166. Tailoring Meets Tech – AI in the Fashion Curriculum

I think some of the markers would success, for example, being having a work on the cover of Vogue, I don't think potentially holds as much weight as it would have done 10-15 years ago. I think a lot of the more traditional routes and traditional achievements, I guess, in terms of recognition, don't hold as much weight necessarily with the next generation. We're kind of looking for new ways of doing things and have maybe a slightly smaller scale. I don't think people are necessarily looking for the biggest possible name to work for. I think they want to work with people who have the same values as them. That is Annabelle Waterhouse Biggins, communications and special projects director at Graduate Fashion Week. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Create Tomorrow podcast. I'm your host Cassandra Napoli, head of consumer forecasting at WGSN. Every two weeks, I will take you on a journey to examine how trends are translated into aesthetics and product design. In this episode, Nicola, Annabelle and I uncover what the next generation of fashion talent is telling us about the industry. From the rise of AI to the shifting ambitions of young designers, we explore the ideas, skills and perspectives that are set to redefine fashion over the next decade. If you want an early look at where fashion is headed, this is an episode you absolutely don't want to miss. Welcome to the Create Tomorrow podcast, both. Can you each tell us who you are, what you do and a bit about your career journey so far? Nicola, we'll start with you. Hi Cassandra, thank you so much for having us. My name is Dika Hitchens. I am the Imagine Director at Graduate Fashion Foundation. I've been working here for the past nine years and currently leading the charity and foundation in the Imagine Directing role. And my background also is actually having shown at Graduate Fashion myself as a fashion design graduate back in 2009. Wow, Annabelle, what about you? Hi, I am Annabelle Waterhouse Biggins. I am currently the comms and special projects director at Graduate Fashion Foundation. I actually started my career at Graduate Fashion Foundation 10 or so years ago and then I left. I went to the British Fashion Council where I was for five years or so, heading up all things, marketing, brand, creative. And then last year I came back to new work on a really special project that we do in collaboration with the P.E.H Foundation. And then it's now growing into this role, so I've been in this role since September and it's been really exciting to watch the charity grow. So for those that don't know, can you actually tell our listeners what role graduate fashion week plays in the industry? I actually attended, I think back in 2012 or 2013 when I studied abroad. So I've been, but I would love if you could tell our listeners a little bit about it. Yeah, so I'll tell you a bit about the foundation. We've been around since 1991. This is actually our 35th anniversary, which is really exciting. We've got lots of new things on show for Graduate Fashion Week. We were originally created by three founders, three together, all of the British BA Fashion Degree courses to showcase in London, originally back in the 90s, a lot of industry would be going out to visit all of the regional universities to see the, obviously the new emerging talent, but was brought together to bring down to London, so industry can see them and scout talent really easily. We've continued to be the leader in the education and employment pipeline since then, industry attending every year. We're now up to about 20,000 attendees over our four day event and we've been at the Truman Brewery for the past 10 years showcasing over three and a half thousand graduates every year. The amazing thing about it, I feel, is that we're not just showcasing design talent, we showcase around 101 different degree courses from our British universities, and that's what we say in about 26 key different disciplines. So everything from fashion marketing, communication and social media, through journalism, photography, styling, business and of course the nor design and knitwear that you would come to expect from a graduate fashion week. I think when I was at graduate fashion week, I was set next to David Gandhi, and I was like, really starting strong. That was like 20. We're very lucky. It's a foundation to have great support from the industry. We have six amazing patrons and about 40 ambassadors now who really support the foundation. Some of those include people like James Andrew Rose, Sick Knight of Show Studio, the late Vivian Westwood, and we've got incredible ambassadors from the industry who sit in key areas. So from from media to sustainability to design, people such as Nicholas Daily, Richard Quinn, Patrick McDowell, team members of folks, we really are privileged to have the industry back us and be involved with the charity. When you look at the themes emerging this year, which ones stand out to you in terms of the student's work? I think that they are actually it's a continuation of things that we've seen appearing over the last sort of five to 10 years or so. There's always menswear is doing really well at the moment. Lots of people are looking kind of gender neutral collections, but also menswear specifically that also kind of around concerns that are from the wider world. So things around climate change, seeing a lot of material innovation, a lot of people using recycled materials, waste materials, and then also a lot of people really honoring their family heritage. So looking at their very specific kind of cultural background from around the world and how they can translate that creatively into garments, collections, portfolios. So that's really exciting, but we've seen that emerge over the last few years and