Fashion students take London Fashion Week by storm

​Two second year Fashion students from the University of Northampton had the opportunity to work alongside a well-known designer at this year’s London Fashion Week.

Jason Croucher and Sumaiya Neher were selected to work as dressers for Ong Oaj Pairam and also grabbed the chance to meet Zandra Rhodes, who is a honorand of the University of Northampton.

Jason commented: “I had a fantastic experience working at London Fashion Week. As a second year student at the University of Northampton studying Printed Textiles for Fashion, this experience working as a dresser was very significant, as it gave me more of an insight into the industry and how a fashion designer interacts backstage with their designs.

“As a Fashion and Textiles student, I’m aware of how important a platform like London Fashion Week can be for a designer and how it really enhances your personal profile as a fashion designer.

“This experience really opened up my eyes to the field of fashion. The job role came to my attention though an email sent from my tutor. Overall, it was very intense and fast paced, but being in the fashion environment was just amazing! My highlights include working with Ong Oaj and meeting Zandra Rhodes, who is a very high profile designer within her field. I’m so happy I have gained this work experience and look forward to taking on more opportunities and work placements.”

Sumaiya commented: “London Fashion Week was a big opportunity for us future designers to learn and experience more about the industry.  Meeting Ong Oaj was truly inspirational as he spoke about his journey, where it all started and how successful he became as a designer. We had noticed Zandra Rhodes in the next room getting ready for her show and both myself and Jason managed to get her to spare a few minutes to have chat with us. She also gave us her email address so we can discuss a possible internship with her in her studios at a later date.

“We are both proud that our University provides us with amazing opportunities like this and it is mainly because of the connections the lecturers have with people in the industry.  The show producer has already emailed me to see if I would like to be involved in the oncoming M&S show so I am very excited to take part in any future opportunities.”

London Fashion Week ran from 18 to 22 September and is one of the ‘Big Four’ fashion weeks, along with New York, Milan and Paris.