LCF is known for its famous alumni and world class fashion teaching but here are a few lesser known facts for all of our LCF Freshers and returning students starting this week.
THREE BECOME ONE
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LCF started off as three trade schools: Shoreditch Technical Institute Girls School (1906), Barrett Trade School (1915) and Clapham Trade School (1920). These schools trained girls in the art of dressmaking, millinery, embroidery and hairdressing. After lots of changing and swapping and merging the college came together as one.
FRENCH
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In the 1930s students were also taught French alongside fashion because they would need this for retail trade and many suppliers of luxury fabrics were French.
GHOSTS
A few LCF sites are said to be haunted. In Lime Grove’s D block the staff office had a piano and billiard table in there, neither of which were ever used. Over the years though many different people have said that they could hear a piano playing but whenever anyone went to look inside no one was there. Then at Mare Street, which used to be a Victorian girls school, they say the toilets are haunted by a girl ghost (think Moaning Myrtle but obvs more stylish). Even John Prince’s Street’s RHS space is said to be the home of the ghost of legendary mannequin maker Adel Rootsein.
CAT MUMMIES
There was a large shed outside the D block at Lime Grove and an area for outside firing – lucky for the ceramics tutor in the 1950s, who was obsessed with guns. There used to be a gap between the houses nearby because it was a bomb site and when D Block was taken over a mummified cat was one of the relics found inside. Poor puss 🙁
BANANARAMA
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Legendary pop group Bananarama formed 35 years ago in London when teenagers and childhood friends Sara Dallin and Siobhan Fahey were studying journalism at LCF and they formed the pop group in Ponti’s across the road from JPS!