Designing a Uniform with Specs Appeal
Our National Diploma in Fashion & Clothing students are in the frame to create a new uniform for staff of the leading high street
opticians, Specsavers.
Optical Assistant, Paul Garnett, explained “The competition has been rolled out to all the Specsavers’ branches to present their ideas to Gok Wan, Specsavers’ Style Ambassador, and a committee. They are not looking for the finished design but will take elements to incorporate into the new outfits for staff nationally. We decided to get some experts on board for our entry representing four local branches; two in Bradford plus Otley and Ilkley. So we came to see Lecturer Alison Wesley and her fashion students. We wanted them to push the boundaries so that it can be pulled back a little and still have a visual impact. We are delighted with their input.”
Director, Pete Rook, continued, “We were absolutely amazed at the designs they came up with. We couldn’t tell the difference between work from first and second year students as the standard was all first rate. We are submitting all ten designs to our head office in Guernsey and we are confident that the judges will be impressed. We will hear the results in January and I hope that we have the winner, so that the following year when you walk into a Specsavers’ branch you will see staff wearing something developed from these original designs.”
Our students regularly follow live briefs but often have their work assessed as part of a module or unit. In this case they had volunteered and worked hard on their designs just for the experience, though their commitment was generously rewarded by Specsavers, who gave each student a voucher for a pair of designer glasses, including eye testing.
Course Tutor, Alison Wesley, was thrilled at what her students had achieved and that their efforts had been so appreciated. “I am really pleased. They have done all this in their spare time, not expecting any reward. I wanted them to have the experience of a live competition without an end goal and I am so proud with how they have responded. In any competition there is usually only one winner, but we have ten winners today and you can’t do anything better for fashion students than let them shop!” Indeed the students wasted no time in booking their eye tests appointments and trying on different frames.
First year student, Theola was excited at her success. “I entered to develop so I would do well next year. It was a challenge as they wanted something smart but comfortable that would be worn by different people of all different sizes. I thought about basics you could layer depending on the weather. Receiving this prize is fantastic as I should wear glasses and need some nice ones.”
Ambitious second year student, Catherine plans to continue her studies with the BA (Hons) Fashion and hopes to become a fashion designer. “I looked at the functional requirements and then how far I could push it. I did something quite modern with padded shoulders. My design was more extravagant than others because I knew they were going to scale it down.”
Congratulations and good luck to the talented fashion students involved: Lauren Patrick, Theola Nyanga and Rhea Hendrickson from Year One of the Diploma course and Alistair Cooper, Jessica Wilson, Kate Jennings, Lai May Chan, Jade Gilderdale, Catherine McLaughlan and Chrisite Petty.