Colour-In Fashion
The University hosted a panel of fashion industry experts to discuss how diversity should be embraced within the industry.
Date: 1 February 2018
London Metropolitan University hosted some of the biggest names in fashion at a panel event held at the Holloway campus on Tuesday 30 January 2018.
As part of a University event, titled Colour-In Fashion: How should fashion embrace diversity?, Jay Kamiraz, aka Mr Fabulous, Guardian journalist Carlene Thomas-Bailey, Buzzfeed columnist Tolani Shoneye and blogger and stylist Maria Pearl, were all on the panel giving London Met students an insight into the fashion industry and the challenges faced.
The main topic was the lack of diversity among successful fashion contributors in the industry. “I think New York Fashion week is better than its London equivalent, but I still don't think it's as good as it should be,” said Carlene Thomas-Bailey.
“You get wonderful moments, like Edward Enninful's first edition of British Vogue, and I get very excited and then nothing happens. I'd love to work out how people of colour can be more than just a fad in fashion.”
The panel discussion was followed by a fashion show, where outfits and make-up were co-ordinated and exhibited by London Met Fashion BA students. Students who attended the event were given the chance to take advantage of the expertise on offer and ask questions, allowing them a unique insight into the trade. Mr Fabulous stressed the importance of building up an online profile and focusing on making yourself stand out from the crowd – the very reason he developed his alter ego.
Victoria Neumark-Jones, Associate Professor of Journalism at London Metropolitan University and course leader for Journalism BA and Fashion Marketing and Journalism BA, said: “We have an ethnically and socially diverse student body and it's all too easy for them to think they have no place in the fashion industry. The Colour-In Fashion event showed them four people, from backgrounds like theirs, that through hard work and intelligent networking have gone on to establish themselves in an incredibly demanding industry.”
London Met regularly host talks featuring panels made up of industry experts. The sessions are open to all London Met students and are free to attend. The School of Computing and Digital Media’s next session will be held on Wednesday 7 March and is titled: Do human rights conflict with national security? Book your free ticket on Eventbrite.
Pictured: some of the outfits exhibited during the fashion show as well as some of the panel discussions.