Graduate Fashion Foundation, the charity behind Graduate Fashion Week in association with UK Fashion & Textiles Association (UKFT), hosted an exclusive reception at the Houses of Parliament celebrating their strong ties with leading industry experts, bringing together fashion’s brightest young graduate talent and key policy makers. Following in the footsteps of notable alumni including Christopher Bailey MBE, Stella McCartney and Giles Deacon, Graduate Fashion Foundation showcased an exciting curated display of award winning 2018 graduate work, from the range of fashion disciplines including design, marketing, journalism, photography and knitwear.
Over 200 top industry guests including CEOs, Founders, Directors, Buyers, HR, PR and design teams attended, alongside established designers including Pam Hogg, Holly Fulton and Oliver Spencer to name a few. The guests gathered with charity trustees, ambassadors as well as Founder Jeff Banks CBE to celebrate the past year of successes and to launch the start of the 2019 year of events and activities.
Graduate Fashion Foundation Chairman and Mothercare CEO Mark Newton-Jones, spoke about the importance of the annual June Graduate Fashion Week event as an international platform for creating employment opportunities for UK graduates within the fashion capitals of the world as well as adding value to companies. Furthermore, Mark announced the launch of the second year of the Graduate Fashion Foundation Protégé Project, the charities mentoring scheme especially created to support a core selection of graduates for two years, following their graduation. This week also saw GFF run a series of nationwide masterclasses in collaboration with Ralph Lauren and partner universities. These extra-curricular professional talks provide much needed preparation for the students entering the industry and key tips on life after graduation.
