do
by way of helping you in that transitional year because it's difficult
but then seeing what we can do in the plan after that. The college is moving to
Stratford in 2022 and this presents a wonderful opportunity for the college. It
would be the first time in its history that it's on one site, we're currently on
six sites. It's going to present all sorts of opportunities for collaboration, for
partnerships, for links with industry and for us to be able to really develop the
fashion discipline in a way and again the livery companies are going to be
crucial for this they've been great industry partners for us over the years
and we see them as being really at the center of some of our discussions about
what is it going to be like to build this wonderful new building which in a
way will be second to none, certainly in Europe if not the world.