it's definitely something that's not going anywhere anytime soon. So after that, I definitely say that digital innovation is coming through and we've been honoring that in the last two years of our digital innovation lab at Graduate Fashion Week. Students are using AI, students are creating work in augmented reality in VR and this year we've got a big showcase of what they're producing. We're seeing that within their coursework and their portfolio. So it's really exciting to see that coming through and to see how they blend that physical and digital world. Yeah, we had a Matthew Drinkwater on a couple maybe last year around November and he's doing amazing things with students and kind of bridging those worlds. So very exciting stuff happening in the digital fashion scene. I want to talk about future talent. So if you were to pull the graduates that are headed off into industry, do you think that they're worried about their entry level roles given the context of AI in the world of design and creative? I think definitely, I think the challenge with AI specifically is that it is encouraging businesses to maybe remove some of those internships or entry level roles and those are really the first step on the ladder for a lot of our graduates and they kind of need that in office in person experience to learn from mentors in places. So that's definitely a challenge. But with every challenge there is an opportunity as well. We are seeing lots of young creatives kind of set up their own practices and kind of learn by doing which I think is really exciting to see as well. So whilst yes, I do think it's a challenge and potentially a source of anxiety for some young people coming out of university. It also does mean there are kind of new roles being created at the same time. So I think you can kind of take it both ways. How do you think AI is going to reshape the future of fashion at the academic level? I find this conversation really interesting because I am a professor at the college level. I teach trend forecasting and the students are brilliant but sometimes they rely very heavily on AI to get started. It's not necessarily a bad thing in today's environment but it is a new way of thinking, a new way of working, a new way of learning. What role do you think AI has in reshaping fashion academia from your perspective? I think that's a really good question. We are seeing it across the board being used across all different courses in different ways. It is being embraced by academics and professors obviously at a different level so the work they have to produce. For instance, with fashion marketing students they can really bring their renders to life, their visuals to life and it's an easy way to create a project showcasing, for instance, install window point of view, merchandising point of view product really easily. So it's a really great way of showcasing their work. We are seeing a lot of universities actually embedding some of the courses into their work. For instance, with fashion design, a lot of them are using technology such as CLO3D or working with companies like CAD for Fashion to help create 3D renders and AI renders of their work in augmented reality and in VR which helps bring the work to life. Also, in a sustainable way, they can help do pattern cutting and look at the work that they're producing. So there is a really good use of AI across the board and we're embracing a graduate fashion week and I think the universities are keeping up in that way too. I think in addition to that, like using AI does also mean that you have to develop other skills. So for example, like critical thinking, being able to look at things like curation and editing, all of those skills become much more vital because you're working with the tool. It won't do all of the work for you. It has to be kind of a collaboration between the creative and the piece of software that they're using. So actually those potentially softer skills such as curation are becoming as like more vital than ever before for people to develop is understanding culture. Like understanding where work, whether that is from a communication merchandising design cause, where is that work actually going to sit in culture and is it going to resonate? I think that ultimately AI can help you define what that what these data sets are and try and understand who your target audience is. Actually knowing whether that is going to go down well, whether it's going to get cut through is something that actually I think humans really need to be tapped into the culture at the same time, which is much more challenging, I think, for a piece of software to understand. And universities kind of address this through ensuring the storytelling in the portfolios is very well laid out, very well understood. It's not about the final product necessarily. It's about how did you develop that? How did you get that? Who are you looking at? Where are your inspirations? And so I think that's a really a key thing that universities are kind of looking at and encouraging in young people. To add to that, I would say also about heritage craft. Heritage craft itself is a very sought-after skill. And there's a lot of courses that are supporting that from things like textiles and embroidery, beading, work, printing, knitwear and wool. It's a big thing that's coming that is supported and specialised at university. diversity, there are brands who still want people who specialize in heritage craft. There's lots of companies, even like the Princess Foundation, who are looking and giving grants out to heritage craft. So keeping in line skills that, you know, the British fashion industry are famous for is really important as well. And I think that's something that definitely AI can't take away from, from the designer. Do you think students have become more global in their outlook? We're