A fashion degree student at Coleg Sir Gâr’s Carmarthen School of Art has returned from an internship which he won through a competition brief commissioned by House of Fraser.
20 year-old James Holmes, a final-year student from Swansea, spent an internship at the company’s main design house in London’s Baker Street, where he worked alongside in-house brand designers preparing for the company’s spring/summer 2017 collections. “I experienced working on various trend boards for the in-house brand Linea and creating drawing for the upcoming autumn/winter 2016 drops,” said James. “I also got to meet with merchandisers and buyers to give me an overall idea how closely each other work with the designers in order to create a collection.”
James says the experience has given him an insight into how the industry works on a commercial level, allowing him to get hands-on and creating trend boards which will impact the ranges that hit the stores for next year’s spring/summer collections.
James added: “I’ve taken so much from my time at House of Fraser, learning how each brand works and their ethos was very interesting as well as seeing how each is built around a different market and customer in mind.
“Also, learning how closely the designers work alongside buyers and merchandisers to create each range was very useful as these are the kind of hands-on experiences that only industry can offer.”
A proactive student who realises the potential of industry experience, in 2014, James was the only Welsh finalist selected for a competition run by fashion brand George at Asda, after being shortlisted for a men’s t-shirt competition where he saw his design produced and sold in stores across the UK.
