Placement 3: Linea (House of Fraser)

*I am unable to display many images due to the fact that much work is towards forthcoming seasons and therefore still sensitive*

Location: "Linea" Men's Design Department, House of Fraser, Victoria, London

Description: Working as a Design Assistant as part of the small Private Label design team in the company Head Office. Main duties included drawing up CADs of designs by freelance design team, working on graphic prints (for Tshirts, shirts, and Jacket internals), assisting the the smooth running of the area and the organisation of the office.

Placement Duration: 27th March - 22nd September 2006 (based on a 6month contract)

Pay?: I received a fulll salary for my work at House of Fraser that equated to £14,500 PA (pro rata)- this worked out about £7.15 hr.

Working Hours: 9am-5.30pm, Monday-Friday (1hour lunch break was standard but rarely taken in full)

Linea is 1 of 2 Private Label Men's Brands within House of Fraser (Howick being the 2nd). Aimed at the fashion, and quality conscious 25+ group. Linea's heroes include Ted Baker, Nigel Hall, DKNY, Paul Smith Jeans and Reiss. Latterly, the brand have also aimed at the Diesel Jeans customer, as well as those who admire TopMan and River Island's styles, but look for higher quality.
Within the Private Label men's design department, there were 4 members of staff; 1 Howick designer, 1 Linea Casual / Jeans designer, 1 Linea Smart / Formal designer and 1 design assistant (myself for the duration of my placement). The office was open plan, but the allocated space for designers was surprisingly small. The team worked closely with various departments within the Central Buying Office, located on the same floor (a large, open plan office hosting buyers (AB's and BAs), merchandisers, allocators, and Management of Mens and Childrenswear; and included both Private Label and "Fashion Lover" (designer) brands.
Though currently undergoing changes at the top, members of the Private Label Men's department are confident that their input to the economy and profits of House of Fraser will ensure them a secure future in the company.
The Head Office is based on Howick Place, Victoria; directly above the Homewear department of the Victoria store. This location makes commuting easy for most of the staff, given the easy links by tubs, bus and overground to Victoria (main stations only 10 minute walk from the office).

My main tasks included drawing up CADs of deisgns by the freelance Linea Designers as well as working on Designs aongside them. I also was give nthe opportunity to design graphics for several garments, a number of which have been inlcuded in forthcoming seasons.
I expected that my duties would involve fetching hot drinks and doing admin and photocopying things- but I couldnt have been more wrong. As soon as I settled it was made clear to me that my presence was appreciated and that the other designers would do all that they could the ensure I was happy and learning skills and details about my role as well as the industry in general. I was in contact with other departments within the company as well as with suppliers and agents who worked with the department and have made contacts both in House of Fraser as well as outside the company.
An example is a supplier (DPJ Cloth) who have agreed to assist my fabric sourcing towards my Graduate Collection.

I had the opportunity to sit in on several meetings with suppliers as well as internal meetings, this provided a huge insight into the processes of the industry and was of real interest. I also attended seasonal presentations made to the suppliers outlining trends and stories for forthcoming seasons. Again, this provided a view that I would never have been able to grasp outside of the practical environment and was of great interest.

Whilst on placement at House of Fraser, I developed my skills with Adobe Illustrator my a huge amount and am now confident that they are of a high enough standard to use professionally in the future. I also had so many opportunity to exercise my creativity and my opinion was always deemed valid and appreciated.



I also worked on branding ideas and produced placement brochures to be sent to suppliers including artwork and positioning of all labels used in Linea garment. One brochure was based on entirely new designs for size labels by myself and will be used in forthcoming products.
I produced research boards on individual garment trends (ie. Jeans shapes / sweat styles etc) and worked toward the seasonal trend boards with the other designers.



I also went on several "Comp Shops" to study the current styles of leading competitors and aspirational brands / designers. This enlightened me to the way that details, trims and graphics are noted and scaled down to make appropriate for the market.

House of Fraser was my most recent, and my longest placement. It lead me from being an adept Fashion Design Student, to a proficient Assistant Designer. I now have skills and confidence that would serve as an ideal basis for my future in the Fashion Industry.
The very fact that I moved to London alone and spent the mojority of the 6months meeting new people and becoming part of new groups and circles meant that I had to adapt and grow quickly to enabke me to slot into varying situations and various groups. I am now confident that whatever the future brings, and whoever the people I work with in the future I will have the skills to work well in their company and environment.

It was a trully changing moment when I saw the samples come in of a range of t-shirts I'd been working on. I was also told that one of my designs in particular was so popular within the department that they would like to raise the number of garments ordered. That moment that the design becomes more than an idea, more than a sample and actually becomes a wearable garment is really special, and one that I hope doesn't wear off. Definitely a highlight of my year in industry.

*If you are familiar to me by person, please feel free to ask if you'd like to see more images of the work I did at House of Fraser*

NB- all images are Copyrighted and not to be reproduced or otherwise used.