more focused on local and personal narratives? I think in a world where information is just at our fingertips at all times, right? Like any answer is at the end of our fingertips. We've been seeing a lot of retailers and trends kind of go hyper local, very niche. Do you think that that's reflected in the designs too that you're seeing from students? I think so. I think the final major project from a design student is very personal. That's what they're so varied as well. A lot of students, you know, really embrace culture and heritage, they embrace where they're from, they embrace family tradition. And you see that within their project, within their research, within their portfolio. I think that's something that's really special. It makes their collection unique and makes them a designer unique. And I think that's, again, something that can't be taken away from, from digital. It keeps it local. We see people embracing the cities there from, the jobs that their family might have done in the past. And you see that was in the work and you can, you can fill that on the catwalk. I think that's also something you're really proud of at Graduate Fashion Foundation because we do have, especially within our UK member universities, we have a lot of regional universities who very much focus on kind of where they're from and craft in their area from Liverpool Manchester to Bournemouth to Bath. And these places and Birmingham, for example, obviously has a very big jewelry quarter, you know, that kind of there's, in Leicester, there's a lot of manufacturing. And we do see the students from those places really focus on the area that they're learning in as well. So we're very proud to have a lot of regional universities and to bring those talents to London so that we can celebrate as a whole. I want to focus on how a lot of these students are going to be entering a very change-oriented industry, right? The fashion industry has, it's always been a space of change, right? But in the context of AI and in environmental crisis, polycrisis in general, there's just so much change happening. And that will impact how they navigate their early careers. I wanted to ask, what assumptions do you think industry members still make about young creatives that maybe aren't true anymore? I think that there is a slight misconception around the current generation and Gen Z maybe not having the same work ethic as other generations. I do think that can be quite unfounded. Of course, it's a generalisation. We're talking about a huge amount of young people. Everyone's going to be quite different. But I think that that assumption isn't always entirely fair. And probably isn't necessarily true in a lot of cases. I think sometimes the challenge will be whether people are able to work around people. Now, of course, we have a lot of hybrid working, which is a fantastic thing in so many ways. The amount that you learn via osmosis, like being in an office with people, I think is really invaluable. And I think that maybe this generation has slightly suffered from not being around people to learn in that way. I wanted to also ask what success looks like to this generation. Does it look different? Maybe has it looked different in terms of how they approach graduate fashion week to the generations of the past maybe? Yeah, I think that in the past, with having a really strong British high street, people got snapped up at entry level into lots of brands that aren't here anymore, sadly. So I think we're seeing a lot of students who are coming through ready to launch into industry as a freelancer, as a contractor, or launching their own business. I think that's a big change that we've seen probably in the last 10 years, that, you know, they're saying they might not be the jobs out there, but I'm going to create a path and cut pathway for myself. I'm going to be seen and heard. I think that's really exciting. They're learning a lot of skill set at the university about running that in businesses with launched owl innovators of tomorrow's showroom event and our accelerator program that we do with an alumni, which is really exciting to help support people as they're going into early stages of business. I think that we're seeing lots of more entrepreneurs and young people just ready to set up on their own. And just to add to that, I think some of the markers of success, for example, being, you know, having a work on the cover of those, I don't think potentially holds as much weight as it would have done 10 and 15 years ago. I think a lot of the more traditional routes and traditional achievements, I guess, in terms of recognition, don't hold as much weight necessarily with the next generation who are kind of looking for new ways of doing things and have maybe a slightly smaller scale. That's so interesting. So if getting on the cover of a with your design is not the ultimate goal, what is the ultimate goal? I just think there's something more important than recognition necessarily on a global stage by, by such a big industry. I mean, the fashion industry is actually quite small. And I think that there are lots of people developing their own route. So to kind of effort, Nicholas had earlier, the Fashion Accelerator Program, which is supported by the VH Foundation and days, a lot of them are far more excited having a small digital feature on days and Instagram. Then maybe they are getting a piece that's shown at like the corporate gallery, for example. And I think it kind of comes down to what those individual creatives value and see as cool and interesting and quote-unquote having made it. And I think necessarily they are the same things I would have for 20 years. I also would say that London probably doesn't have the bigger draw that the Gesture that you used to have for our graduates may be going back to the early 2000s. Everyone