Student Story: Clara Gröning, Fashion Design and Illustration

Where are you from and what do you do?

My name is Clara and I am from Germany, Düsseldorf (NRW). I just turned 18 years old in May and graduated in June.

What short course did you study on and why did you choose it?

I chose the Fashion Design short course by Tina Sutradhar and the Fashion Illustration course with Ana Stankovic-Fitzgerald.

I originally wanted to take one of the 4 weeks, in person, design short courses, at either London College of Fashion or Central Saint Martins but that obviously ended up being impossible, which, at first, I was very disappointed about. So, I thought to myself, whining gets you nowhere, let’s go looking for an alternative.

I got the idea of taking an online short course after stalking through the UAL Instagram pages and seeing some posts about work/assignments of short course students.

I ended up booking two courses, as the online courses turned out to be more cost-effective. I really wanted to do a fashion design course, for two reasons.

One is that I had previously taken the Fashion Design for 16 to 18 Year Olds Short Course, one week course, in the summer of 2019 and had a wonderful overall experience. And secondly and probably most importantly, I am planning to apply to university this year to get into a design program and I saw the short course as a good way to get to know LCF and British universities. Especially, since the application process, requirements and approach to art/design overall, is so very different from German universities

What would you say to someone who is thinking about taking a short course at UAL?

It is so worth it! I already told you about the long list of advantages this had for me, as a student looking to go into design but during my course, I also met people who had completely different careers (often even outside of fashion), levels of experience, nationalities, who were older than me and so on. We really were a colourful mix. So please don’t think that you can’t take this course, or any course for that matter, because you are too inexperienced, too old or aren’t in the fashion industry. The courses are there to get you started and your creativity going, to experiment and learn. No one expects you to be perfect. You are there to learn after all.

Also, if you are not from the UK like me (maybe even from another continent) the online courses are really worth considering, because, as I said, if I wanted to a could have booked four online courses for the price of an in-person course.

And right now, we are stuck at home anyway.

What do you believe is integral to the work of an artist, in any discipline?

Being willing to experiment and learn is, I think, one of the most essential parts of being an artist. Learning from others, yourself and the world around you. Striving for personal as well as overall cultural improvement and never becoming complacent.

What three words best describe your short course experience at UAL?

Engaging, Enlightening, Exciting

Are you a teenager who loves fashion and would like to start a career in fashion? We are firm believers that it is never too early to start! Check-out our comprehensive guide on how to kickstart your career.