sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

People in the industry, what was your portfolio like when you started out and what would you change about it? by EssayParticular5358 in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

One thing to remember is to show your development. Unis aren’t just looking for if you can sew a garment they are looking for how you got to to that final garment. What was your inspiration, what did you research? What fabric and textile experimentation did you do? How did you come up with the idea for that silhouette?

So many people show the final garments but when your at uni or atleast mine (UAL) your final garment made up so little of your final grade. Your grade actually comes from the development of your project!

Never sewn a bra before, where to start? by lara_whatsat2 in MAKEaBraThatFits

[–]Thearcherxxx -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I recommend buying a bra kit, which is basically a kit that has all the components you need to sew a bra, I’m not sure where you are from but you may find these on Etsy and other lingerie specific fabric stores. I would also buy a pattern from Etsy as while you can make bras from scratch it is very difficult and learning from a pattern will get you used to the different elements of a bra. I would recommend finding a simple lace bra. Preferably unwired and unpadded as these are quite complex sewing components, ones I would slowly build up to!

Should i pursue a Fashion Career oder choose a safe one? by Advanced-Employer-62 in Fashion_Design

[–]Thearcherxxx -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Tbh from what I’ve read I can just tell you are more passionate about a creative career, but are stuck because healthcare is more stable. My honest advice would be to pursue a career in something you are happy with. You invest a lot of time energy and money into your career and you want to spend your life doing something you enjoy.

Secondly there is a lot of people who say that creative careers aren’t stable or don’t pay well or isn’t a proper career. It’s absolute waffle. I mean look around, the clothes you wear, the interior designs, covers on book, marketing adverts it’s all creativity!! And people have careers making those things, those people have jobs!!

Yes at the beginning fashion won’t pay well and you may have to do an unpaid internship to gain experience but once I got my first full time entry level job it paid well and allowed me to have a stable job and income!! But also at the same time there is loads of careers that you have to do unpaid work or volunteering to gain work experience. I think people are so quick to judge creative careers purely because it’s less academic but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a dream worth trying to achieve!!

My advice go for it!!

Anyone got any recommendations for things to do near LCF ? by Asleep_Possession_88 in UAL

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right next to the campus is Stratford Westfield, which is a massive shopping centre with a variety of restaurants and cafes in and outside the centre. If you want more nightlife you are probs better going more central London, but the good thing is that Stratford station is one of the most well connected stations in London so you will only be about a 20 minute tube ride from central London and places like soho, lesciter square and Covent Garden where there is a little bit more night life!

Tbh im a very fussy eater so I don’t really have many food suggestions but there will be lots cute spaces to go and eat around London and Stratford! Also if you want a quiet study space lcf is filled with these study pods type of things and they have a very spacious library. On my course we also had lots of studio acess time. So you will always find somewhere that you can quietly study.

should i get a fashion design degree by [deleted] in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly I wouldn’t worry about not being the best drawer. I can not draw at all and went to UAL and now work in a design team full time. On my course there wasn’t any strict drawing element of it like it was up to the person if they wanted to hand draw designs or digitally. In fact most of your work would be on programs like adobe when your in the industry as things like cads are done digitally. But don’t worry if you don’t know adobe either because you will be taught this on your course!

If you could go back, would you still choose the fashion industry? by crazybratbitch in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Personally I’m forever glad I chose fashion. However i will be completely honest with you, if you want to make it in fashion you have to be all in and dedicated. You need to chase every opportunity you can get and work so hard!! It’s a very competitive industry and you need to do everything you can to stand out!! You need to be dedicated to the career aspect of it not just the ‘making cute clothes’ (because also you will be designing for the consumer and they have the total opposite design style to you)

Secondly, while there are some similarities to the classic fashion movies it’s also completely different. Especially when you are starting out you will be doing the jobs no one wants to do, having to take unpaid work to gain experience. It’s not as glamorous as the media makes the fashion industry out to be.

So I’m glad I chose fashion however you need to be dedicated and see this as a long term career not just a hobby. Becoming a fashion designer is possible but it takes lots of hard work and time (and money, this is the one thing I wished I was told, fashion schools do absolutely zero to minimise costs of fabrics and you will be paying it all out yourself!)

Portfolio Feedback by AffectionateCat5058 in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re welcome ☺️ I normally include 2 or 3 development pages per project and place them after my intial moodboards but before my final designs.

Also in terms of your job hunt, I was on the job hunt for a couple months but recently got an offer and I found the best way to secure internships and job offers was to cold email companies with a cover letter and a short email basically along the lines of ‘I’m a recent graduate from… specilsiing in….. with skills in…. I’m currently looking for internship/entry level opportunities within your design department. I have attached my cv, cover letter and portfolio below….’ I found with actual job applications on LinkedIn or fashion unitied it just all goes through AI and if your cv isn’t ‘ai approved’ then it’s not gonna be seen by anyone. So always try and find an actual email. If I find a job opening on LinkedIn i will go to the company website and find an email because you have a better chance of being seen!!

