Graduate Fashion Foundation launches second year of Protégé Project

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Dec 18, 2018

Graduate Fashion Foundation said its Protégé mentoring scheme, which supports over 25 award winning graduates, is returning for a second year in partnership with a long list of professional volunteers.

Starting from November 2018, the initiative will pair winners of Graduate Fashion Week awards with experienced industry mentors for a two-year mentoring programme aimed at providing graduates with advice, guidance and career support as they enter into the fashion industry.

The list of mentors include experts in the areas of retail, design, manufacturing, business management, PR, media, marketing, legal and recruitment, who will meet with winning graduates once every four months for seasonal mentoring sessions.

Gemma Metheringham, creative director of Label/Mix at Next and chair of the Graduate Fashion Protégé Project, leads the list of mentors alongside senior executives from brands such as John lewis, Swarovski, Debenhams, Oliver Bonas, Anthropologie, Marks & Spencer and Asos.

She commented: “I am thrilled to be working with Graduate Fashion Foundation for the second year in a row to support the mentoring initiative, and through this helping to support talented graduates make a start in the industry.”

Additional mentors and supports of the programme include designer Christopher Raeburn; Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones, creative directors of Teatum Jones; and Oliver Spencer.

Martyn Roberts, creative director of Graduate Fashion Week, said: “Here at Graduate Fashion Foundation we solemnly believe in supporting the next generation of talent and that is just what the Graduate Fashion Protégé Project does. It allows industry experts to give advice and experience to Graduates and stimulate their personal and professional growth.”

The programme is designed to help fresh graduates launch their own companies or enter the industry after participating at Graduate Fashion Week. The next edition of the BA fashion showcase will be held on 2-5 June at the Old Truman Brewery in London.