There are not many 19 year old fashion students who can say they have
already worked backstage of the prestigious London Fashion week, better yet
there are even fewer who can say they were stood next to the power house that
is Anna Wintour, however future fashion and print designer Charlotte Lloyd
can.
Charlotte has just completed her second year studying: fashion textiles
and print at the UCA Rochester. Although she is only in her second year at
university she has been offered placements at some of the most well established
print and fashion houses shown at LFW.
In Charlottes second year at university she applied and received a
months placement at peter pilloto. It was here that Charlotte got some of her best
experience of how the industry works, and the hard work put into just two shows
a year.
“I used to wake up at 5.30am every
morning to get the train to London for 9 am. I would finish at 8.30pm and
arrive home at 11.30 pm. It was one of my hardest but best months of my life”
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| Image: Charlotte working at Peter Pilloto |
At Peter Pilloto Charlotte had the opportunity to
customize jeans for a Vogue photo shoot, Work up close with Peter and
Christopher and dress models for the London catwalks. However this is not her
only hands on experience, As part of the course Charlotte is studying, she has
had the opportunity to design a range for Margaret Howell; “When I got this
project brief at first I nearly took a gun to my head” Charlotte admits at
first she was confused as to why print students would be given a designer who
only uses spots and stripes? However Charlotte managed to push the boundaries
creating something new and fresh, even having her design chosen as a piece that
could be shown in stores.
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| Image: Charlotte's Margaret Howell project designs |
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| Image: Charlotte's Margaret Howell project. |
This all seems a lot for a student who is only in
her second year! Her love for design and textiles came from her grandmother,
who used to make her own garments, Charlotte shares fond memories of playing on
her old-fashioned singer sewing machine at a young age. Lloyd’s biggest
inspiration in the industry at the moment is Mary Katranzou, which shows in her own designs. Charlottes collections are very busy and bright, similar to that of Katranzou’s popular designs. Most of the work created by Charlotte is very graphic, taking
inspiration from objects and structures, however recently she says that her work has been
heavily focused on flowers and lace in time for SS/12.
This summer Charlotte will be working on a
collection of products with her own unique designs on them. The range will include:
iPhone4 cases, laptop cases and iPad cases ranging from a reasonable £8.00. If you are interested in owning
your very own unique product designed by an up and coming designer follow her on twitter (@CharlotteEmilyL) for
updates on the release. Or contact her via. Email cemilylloyd@gmail.com.
Charlottes Designs...
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| Image: Charlotte at work with her tutor |
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| Image: Design at Peter Pilotto |
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| Image: Backstage at Peter Pilloto |
Labels: fashion
