LCF Grad Futures: Inside Fashion PR at PURPLE

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

Join LCF Grad Futures for an exclusive industry insight session with PURPLE, the award-winning global communications agency with 25+ years of making luxury brands culturally relevant. With 210+ people across global offices, PURPLE delivers strategic advisory, PR, events and VIP services to leading brands and luxury destinations. Notable Fashion Clients include: Charles Jeffery Loverboy, LABRUM, DSquared, Lacoste, British Fashion Council, Ferrari, lululemon, Casablanca, and Gieves & Hawkes.

Discover what it's really like to work in fashion PR and gain an understanding of the roles, skills and career pathways within a fast-paced agency environment. You’ll Hear directly from a Senior Account Director in the fashion team about their career journey, the day-to-day reality of working with brands, designers and the media, and how the industry is evolving. You'll also gain practical advice on how to stand out when applying jobs at PURPLE.

Whether you're interested in public relations, communications, marketing or brand storytelling, this session will help you better understand the industry, build your commercial awareness and make informed decisions about your future career.

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.
• Alaoighse O’Hanrahan, Senior Account Director, Fashion at PURPLE: With over 10 years of experience across both in-house and agency environments, Alaoighse specialises in developing strategic communications that nurture emerging brands and elevate established names through increased awareness and cultural relevance. Having played a key role in the establishment of young designers including Standing Ground, Saul Nash, and LABRUM, while maximising the visibility and cultural impact of globally recognised brands such as lululemon, Ferrari, and Longchamp, Alaoighse brings a thoughtful, results-driven approach to every project. This expertise extends to leading communications for some of the industry's most influential cultural and fashion moments, including The Fashion Awards and the Serpentine Summer Party, creating impact that resonates across both media and culture.

Useful resources

In this webinar, you will develop the key skills of connectivity, 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 2026 | Photography by Eilwen Jones