LCF Graduate Futures Host Alumni Networking Night

LCF Graduate Futures recently hosted the second Alumni Networking Night as part of the ‘Graduate Summer Series’, to say well done to our new graduates and give thanks for the support of the alumni network. This academic year has been one of firsts at surpassing challenges and in appreciation of the resilience and collaborative ethos within LCF’s alumni community, this event was an exclusive and intimate celebratory networking evening.

The evening culminated with a comedy show performance from London comedy circuit favourites, Prince Abdi and Juliet Meyers. This virtual event brought together fashion, technology, business and education, which included LCF’s Fashion Innovation Agency, as we explored innovation and change in the creative industry; from business to design to media, discussing the statement:

The acceleration of all things digital will change the fashion industry for the better

Alumni and graduates in attendance had the opportunity to debate digital development, sustainability, blockchain, transparency, the metaverse, IP and projected trends, with the support of leading industry experts.

Key discussions centered around how the fashion industry are adapting to working online, particularly engaging with customers and selling stock and this even extends to selling virtual products. This applies to both small and large players. For the smaller players this poses challenges as they sometimes feel more connected to their customer base at a local level and are sometimes concerned about losing touch with their identity if becoming overly reliant on digital interactions. An interesting part of the discussion was the role sustainability plays in this context, especially virtual products. Although cheap to replicate, digital products still require energy to produce and therefore create a carbon footprint.

There were also conversations around the contradiction in the notion of high volume mass market approach to virtual products such as virtual apparel or is there an expectation of virtual clothing that because they are virtual they should always be bespoke, unique and specific to the owners requirements, this being the major USP of virtual products.

The conversations were interesting and thought provoking and It was a great opportunity for graduates to hear from our industry experts but likewise our experts were just as keen to hear and learn from our graduates, the future of the industry!

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