who is a regional based university or from a major city in the UK really wants to stay there and be working there. You know, it's not all about moving to London anymore. So we are seeing a lot of students or not a graduate such up businesses in their city and be successful in their city with their tier group. And that's really exciting. So it's not about necessarily, you know, sharing in London, being on the catwalk, you know, being on that camera focus you mentioned. It's about regional success, about making it in your city and speaking to your peers and your community. Last year on the Fashion Accelerator Program, we had a wonderful graduate to finder called Gest. She has a brand called J.O. Studio. And not only does she have her brand, but she's also set up kind of a micro factory in Manchester, which she kind of rents out for short term, like one sewing machine to new students and to recent graduates, so that they can increase their production and also kind of work in a community. And I think that kind of community building approach is really important to kind of the next generation of time. It kind of goes back to what you were saying earlier that their values are really what drives them. It's not fame and success and the most notoriety notoriety that you could achieve. It's are they happy? It's are they fulfilled? It's are they surrounded by people in their communities, all of which we've been talking about from a consumer forecasting perspective on what drives Gen Z, how Gen Z behaves. So it's really interesting to see that in real real time, you know, in action, as we look at these graduates heading into heading into industry now. What do you think separates graduates who get noticed from those that maybe don't during the week of graduate fashion week? I think usually it's having something unique to say. You know, there's over three and a half thousand portfolios on show at graduate fashion week and those who have something to offer something newness or fixing a problem was in the industry that are bringing something innovative and change. The movies and shakers always get noticed. I think at graduate fashion week, it's the best opportunity for networking and connections. You know, we have so many students on the show there. We've got maybe 8,000 people watching our catwalk shows across the week in our huge 500 to catwalk hall. We've got two talk stages. We've got a huge university exhibition. The whole event itself is over 8,000 square feet and we've got all of our awards and judges on site with our careers quarter two. So making sure you've seen and heard is a big, you know, a big deal at graduate fashion week. Having confidence, it's a big thing we always encourage. You know, we do a lot of workshops about being confident within yourself, within the work that you've been doing, you know, putting your heart and soul into for the last year to do your final major project. But also to be confident in talking about your work when you go into interviews, when you have to pitch yourself for those jobs that I'll have to come by the moment. I would also add to that as well, just the industry awareness. I think it's very obvious when a member of the industry comes in and they're kind of looking for a new talent. If somebody kind of understands what their business is, knows what's going on in the industry, pays attention to the podcasts, reads the news, is paying attention to what's happening outside of their work as well and where their work fits into the context with the wider industry. I think it's always something that helps set people apart because you appear much more industry ready to step into a really exciting role. Yeah, I wanted to go back to what you were saying earlier to you about how young people aren't necessarily comfortable maybe bouncing around in office because it's not really how they grew up. You know, these are COVID, probably people that, you know, were in high school during COVID, you know, kids that lost a couple of years in terms of socializing and, you know, learning in that environment. I think, if I think about my own career journey, like I went to a fashion school and I interned about eight times during university, right? Those were probably more valuable to me than any learnings in the classroom because I was around industry members. I was getting set up for my future. If that doesn't happen anymore, like if internships are sort of stripped away in the age of AI and we automate those sort of tasks that an intern would have done, the skill set that this Students are holding as they enter industry, isn't as robust as probably in the past. So I wanted to ask what sorts of skills our employees, our employers rather asking for from students, graduates, that they might underestimate cultivating now? - I mean, I would say proactively, because I think even if you maybe don't have as many opportunities to intern in the traditional way, actually reaching out to somebody that you admire, or that you've spoken to at graduate fashion, you can say, can I just shadow you for a couple of days? Can I just, you know, maybe like pick your brains and have an hour meeting? I think if you're proactive, and you can look at things in a different way, and be very much solutions focused, I think that is a really invaluable skill that goes across the board, no matter what level of your career that you're at. - Yeah, and what discipline or role in fashion, do you think will grow the most over the next five to 10 years? - I think we're seeing a huge rise, especially from the course offering in like digital marketing, comm social promos, so that kind of skill set where they walk away from a degree, knowing social media, marketing, point of sale, PR, communications, how to style, how to do a great shoot, and how to use that imagery beautifully. I think we're seeing those