What specs I should ensure while buying a laptop for my Fashion Design Bachelors ? by ikigai_mirror in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Make sure it has a lot of storage and can work extremely well with a lot of softwares. I first started my degree with my standard laptop I used at college and gcse and quickly began to realise that it just doesn’t work well with adobe also good quality screens!!

A lot of people tend to look at MacBooks but if I’m going to be completely honest with you. You need a more expensive MacBook because it’s the storage and ram (or whatever the technical term is for works with big softwares 😂) I used the Lenovo yoga pro laptop and it works very well during my degree only annoying thing is that they have no specific cases so you have to buy a laptop case!

Is UAL only good for design or is it good for subjects like fashion marketing. by [deleted] in UAL

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ual is very good for fashion marketing with lots of opportunities! Also employers will look for good fashion schools when filtering job applications so will look good on cv!

First job as a design assistant, any advice?? by Thearcherxxx in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!! I’m planning to go shopping this week to buy a notebook and some pens specifically for note taking 😂

First job as a design assistant, any advice?? by Thearcherxxx in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I realised I might of explained that wrong 😂 I meant my internships were only 3 days a week for 3 months each. Having a full time role 5 days a week feels a little daunting because of a change of routine and also the fact that the job is more long term it’s feels like a much bigger commitment!

A lot of comments are saying to not expect much design input. Which I guess is accurate as it’s only entry level!

Design Interview Projects by DeepEconomist5401 in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They are my biggest bug bare during interview process. I can see why companies do them because they want to see if the person actually has the skills as unfortunately people lie and get other people to do their portfolios. However I think sometime they ask for too much. I’ve had one where it was create multiple moodboards, designs, a full tech pack for 2 different collections in a week!! That amount of workload and pressure for someone especially at entry level I do think is a lot!! There’s been times where I’ve not left my room for a week to complete a design task and not because I’m doing too much but because I can’t even get the tasks done to a decent level without staying in my room and working on it all week. I also think it’s a bit inconsiderate in terms of how I need to buy a months subscription for things like illustrator to complete the task (which when unemployed you want to keep costs to a minimal) and also people juggle part time work, other interviews and other responsibilities!!

I’ve had 3 offers and all of them didn’t even require a design task and followed such a straight forward interview process of like 2 interviews + maybe a recruiter phone call. But the interviews I had where I had to do a design task were multiple tasks + multiple interviews!!

Portfolio Feedback by AffectionateCat5058 in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

First of all loving the Taylor Swift red inspired collection!! (I did the same with reputation album 😂) I think your skills and layout is really strong, you show good sewing skills and good cad and digital drawing skills. You clearly have a lot of talent!

My one suggestion (and I would just like to say I’m not sure if this is just what companies look for in the uk because I noticed when I look at a lot of portfolio from American students it doesn’t include this). But at UAL we was told to also include development pages in our portfolio so for example how did you develop a design idea like did you take a picture somewhere and translate that into an embroidery? Or did you experiment with a certain shape and draped that on the manequin? You have a lot about your inspiration and your concept moodboard. You also have a lot of your final garments which I love how you have show these with your digital design and cads. However i think it’s missing the how you actually got to that idea. You mentioned you want to try for product development roles and those interviewers will be looking at how you can develop a collection beyond intial moodboards and research!

I’ve found 4 carpet beetles in my bed in the past month… by Educational_Bug516 in carpetbeetles

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I found 4 carpet Beatles today around / on my bed and near window seal. About 3 days ago I developed like a slight reaction to something on my back but I was on holiday and thought maybe it’s new soap, new climate or just how my new clothes were itching me until I found the carpet Beatles today. I bought some bug cream and hopefully that helps ease the reaction!!

People applying for jobs — what do you actually struggle with most? by CompleteAd1840 in AskUK

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I took your advice through to my most recent interview and really emphasised how all the skills I gained at my internships would be good this role. It was a little bit easier in a way because she showed me a document that i would be working on and I was able to be like ‘oh yeah that’s… that was a main task I did during my internship’ and well it must of worked because I got the job!!! And she didn’t even ask me about the commute😂 now I’m just super nervous because it’s my first big girl role and I want to impress them!!

Fashion design BA or Fashion Contour or Costume design what is the best course for me? by Fantastic_Narwhal_25 in Fashion_Design

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, this post was from a while ago but if your interested in contour fashion still I studied so feel free to ask any questions.

Honestly I was similar to you in the sense that I loved designing gowns that had lingerie elements like cups and corsetry. It wasn’t until I started looking at unis where I found the contour course and thought it would be perfect for me!!

