Get to know BA Fashion Sportswear student Prima
- Written byTino Matienga
- Published date 08 July 2022
The BA (Hons) Fashion Sportswear course is a dynamic and cutting-edge course that gives students the opportunity to showcase their creative and practical skills to produce activewear and sportswear. Students on this course will consider how sport, science, new technologies, fashion trends and cultural contexts influence fashion retail. Find out more about what it is like being a student on this course from BA (Hons) Fashion Sportswear student Prima.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and why you chose the BA (Hons) Fashion Sportswear course?
Whilst studying the International Preparation for Fashion course at LCF, I realised the course I wanted to progress to was BA (Hons) Fashion Sportswear. I discovered the opportunities the Sportswear course provided and I was interested in the ability to explore technical fabric and create purposeful and/ or technical garments whilst also exploring style-based pieces. I loved that I was able to explore both menswear and womenswear as well as the different degrees of technicality from performance wear to fashion pieces all within the course.
Can you tell us about a project you are working on, and what aspects you enjoyed the most?
I am currently working on my final year collection with Puma motorsports and the W Series racing team. I aim to create a womenswear collection with the purpose of bringing awareness to the gender imbalance in motorsports, particularly the male dominance in F1. It’s been an interesting challenge; I have enjoyed the communication aspect of working with two professional identities which is something I had never done before.
Having the opportunity to work with deadstock e suits provided by Puma and W Series through my placement year brings a whole new perspective on how to design. The most challenging and exciting part at the moment is the design working from materials as a starting point, I think that makes it the perfect project for my final year.
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking of applying to BA (Hons) Fashion Sportswear?
It’s a great course to discover your own style and your creative strengths. The supportive energy from the tutors and classmates really makes the whole experience. The depth of knowledge from the tutors on the course through their experience has been incredible. There’s so much you can learn and explore; sportswear is integrated in almost all apparel in the industry, so I think it’s an incredible course and something so relevant.
What inspires you?
I’m inspired by challenges and issues, particularly those associated with sustainability. I enjoy designing for a problem as it keeps my ideas fresh and allows me to create with a purpose.
What skills have you learned on BA (Hons) Fashion Sportswear that you have been able to practice outside of London College of Fashion?
The course is incredibly well rounded, the technical knowledge taught on the course directly translates to the knowledge needed in industry. During my placement year I was able to utilise the concept development, tech packs and industry skill taught on the course to seamlessly blend in the professional design team.
Working on the industry project in my second year also really helped change my perspective on designing for performance. In sportswear, there’s a focus on research to really make sure that we’re designing for a viable purpose, and I think that’s so important for a more sustainable fashion industry.
What are your plans for the next few years, and where do you want to see yourself professionally?
At the moment I can see myself working in the sportswear industry for a couple of years after graduation. My plans after that are uncertain now, I’m happy to just go with the momentum and see how I feel in time. I’d like to see myself in a position where I can impact change for good for the fashion industry in the long run, I’m not sure where or what that will be yet.
Have you had interactions with fashion industry links, if so, how?
I’ve had the opportunity to work in industry with Rapha in my second year where we researched and targeted a niche Rapha was missing, we were able to receive feedback and then presented our final work to the Rapha design team. Through my placement year I was able to work at Monad, a tailoring studio based in London as well as Puma in Germany. The two contrasting placement experiences were incredible. I was able to learn hand-crafting skills at Monad and work as Junior designer in Puma. I had the opportunity to curate Monad’s look book as well as han-finish production garments. At Puma I was given the opportunity to design Esports, and Motorsports as well as develop the creative direction for the Motorsports department. Through my placement, I was given the opportunity to create a collaborative final year collection with Puma Motorsports as well as the W Series racing team.
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