The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea ...

, in London, England. It offers undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses, study abroad courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therapy and lifestyle industries. It is the only college in Britain to specialise in fashion education, research and consultancy. Its patron is

Sophie, Countess of Wessex Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, the youngest brother of King Charles III. She grew ...

. The current head of college is Professor Andrew Teverson.

History

The origins of the London College of Fashion are in three early London trade schools for women: the Shoreditch Technical Institute Girls School, founded in 1906; the Barrett Street Trade School, founded in 1915; and the Clapham Trade School, founded in 1927. All were set up by the technical education board of the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

to train skilled labour for trades including dressmaking,

millinery Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

embroidery Embroidery is the craft of decorating fabric or other materials using a needle to apply thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. In modern days, embroidery is usually seen ...

, women's

tailoring A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

and

hairdressing A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...

; to these,

furriery Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific i ...

and men's tailoring were later added. Graduates of the schools found work either in the garment factories of the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, or in the skilled dressmaking and fashion shops of the

West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buil ...

.Julie Tancell (2002)
GB 2159 London College of Fashion
AIM25: Archives in London and the M25 area. Retrieved May 2014. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the minimum school leaving age was 15; junior level courses at the colleges were scrapped. Barrett Street Trade School became Barrett Street Technical College, and the Shoreditch and Clapham schools were merged to form Shoreditch College for the Garment Trades. Both had the status of technical colleges, and began to take male students also. In 1967 the two colleges were merged to form the London College for the Garment Trades. This was renamed London College of Fashion in 1974. In 1986 the London College of Fashion became part of the

London Institute University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea ...

, which was formed by the

Inner London Education Authority The Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) was an ad hoc local education authority for the City of London and the 12 Inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990. The authority was reconstituted as a directly elected body corpor ...

to bring together seven London art, design, fashion and media schools. .n.(August 2012)
University of the Arts London (formerly The London Institute) A Brief History
University of the Arts London. Retrieved May 2014. The London Institute became a legal entity in 1988, could award taught degrees from 1993, was granted University status in 2003 and was renamed University of the Arts London in 2004. In August 2000 Cordwainers College, a specialist school for

leather-working Leather crafting or simply leathercraft is the practice of making leather into craft objects or works of art, using shaping techniques, coloring techniques or both. Techniques Dyeing The application of pigments carried by solvents or water in ...

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

and saddlery, was merged with the London College of Fashion. It was founded in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heath Road. By t ...

in 1887 as the Leather Trade School. The name was changed to Cordwainers Technical College in about 1914, and then to Cordwainers College in 1991.Julie Tancell (2002)
GB 2159 Cordwainers
AIM25: Archives in London and the M25 area. Retrieved May 2014. In 2018,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

co-created a customised curriculum with London College of Fashion. The students participating in this course used cutting-edge technology like mixed reality, the Internet of Things, and

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machine A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, moveme ...

for fashion innovation related to industry and consumer needs. In 2019, the school, the London's mayor's office, Poplar HARCA (housing association) and The Trampery opened a new space to support young creative talent in East London. In 2023, the College is due to make Stratford its new home, as part of East London’s regeneration into a creative and cultural hub.

Campuses

London College of Fashion, Oxford St detail

The main college building is in John Prince's Street, just north of

Oxford Circus Oxford Circus is a road junction connecting Oxford Street and Regent Street in the West End of London. It is also the entrance to Oxford Circus tube station. The junction opened in 1819 as part of the Regent Street development under John Nas ...

. Other campuses are at 272 High Holborn; 40 Lime Grove in Shepherd's Bush, and, in East London: 182 Mare Street (which was formerly home to the Lady Eleanor Holles School before it relocated to Hampton,); 100 Curtain Road (Old Street) and

Golden Lane Golden Lane ( cs, Zlatá ulička) is a street situated in Prague Castle, Czech Republic. Originally built in the 16th century to house Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II's castle guards, it takes its name from the goldsmiths that lived there ...

(Old Street).Virtual Tours
. University of the Arts London: London College of Fashion. Retrieved May 2014.

Affiliations

The London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the

, with

Camberwell College of Arts Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgra ...

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of sho ...

Chelsea College of Art and Design Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further education, further ...

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation, film, graphic design, photography and sound arts. It has approximately ...

and Wimbledon College of Art.

Notable people

Alumni

Alumni of the college include : * Dimpy Bhalotia, Street Photographer * A'Whora, drag performer and fashion designer *

Jimmy Choo Datuk Jimmy Choo Back from ...

, shoe designerBrowse all alumni profiles
University of the Arts London: London College of Fashion. Retrieved May 2014. * Ioana Ciolacu, fashion designer *

Christos Costarellos Christos Costarellos is an Athens-based Greek fashion designer, head of the Costarellos brand, and best known for the dress worn by Carrie Symonds for her May 2021 wedding to British prime minister Boris Johnson. Costarellos was born in Düsseld ...

, Greek fashion designer *

Peggy Gou Peggy Gou is a South Korean DJ and record producer based in Germany. She has released seven EPs on record labels including Ninja Tune and Phonica. In 2019, she launched her own independent record label, Gudu Records, and released a DJ-Kicks ...

, DJ, record producer, fashion designer *

Emma Hope Emma Mary Constance Hope MBE (born July 1962) is a British shoe designer. Early life Emma Hope was born in July 1962 in Portsmouth. Her father, who died in 2005, was a Captain in the Royal Navy, and her mother is a former fashion journalist. Th ...

(born 1962), shoe designer *

Driss Jettou Driss Jettou ( ar, إدريس جطو; born 24 May 1945) is a Moroccan politician, who served as the Prime Minister of Morocco from 2002 to 2007. Early life and education Jettou was born in the town of El Jadida on 24 May 1945. After secondary s ...

, prime minister of Morocco *

Rachel Stevens Rachel Lauren Stevens (born 9 April 1978) is an English singer, television personality, actress and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group S Club 7 between 1999 and 2003. She released her solo debut studio album '' Funky Dory'' in S ...

, English singer, songwriter and an actress *

Joanne Stoker Joanne Stoker (born 1983/1984) is a British footwear designer. Stoker earned a master's degree in footwear design from London's Cordwainers College. Stoker worked for Jimmy Choo, before starting her own eponymous footwear label in 2011. Stoker ...

, shoe designer * Rosenthal Tee, fashion designer * William Tempest, fashion designer * Alek Wek, South Sudanese- British, model and designer * Jonathan Anderson, fashion designer * Ekaterina Malysheva, fashion designer * Kojey Radical, musical artist

References

{{Coord, 51.5152, -0.1440, display=title Fashion schools Fashion, London College Education in the London Borough of Hackney Educational institutions established in 1967 1906 establishments in England