LCF Grad Futures: Alumni Panel - Careers in the Fashion Industry

This session is only for London College of Fashion students and graduates. It is aligned to your Graduate Futures careers and employability journey.

Aimed primarily at final-year students approaching graduation and LCF alumni seeking to build their careers, but open to all LCF students preparing for their future career journey.

Don’t miss this in-person event to hear LCF alumni share their career journeys since graduating and offer valuable advice on navigating the fashion industry.

Hosted by Graduate Futures Careers Consultant Melanie Mitchell, this engaging panel discussion will answer any questions you have about the challenges graduates might face, navigating the recruitment process and how to make an impact once you’ve secured your dream job.

This is the perfect opportunity to network with fellow LCF students, graduates and alumni whilst gaining insights directly from LCF alumni now on the path to becoming future fashion leaders!

Speakers

• Melanie Mitchell FHEA,Graduate Futures Consultant (Careers): With over 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, Melanie began her career as a Buyer, creating commercial product ranges before progressing to Head of Buying, driving strategy and business growth. She later led large-scale recruitment teams and talent acquisition projects, partnering with some of the world's leading brands. Today, she brings this unique blend of experience to LCF, working to bridge the gap between education and employment. A Fellow of Advance HE (FHEA), Melanie combines her commercial experience with evidence-informed careers practice to help students and graduates build confidence, develop employability skills, and make informed career decisions. Passionate about connecting talent to opportunity, she is dedicated to helping the next generation recognise their potential, communicate their value, and build meaningful careers in fashion and the creative industries.
• Carmelo Andreas Calderon, Buying Admin Assistant at Cos: Having progressed from an internship with the brand into a permanent role. His journey into fashion buying and merchandising followed a successful career as a Benefits Manager at Selfridges, before returning to education to pursue a new direction within the fashion industry and he graduated from the LCF BA Fashion Buying & Merchandising in 2025. Since joining COS, Carmelo has gained hands-on experience across the buying function, developing a strong understanding of product development, commercial strategy, and cross-functional collaboration and brings a unique blend of operational expertise, people management experience, and commercial awareness to his work.
• Lucy Whiteford, Assistant Designer at Joules: As a graduate of the LCF BA Fashion Design and Development in 2025. With experience spanning luxury ready-to-wear, outerwear, and eveningwear, she has developed a strong foundation in garment construction, technical design, and product development. Lucy is particularly interested in materials, fit, and the technical processes that underpin successful design. As an emerging designer, she is committed to continuous learning and is excited to contribute to the future of fashion through innovation, craftsmanship, and product excellence.
• Odera Phil-Ebosie, Production Assistant at Studio Private: Since graduating from BA Fashion Styling and Production at London College of Fashion in 2024, Odera has built a diverse portfolio of experience across fashion, media, talent, and creative production. Her background includes interning on the editorial team at Bricks Magazine as a student before becoming a freelance Talent Assistant. She has also worked at Net-a-Porter as a Social and as Fashion Assistant, in PR and Operations at Jawara Alleyne, as well as freelancing supporting casting projects. Passionate about the intersection of fashion, culture, and media, Odera is driven by a desire to work with a diverse range of creatives and contribute to stories that are both impactful and culturally relevant.

Useful resources

In this session, you will develop the key skills of communication, proactivity, storytelling and curiosity as defined by the UAL Creative Attributes Framework (My_CAF). Before attending this activity, we suggest you:

• Check out the Graduate Futures Moodle page, (or for alumni the Graduate Futures Leavers Pack), which is filled with resources, learning guides, and podcasts.
• Students should explore the Graduate Futures Careers Padlet, where you’ll find a collection of resources, links, and tips designed to help you build confidence, and grow your employability skills.

If there are any barriers to your participation in this event or you have access requirements you wish to discuss, please contact graduate.futures@fashion.arts.ac.uk in advance, we'd be happy to talk with you. If you can't sign-up as the tickets have run out or expired, please email and see if you are still able to attend.

Image credit: LCF Careers Fair 2024 | Photography by India Mae Alby