Dual City Courses - London Milan

Tutors: Ian Kettle (London) and Lee Pring (Milan)

A portfolio is essential for any student wishing to apply to study fashion at degree level. This course will guide you through the process of creating a portfolio, illustrating the importance of research as a starting point for your designs and showing you how to present your work in a way that will demonstrate how you have arrived at your end project.

You will start from scratch to develop your ideas - this is not about utilising existing work in your portfolio. Throughout the course you will work on project briefs designed to develop a rounded portfolio.

Topics covered:

• Research skills
• Finding inspiration
• Design and illustration skills
• Presentation and communication skills
• Fashion Trends and History

Who should attend:

To join this course it will help if you can draw, but that is not essential. You should have good English skills and a willingness to learn. This course is suitable for beginners, but also general students who have completed one or two years of university studies (BA) in the field of Fashion and want to enhance their portfolio by using techniques acquired at these two renowned Fashion Colleges. Students should be creative, enjoy working on self-directed projects and be keen to be immersed in the design school atmosphere.

London (9 day course)

Monday 25 June to Thursday 5 July

If you are interested in fashion and thinking of going to a fashion college but need advice on how to get there then this course is your first step. During the first nine days you will be immersed in the famous fashion department of Central Saint Martins where you will complete short projects that push your creativity, develop your research skills and nurture an analytic approach to your work and the work of others. You will study design and illustration skills, how to be inspired by people and places around you and how to create a portfolio that prepares you for further studies. You will be expected to work hard and fast, learn from your mistakes and not be scared to take risks. By the end of your time in London you will have created a portfolio of sketches, designs and illustrations, and leave with an enthusiasm to begin creating further project work during your time in Milan. Lectures and studio sessions will be combined with visits to museums and galleries and other places of interest to designers.

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Independent Travel (4 days)

Friday 6 July to Monday 9 July

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Milan (9 day course)

Tuesday 10 July to Friday 20 July

This course involves creating a small coordinated collection and inventing and constructing a wearable fashion item. Students will be given a topical theme or trend to research and develop, and will be shown how to present and illustrate their ideas to maximum effect. Those who are not so confident about their drawing or sewing skills will be helped to show off their concepts to their maximum potential.

The course will combine practical workshops with talks and lecturers. Students will be encouraged to visit shops, fashion zones, exhibitions and markets outside their lesson times (lists will be provided). 

At the end of the course students will have:

• Learnt how to create fashion sketches
• Carried out research on a given theme
• Used their researched material to develop a fashion project
• Presented their work at its best.

All work created in this will be geared toward a final presentation. Work should include notebooks or diaries, sketchbooks, a mood board and/or inspiration board, a portfolio of finished and working (or 'flat') drawings and a fun fashion piece.

Course Dates

London: Monday 25 June to Thursday 5 July

Independent Travel: Friday 6 July to Monday 9 July

Milan: Tuesday 10 July to Friday 20 July

Course Fee: £1975

Tutor (London) Ian Scott Kettle

A graduate of Central Saint Martins & The Royal College Ian Scott Kettle has over 15 years experience working for several independent womenswear designers, and over ten years experience teaching fashion design & Illustration at Central Saint Martins, London College Of Fashion. As well as helping to set up fashion courses in Bilbao, Spain & Maxico City.

Ian Scott Kettle has been profiled in VOGUE, ELLE, Nylon & 125 Magazine, to mention but a few, and contributed to projects in the arts, film & theatre for names such as Michael Jackson & Cindy Sherman.

Tutor (Milan) Lee Pring 

Designer lee Pring was born and educated in London, where she grew up enjoying the exciting and stimulating ambiance of the 1960s and '70s before moving to Italy, where she has worked thereafter, always in the fashion industry.

Lee studied 4 years at Wimbledon and Walthamstow schools of art before winning a place at the Royal College of Art where she graduated with a Master of Arts degree.

Lee has worked with one of the most prestigious fashion houses in Milan - Cadette; one of the companies largely responsible for turning the city into an international fashion. During her time there, she worked with Karl Lagerfeld and Walter Albini (who both collaborated with the house), designed collections for them, and followed all their publicity campaigns - working with some of the most famous photographers, and styling and supervising the graphic presentation. Following that fruitful and important period, she went on consulting for top-level luxury ready-to-wear lines. She also worked simultaneously for many years in a design studio producing trends and predictions for colour and fabric, which also researched for new techniques.

She is currently monitoring the press for D'Management Group, the company that handles the world's most famous supermodels, who include Naomi Cambell, Kate Moss and Claudia Schiffer.

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The fee is inclusive of the cost of tuition.  Please note that accommodation, travel, insurance and living expenses are not included.