Second-year BA (Hons) Cordwainers: Footwear and BA (Hons) Cordwainers: Bags and Accessories students get insight into the industry through creating innovative products for the urban environment.
The project was supported by London College of Fashion (LCF), UAL alumni Max Virkkunen, now a Footwear Designer at Salomon. During his time at LCF, Virkkunen experienced industry projects, and he recognised the benefits to his progression, so he wanted to give back to the College.
Georgina Goodman, Course Leader for BA (Hons) Cordwainers: Footwear, reveals she was excited to work with Salomon, describing them as the brand currently on everyone’s lips.“They're not just a fashion brand — they're a technical brand that has become a fashion brand”, she comments.
BA (Hons) Cordwainers: Footwear student Pranav Sudhir, who won a prize for excellent research as part of the project, thought it was refreshing to work for a brand on such a scale and understand their perspective.
At the industry project briefing students of both courses were introduced to the theme, Create Your Own Space. This brief tasked students to create a mini collection of six accessories or footwear designs, one of which had to be made into a fully realised prototype.
Students were encouraged to speculate about the future of footwear and accessories in the context of the changing climate.
“It was really important for students to include circularity and the notion of repairability because footwear, particularly trainers, are really difficult to deconstruct,” Goodman adds.
The project included a masterclass led by Salomon and mid-way reviews aimed at shaping student’s work before final designs were presented to the Salomon design team over two days at our East Bank campus.
Goodman believes that industry projects raise the stakes for the students because the potential gains include winning a money prize and an accolade or even being employed as an intern.
However, the most important aspect is being presented with a real-life experience.
“Not only is this a real person from the outside world coming in and giving advice, but this is also someone who has been a student and has now got a job so the students see what they could be in the future,” she says.
Virkkunen is excited to welcome two of the participating students as design interns in September, commenting on the importance for the French brand to engage internationally.
Salomon felt that the students "very clearly took the ball and ran with it" throughout the project.
"There was amazing engagement and a lot of interesting innovations and viewpoints. It was great to see how everyone put a bit of themselves into their projects but still it was clear to see unifying topics as well," the Salomon team reflects.
Lily Bolingbroke, Business Administrator in the Business and Innovation Wide team, explains how their department is cultivating such relationships with the industry: “The industry gets access to the innovative and exciting work that students do, whereas students get a little bit of taste of industry so they're better prepared when they go out into the working world.”