Heading down Carnaby Street never felt so right before my
first day at the George office for my week long internship with the Trend Team
thankfully gifted to me by the amazing FAD team after winning FF2 2012. I
didn’t know what to expect when I walked through the polished glass doors, but
once I stepped into the office surrounded by moodboards, clothing samples and
desks packed and stacked with fashion magazines; a whole different kind of
excitement hit me; an excitement involving my future.
As I took a seat I knew I would be comfortable in this quiet
and welcoming environment; and just as I took another good glimpse around,
Trend Assistant Rosa came to greet me and introduce herself and the jobs
involved within the Trend Team for George. Rosa kindly supported me for the
week which I was pleased about as she was lovely and it’s always a bonus to
have a boss with a cool Geordie accent. After the brief introduction Rosa
apologetically handed me a very large and heavy bright book containing colour
palettes for Fall 2014/ 15 to look through as she dashed back to her
presentation with the recent FAD students. I actually really enjoyed going
through the colour trend book because to me it meant I was getting a look at
the trends to come and I instantly knew that looking at trends would be a new
obsession for me because there’s honestly nothing more rewarding than
predicting the future trends in fashion, which is a major part of the industry
altogether; and from there on me and the colour trend books got well acquainted
throughout the week.
I was lucky enough to be given plenty of responsibilities
throughout my week which was great as I managed tasks which were alien to me
before my week at George, such as creating colour based moodboards and visiting
certain exclusive trend sites which held the basis of the current trends from
New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week, to Paris and Milan which were
all updated after each day during Fashion Week. One of my main tasks during the
week was creating and developing colour moodboards as it meant I had to cut out
colour swatches from the pages of the large colour trend books and arrange
separate boards according to the trends, as well as photocopying palette pages,
and throughout the week I would add more colour palettes to the boards and
garment photos which consisted of similar colour schemes. I enjoyed developing
the colour moodboards because it allowed me to experience one of the first
stages of trends and I was happy to start this process off for the trend team.
However as much as I loved seeing the colour moodboards
expand, my favourite task was organising all the trend reports into their
assigned categories. The trend reports were refreshed daily after each day of
fashion week, as a day’s worth of trends would be exposed to the amazing
fashion world each day consisting of six main categories being: style, shape
& detail, colour, fabric, print & pattern and theme. Within these
categories I would again divide them into more groups such as putting all the
plaids together from the print & pattern category and after this process I
had to stick all the trend reports within the separated categories up on to the
tall screens in the office so all the trends could be clearly visible. The end
outcome of all the trends was such an exciting part of the week because in
front of me I had built a collection of the current trends; each screen being
covered in colour trends or print trends etc. It was also great seeing which
prints were most favoured at fashion week or which colours weren’t so popular
for the seasons as it gives George and other fashion companies a glimpse of
what fabrics are best suited for the season or if the sporty or boyish trend
will be successful within the high-street market.
For my last day at George myself and Rosa went down to the
Roy Lichtenstein exhibition at the Tate Modern to get a feel of what was
current in London as being in the trend
team doesn’t only involve fashion trends but also art and cultural trends
around us. However when we got to the Tate there was an hour and a half wait
till the next viewing, so we bought our tickets and went for a coffee whilst we
waited. This was probably one of the most useful parts of my week as me and
Rosa got talking about her working at George and other things like her
university course, and leisure/ swimwear collection that she created for her
degree which was fascinating as it was different to the stories involving ready
to wear degree collections. Rosa also told me of the different jobs her friends
had within the fashion sectors which was an eye opener, and was great to hear
all the different fashion companies Rosa and her university friends had been a
part of; and since I’m still in college its always inspiring to hear stories
about others who have similar hopes and ambitions to yourself but have already
on their journey. But once we finished our coffees we went back to the Tate to
explore Lichtenstein’s vast collection of his infamous paintings and
sculptures, some more incredible then others but an overall impressive and
colourful exhibition; and a nice but sad last day from my adventurous week at
George.
My week at George was wonderful and an experience I will
never let go of as I learnt so much and discovered new interests which is
always a great side effect of working with an inspirational team. If I were to
apply for an internship before my week at George I would’ve stuck strictly to
fashion design, but after working with the Trend Team I have discovered a
different side to the fashion industry and now would love to explore even more,
maybe within childrenswear or tailoring, anything outside my comfort zone
because it has widened my enthusiasm for the fashion industry.
I had such a great time with the George team at the London
office and would like to thank everyone at the George office who made me feel
welcome and especially Rosa for taking me on and helping me build up my
confidence within a new and working environment. Also a massive Thank You to
the stunning FAD team who have given me the opportunity to grow as a designer,
believing in me and for giving me my first official internship within fashion
which I will be forever grateful for.
See ya's next time,
Serife
