The Worth Project culminates with an exhibition on Tuesday 10 November. LCF’s MA Fashion Footwear alumna Joanne Stoker collaborated with French footwear outer sole manufacturer Reltex to produce footwear art for the exhibition.
Tuesday’s exhibition is free and open to the public, The Worth Project is funded by the European Commission to develop competitiveness in small and medium creative businesses, the project specialises in cross border designer and manufacturer collaborations, aiming to innovate new fashion and lifestyle products in order to maximise assets derived from the resource and skills base in Europe.
LCF’s Centre for Fashion Enterprise was one of the partners chosen by the Worth project, six artists from the university all collaborated with different small and medium size creative businesses across Europe to produce installations for Tuesday’s exhibition.
Joanna graduated with her masters in 2009 before creating her range of bespoke contemporary shoes and bags. After graduating in Footwear Design, she was spotted and mentored by Jimmy Choo before establishing her own brand. We caught up with alumna Joanna Stoker before the exhibition to talk about the project, why she decided to study in London, and how different Berlin’s art and fashion scene is.
What were the three most important things you learnt at LCF, and why did you choose to study a masters?
Collaboration is so important, concept of design and functionality of a product
Where do you draw inspiration from?
Art, Architecture, Nostalgia, Music, Culture
We read that you were mentored by Jimmy Choo after LCF, where did you meet and what did you learn working with him?
We used to meet at his couture shop in Connaught village, WC2 it was after I won the First into Fashion competition at Jimmy Choo. It was very early stages as I was only developing my collection, Jimmy showed me some of the fundamentals about shoe making and also manufacturing and he said be careful in business!
What are the difficulties behind starting your own brand, did LCF or Jimmy Choo help you realise what you wanted?
The pop up shop with the First into Fashion competition was great as it really helped me think of all aspects. It was like being dropped into the deep end. However I have always had a clear idea of what I wanted to do.
What did you create for the Worth project?
I created a range of contemporary, classic trainers which have cool coloured soles and contrasting uppers.
What are the future plans for your brand and yourself?
Grow my online sales and digital presence through quite a unique idea I am currently working on. Keep evolving my design and working with great likeminded collaborates.
- Find out more about MA Fashion Footwear
- Find out more about other postgraduate courses at LCF
- Find out more about the Worth Project Exhibition
- Read more news stories featuring Joanne Stoker
Alumni can connect with LCF in the following ways: