Best foot forward for Laura and Hallie as they attend footwear fair in Milan

​Two lucky Footwear students from the University of Northampton have been given the opportunity to network with leading industry names at an international footwear fair in the fashion capital of Milan.

Laura Pickering and Hallie Lonsdale will be attending the MICAM footwear fair in February 2016 to work as interns with the British Footwear Association (BFA). This fantastic opportunity will allow them to immerse themselves in the tradeshow environment, gain invaluable experience and meet key people from some of the best footwear brands in the world. The MICAM is one of the biggest and most important fairs in the industry and hosts over 1,500 companies and represents around 30 countries.

The University of Northampton has been the host to the BFA’s Craft to America, Style to Britain footwear exhibition and students on the BA (Hons) Footwear and Accessories programme were invited to invigilate the three-week exhibition on a rota basis. In return, all were entered into a competition to win the two coveted all-expenses-paid internships with the BFA at the MICAM fair in Milan.

Laura Pickering, who is in her third year, commented: “I was a bit overwhelmed when I heard I had won as there were quite a few people in my class who were invigilating but the fact that I get to go is absolutely amazing! As this is my third and final year, this is a great opportunity to get my foot in the door so I can see first-hand what it will be like when I do go and work in the industry. It will be hard work, but I will get to experience what’s to come so I am looking forward to it.”

Dr Julie King, Head of Fashion at the University of Northampton, commented: “We are delighted that two of our students will have the opportunity to be a part of the exciting MICAM trade fair in Milan next year. The Craft to America exhibition has been a fantastic event for the University of Northampton to host, and our students have enjoyed being a part of the entire exhibition.”

John Saunders, Chief Executive of the British Footwear Association said: “We are very grateful to the University of Northampton for allowing the BFA to use its gallery as the location for this fantastic event. We would especially like to thank the students who have given their time to act as invigilators of the event – keeping an eye on the exhibits and supplying additional help to the people who have visited the event over the last three weeks.

“While all the team receive our thanks, we are pleased to be taking two students to work as part of the BFA team at the MICAM trade show in Milan in February 2016 and we believe that this will give them the chance to experience a new exciting international market, to see first-hand how companies operate and sell overseas and to interact and get to know some of the UK’s leading footwear companies. Bringing together future high-quality UK footwear designers and the best of the British footwear industry has to be a good thing – the BFA is proud to be able to make this happen.”