roles, obviously play a huge part in a brand. Every brand has a team who is doing that for them, delivering that content for them. We're seeing a huge increase in those upper courses, being created at universities, and an uptake of students onto those courses too. So I feel that that area is a great skill set to learn, and actually a lot of the Gen Z students will have that skill set naturally as well, from their own social media, from, you know, again, growing up, in kind of COVID GCSE age through to university, they're about to think on the pulse with that technology. So I think that space is a great skill set to have. - I was just to add to that, I was with my data analysis, because that is relevant across kind of buying its relevant localization. I think understanding large sets of data, because it's seeing trends, understanding how that fits into a wider culture is really important. And I think data analysis is important for merchandising, buying, communications, across fashion, and you know, more globalized world, localizations incredibly valuable, and it's like, you must help them all cut through. So I think analysis will become, it is already quite important, but I think it will become even more so. - Yeah, I completely agree. I think it's totally the future. It's everything, you know, I spend my day analyzing data all day long. So if that is a skills that you can learn now, definitely do it if any young people are listening. What does the future of fashion look like if we jump ahead to, you know, 20, 36, 10 years from now? - I think the continuation of sustainability and circularity being a major issue, obviously. We've got lots of new laws coming in with product passports. I think universities, you know, already seeing it tall as part of the curriculum. We even do a project ourselves with Solando called the circularity master class, where we're teaching secondary students all around circularity and how to design product, that is fully circular, that we're hoping they can take on it into the industry and into their final major project. So I think that's, you know, that's not going anywhere. We need to continue to, you know, change the output of the fashion industry. And I think that a lot of our students are doing that day to day anyway. I think from what we've probably traditionally saw as like a sustainable fashion collection, isn't that a tour anymore, you know, a normal collection that we see on the catwalk can have major sustainable and circular products and elements to it. And I think that that's just going to continue as a whole. We've seen brand new degree courses being created at major universities as well, all around sustainable design. So I think it doesn't become a huge part of the academia, the courses that they're learning. And actually these new young people are going to take it on into industry and hopefully help change business from the inside. - One thing I will be really, I don't know where it's going to go, but would be really curious if the world's going to go is kind of traditional retail. I think like the wholesale model and showrooms, I think is very interesting. Like through the fashion accelerator program, we're seeing more and more of these young brands, not even entertaining the idea of going into a wholesale model and they are just going to see. So I think a lot of people are curating, really exciting experiences in concept stores and if you're in pop-ups and things like that. So I'll be interested to see where the kind of retail experience goes and the next kind of 10 to 20 years. - Thank you. And as always, I ask every single guest who comes on the Create Tomorrow podcast, who is someone that's creating a new version of tomorrow that you find deeply inspiring? This could be a person that's famous or in your own life, it could be a brand. So Nicola, no pressure, but we're gonna start with you. Who is your pick? - I have picked actually one of our fantastic alumni from Alcova, dear 2020, Joy Julius, who won our face prize. She is fantastic, an absolutely amazing designer. Her collection in her own name, Joy Julius, is a kind of emerged between her heritage in Lego and London. It's a beautiful collection and she's worked really hard on creating beautiful menswear and gender neutral collections with work of her own showcases at the V&A. She's also joining us as a judge this year back at Graduate Fashion Week now on our Culture and Heritage Award. And I think she's a real mover in shaping the industry. She's been featured on Vogue International. She was picked up from MA Scholarship with the BFC. So she's doing really, really well. And I think that we're gonna see big things from her in the future. - I mean, singing Annabelle, what about you? - I am actually also gonna choose one of our alumni. And so Oralie Fontaine, who won in 2018, she was nominated for six awards. I believe in one that Catwalk Tech stars award. And she grew her own fabric in 2018. It was amazing. And since then, she's done a lot around kind of regenerative principles and biophilic design. I think that has applications within fashion that could be huge, but also beyond the fashion industry. And so she is doing some really amazing things. And I think building a future will only be a part. - Thank you to my guest, Nikola Hitchens, Graduate Fashion Foundation Managing Director and Annabelle Waterhouse Biggins, Communications and Special Projects Director at Graduate Fashion Week. If you're a WGSN subscriber, look out for more trends at WGSN.com. And if you're not a subscriber, please come and discover our services. We'll be back with our next episode soon. In the meantime, you can catch the CEO of WGSN, Carla Buzashi, next week on our other podcast, Lives of Tomorrow. I'm your host, Cassandra Napoli. Be sure to follow and subscribe to this podcast and see you next time.