TLmag 22 (extended) – London Graduates and Postgraduates – London College of Fashion (LCF)

Short interview with Dai Rees, Course Leader MA Fashion Artefact / Creative Director of Special Projects – London College of Fashion by Anne Pericchi-Draeger

Find a special London Graduate and Postgraduates selection in TLmag 22, page 58, Here’s a sneak peak.

TLmag: How would you define your school in a few words?

Dai Rees: London College of Fashion is the only college, which solely works within the disciplines of fashion. This gives the college the strength of developing very particular courses at Post graduate level which participate in strengthening research and development of all aspects of the industry. We have 4 programs, approximately 550 students within the graduate school which are the school of Design, the school of Media, the school of Culture and Curation and the school of Management. In total these are 25 MA programs that cover all aspects of Fashion. The students that have been selected all originate from the MA fashion Artefact course. This course is the only course of its type in education. We believe its original context in the educational system offers a new approach to how we look, research and produce new Fashion Artefacts that epitomize the culture and society we live in.

TLmag: What is its specificity, its teaching, leading to what kind of job opportunities?

D.R.: MA Fashion Artefact is driven and delivered by practicing artists and designers. The course Leader Dai Rees is an internationally recognized artist who exhibits on the world stage. His background within education sits in the fine art world particularly focusing on Craftsmanship and heritage. This background is strengthened by a close team of teaching staff and technical support. The course is original in the context of how the students learn their craft. We have our own building which supports 3 floors of Factory manufacturing in Leather goods, woods, metals and plastics. This is coupled with digital technologies of manufacturing of product design. This environment and teaching philosophy equips the students in not just design but the full understanding of how and why the manufacturing process defines design.

TLmag: On what criterias do you select your students for entering/studying into your school?

D.R.: Each of the course Leaders interview the prospective candidates for selection. There are university requirements regarding language levels which all UK universities adhere too. Our election of students is on Individuality, an original thought process, a level of craftsmanship appropriate for the difficult journey ahead of their study.

TLmag: What do you expect/require from your students?

D.R.: I expect my students to have both a level of enquiry that pushes the boundary of the course requirements. As a course leader, I feel it is the students’ duty to challenge the boundaries of what is possible in both the studio environment and the industry they intend to serve.

TLmag: What do you think of the talents from your school that we have selected for the magazine?

D.R.: I feel the selection of students emphasizes the quality of the work we achieve at LCF MA Fashion Artefact and MA Fashion Footwear. Each student selected evidences our philosophy of design and manufacture perfection. The work also evidences our ambition at post graduate level which is that we do not produce prototypes but quality finished products ready to move into full manufacture at the luxury end of the market.

Interview by Anne Pericchi-Draeger