Case studies: Knitwear design assistant: Holly Bryant

Holly has a degree in fashion and textile design from the University of the West of England (UWE) and works as a knitwear design assistant for River Island

I was lucky enough to get approached at graduate fashion week by the design manager at River Island. After she had looked through my portfolio, I was invited to go for an interview with my collection and portfolio to their head office for a paid placement as a knitwear design assistant. After a tense couple of weeks of waiting, I was thrilled to be told I'd got the job and River Island bought one of my designs.

Throughout my degree I attended knit workshops at university, and during my final year I chose to specialise in knitwear design. My graduate collection was entirely knitted and I think having background knowledge of knitwear construction and finishings was desirable from an employer's point of view.

Making my collection demonstrated that I was able to design and realise my designs into wearable knitted garments. The fashion/textiles tutors at UWE have extensive knowledge of the industry and gave great advice on putting together my portfolio and presenting my work. As part of my degree assessment I also had to create a website and create business cards, which really helped to promote my work and maintain a professional appearance.

I entered as many competitions as I could whilst I was at university, including an ethical styling competition run by the BBC, which I was fortunate enough to win. Part of the prize included helping out backstage at a catwalk show during London Fashion Week, which was very exciting and looked great on my CV. It was also a great opportunity to make contacts within the industry.

At university I learnt how to spec a garment and do working drawings, which has been a great help as it's something I have to do on an almost daily basis now. University workshops provided me with a firm understanding/grounding in knitwear design and that really helps when trying to come up with solutions for design problems.

A typical working day can involve putting together inspiration/colour/shape boards for next season, researching blogs and trend sites online, creating spec packs to send off to factories or knitting swatches.

I thoroughly enjoy my job - each day is different and seeing something that I've contributed towards is really satisfying. I've always known that I wanted to work in fashion design and I love living in London.

Working under pressure and meeting deadlines can be hard, especially as working in fashion is such a fast-paced environment. Problems arise and need to be fixed quickly. This can be daunting but the more experience you get then the easier it becomes. Hearing criticism can be disheartening, but take it on board and learn as much as you can from those around you.

It's a very competitive industry to work in so try to get as much work experience as possible whilst at university and learn as much as you can in your relevant field of study. Enter as many competitions as possible as it'll look great on your CV if you win or get name checked in the press. Most importantly, put everything you can into your final year as graduate fashion week is a brilliant opportunity to get noticed and approached by employers.

AGCAS

Sourced by AGCAS editors

Date: 

January 2011

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