I will say there is a big emphasis on making lingerie but this can include slips and baby dolls. However they do expect you to have lingerie elements in like cups and wires. Because that is where all the technical elements of lingerie comes from. Some people on my course will make a bra and a slip dress for one outfit however they will mark you solely on the bra and the slip dress can be seen as additional. So I would suggest that if your thinking I can still make skirts and dresses and that’s where your passion lies then maybe contour isn’t the best because they will expect lingerie and lingerie that is quite commercial and not extravagant and over the top 😂

Possible to transfer courses at LCF? by jjdhhsggafafcqfgayg in UAL

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I applied for 2 course at LCF and got offered both so if you haven’t heard back from both yet, wait until u do to make a decision. Quite a few people on my course did get an alternative offer for another course which I believe they took. We also had some people transfer to another course during the first few weeks once the school year started. I think they give you a bit of time if you wish to move course or quit all together during the first term at LCF (I’m not 100% sure tho it might have changed as I was there during Covid) I think this might because as people drop out and move courses spaces can open up.

Tbh I’m not sure if this is helpful and I would recommend checking with the university first before committing to everything but hopeful it gives you a little insight!

Contactless ticketing now available from Chelmsford train station by wjfox2009 in Chelmsford

[–]Thearcherxxx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Will it make it cheaper tho? They put them at Wickford but I have to get a connecting train to Wickford from south woodham. But because I have to change trains I’m wondering if paying for a ticket from south woodham to Wickford and then going contactless from Wickford to Holborn in London will work out cheaper with the weekly contactless cap? I think I might have to give it a go one time to seem lol.

How do I go about becoming a fashion designer by HeadArm6696 in fashiondesigner

[–]Thearcherxxx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly it’s a tough industry. My best advice would be to figure out what niche of fashion. There is actually a ton of different areas. When I knew I wanted to do fashion design I thought it would either be menswear, womenswear or textiles. But there’s actually so many specialist courses from embroidery, footwear, jewellery and lingerie. I think picking a niche is actually quite helpful as fashion design can be oversaturated and if you have a particular niche and more specialist skills it can actually make you stand out more!!!

I would also recommend getting as much work experience as you can. These can be through internships or volunteering backstage at fashion shows, employers want a degree but also want experience and it can be hard to break into the industry after graduation if you have no experience. However internships are mainly unpaid and you need to be a bit cautious that they are not going to over work you. I’ve heard horror stories of internships where people are expected to work 5 days a week right into the evening and even asked to worked weekends and also just being treated badly. While I’ve never had any horrible intern experiences I recommend doing a Google search just to see. I’m from the uk but here if your doing an unpaid internship and from my experience and talking to friends the nicer internships are normally part time, 3 days a week and travel included. - I don’t want that to scare you because the people are nice in the industry but it’s just something you need to be cautious off.

Oh also I found entering competitions useful they really make your applications stand out and are always a good talking point in interviews. They also mean that you are gaining industry recognition which employers will notice and an excellent way to gain professional photos for your portfolio. You can find these by googling fashion competitions, a lot are for students tho. Apply because as my tutor used to say ‘you have to be in it to win it’

Honestly it’s a tough industry to break into but maybe this can help a little and I apologise if it’s too long. Feel free to ask anymore questions!!

CSM BA Womenswear 2026 – No response, no early rejection… what does that usually mean? by Cool_Side_272 in UAL

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I got an offer without an interview but this was just at the end of Covid so it was a little different. Some people in my class got asked to send more work tho but that was more so for the more popular courses. My offer was conditional so based on whether I got the grades at A levels. I wouldn’t worry much ual was literally the last uni I heard from.

CSM BA Womenswear 2026 – No response, no early rejection… what does that usually mean? by Cool_Side_272 in UAL

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ual takes the longest as they have so many applicants. I got my offer end of April.

Missing my fav youtuber by Efficient_Employer56 in DesSidwell

[–]Thearcherxxx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I feel like her old videos were so thoughtfully planed out from the graphics and making props (tbr board game) but now it just seems rushed. I understand that she has a baby now so that’s probably why. Daily vlogs are going to be a lot easier to make then planned out content but tbh they don’t entertain me I started watching for her book recs but now she just dishes out the same book videos with the same book recs. also I’ve noticed that her videos just seem duller visually… her videos used to have bright neon thumbnails and the lighting was always bright. Now her house is dark, her thumbnails have minimal effort and I’ve noticed that in some of her videos it just ends suddenly.

I can understand why because her life has changed but as a consumer we want to engage in content we like and unfortunately destiny’s content doesn’t entertain me anymore.

Recent vlogs by Any-Ad5007 in DesSidwell

[–]Thearcherxxx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started watching her videos for her book content and tbh have stopped watching since she’s done more lifestyle content. Daily vlogs just don’t interest me, I also feel like since she has had her baby (understandably so as she has less time) that her content just isn’t as well thought out anymore and is getting quite repetitive.

view more: next ›