NEO

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ne·o·phyte

Noun: A beginner or noviceA new participant in some activity

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Editor’s LEttEr

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Welcome to the first edition of Neophyte. Neophyte is a publication that is a platform to share, showcase and support emerging creative talent from various disciplines. We want to give not only graduates, but also

current students a chance to showcase some of their finest work.

Our aim is to travel across the country visiting a number of cities to discover the next new thing. Every three months Neophyte will be bringing you the very best of new and upcoming talent.

Enjoy!Jessica Pomfret

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ContEnts PagE

The Woods And My Camera 8

Leah kirby photoshoot 16

Your future, what comes next? 22

7 questions with lauren briggs 28

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Creative talent from the north east 30

lorna andersson 32

Amy hargreaves 36

nicola westoby 42

Raw online fashion magazine 46

Emily oldroyd photoshoot 50

work experience with gfw 64

contributors 68

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thE Woods and My CaMEraPhotographer: Jessica Pomfret

Location: Chopwell Wood, Durham

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thE BLousEPhotographer: Jessica Pomfret

model: Jane Alexander

Location: intermezzo cafe, newcastle

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your FuturE, What CoMEs nExt?We’ve created Neophyte to be a platform to share, showcase and support emerging creative talent from various disciplines. We want to give not only graduates, but also current students a chance to showcase some of their finest work. By Jessica Pomfret

In the undergraduate fashion world, the most important event in the calendar has to be Graduate Fashion Week (GFW). Zoo-like, the four-day experience sees over 1,000 students, from over 40 universities, standing in their ‘enclosures’ ready to greet passers by and generate an interest in their portfolios; all competing against each other to attract attention. As Christopher Bailey, Burberry Chief Creative Officer says, GFW shows that “we have the most exceptional design talent coming out of our Colleges.” Not surprisingly, this dexterous event sees leading industry members coming to discover graduates to recruit.

But we think there is a serious lack of promotion of new designers. The award winners get reviewed & highlighted but anyone else tends to falls along the way side, unnoticed- a crying shame as there is some outstanding talent out there. The official literature of the GFW tends to only highlight the sponsors & a small handful of award winners. To be nominated for an award, the graduates must be elected by their own course tutor. For a student to gain any professional development from exhibiting at GFW they need to have the funds to finance their own promotional leaflets, magazines and business cards. To meet the costs of having their work professionally printed and to gather money for this event, students turn to fundraising, also making contributions from their own all too meagre resources.

To find out what makes someone stand out at GFW, Neophyte has decided to catch up with Lauren Briggs who graduated last year with a BA Hons in Fashion Communication, from Northumbria University. Although she may have not received an award at GFW 2012, we found that her final project really differentiated her from her peers, and we wanted to find out why, and just what it was that made her go that extra mile beyond her class? Lauren was nominated for the Barclays New Business Idea by her tutor Chris Hodge, but unfortunately she was not what the finalist judges were looking for. But this did not stop her!

It’s a cold October evening, the nights are drawing in faster and the bitter, warming smell of coffee complements the sweet smell of cake in the air. It’s here in a small cafe in her hometown, Newcastle, that Neophyte meets up with recent Northumbria graduate Lauren Briggs. Other students are starting to wander in after their lectures but whilst they’re slurping on their cappuccinos, it’s Lauren that stands out, oozing confidence and wearing a big smile – the smile of a proud graduate!

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Lauren’s final project, The Internship Project was a way for Lauren to explore the way students were interning in the fashion industry. Generally, she found that students worked in excess of 12-hourshifts, with only half an hour break and no pay. Does this sound glamorous to you? Al-though the experience gained is crucial, there is now a growing movement that believes that there should be some financial remuneration and that industry regulations should be complied with. Hearing about the inspiration behind a student’s final project always makes for an intriguing conversation. Unlike the majority of her class, Lauren began her final year not knowing what she wanted to do and it wasn’t until further on in the term that she had a ‘light bulb’ moment. During the summer Lauren had a work placement at a well-known high-street company. It was here that she met a fellow intern who has been working for over a year unpaid. This intern was essential to the company: doing all the jobs that needed to be done! When Lauren asked why she was still working for the company the intern replied, “although I need the experience, I won’t be here for much longer - I’m looking for something else that will pay me!” Although Lauren had nothing iniquitous happen to her whilst on her own placements, she found that other students were not as fortunate and were more than willing to share their stories! This was the root of inspiration for The Internship Project. Lauren found that her research led naturally from one thing to another, first looking at the National Minimum Wage, the rights behind it and whether or not Interns really should be paid – and she discovered that it was in fact illegal not to pay Interns the National Minimum Wage. Lauren took on what became a huge project: the primary research alone being a mammoth task for one person! Was she really going to challenge the entire industry? Once having set up the Internship Project blog, she received emails from all over the world from people willing to share their stories and help her.

The Internship Project put this Fashion Communication graduate into a world of her own. She says “The campaign went so much further and deeper than I ever imagined it would.” Terry Mansfield CBE, Consultant at The Hearst Corporation gave her resounding praise and one thing Lauren says she never forgot was the advice he gave her, and if you are going to choose to live your life by a rule,then surely this is as good as any; “From the minute when you wake up, you should do something mischievous and shocking to get a reaction from someone!”

When showcasing her work at GFW 2012, Lauren had her fair share of ups and downs – from having her work stolen to being introduced to some of the biggest names in the industry. GFW is the time when you are meant to feel the proudest of what you have achieved, with both the

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Pages from Dover Street Magazine, article written on The Internship Project

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industry and the public coming to see your work - you may even get future employment from it! It is here where you look back on the three years of university and probably wish you had done more work, instead of enjoying the spoils of being a student in one of the best student cities in the North, (as voted three years in a row by MSN Travel)! At the event Lauren was instantly recognized for doing something outspokenand taking a risk – it takes a lot of fearlessness to create a campaign on the misuse of interns in an industry that is notorious for exploiting them! Neophyte also spoke to Gayle Cantrell, a tutor at Northumbria University to discover her thoughts on The Internship Project:“Lauren took quite a risk with the idea, as creating a campaign of this scale was not something she had prior expe-rience in – ultimately her passion, hard work and dedication to the cause meant that she connected with her project on a different level from many of her peers.”

Since graduating, Lauren hasn’t been sure as to what she wanted to do in her career, but she did know that she did not want to dive straight into the deep end and move to London like so many of her peers. So she stayed at home in Spennymoor and looked for jobs in and around Newcastle. For the last two months Lauren has been working as a Visual Merchandiser at Debenhams. Lauren was competing against over 30 people for the position, but Debenhams thought that her experience in the industry outshone all other applicants and offered her the job the following morning! With only a couple of months working at the department store, the store manager has already approached her to say that what she has done so far has been amazing, even suggesting that all of the stores across the country should follow her example! “I don’t know if this is going to be my careerfor the rest of my life, but I’m absolutely loving it at the moment,” says Lauren. It seems that although Lauren is unsure as to what direction her career will ultimately take, her work will be continuously recognized and praised due to the sheer passion she has that keeps her constantly driving ahead to the upmost of her ability. So when asked what the plan was for her future Lauren replied, “I still don’t know because career wise - I’ve never known what I’ve wanted to do! But what I do know is that I want to be working for a company that is responsible towards its staff, and the environment in which it does business and have my own team!”

What makes Lauren a cut above the rest and so exceptional is that she wants to push the boundaries of communication like when she took such a gamble in her final year. When discussing her work, the enthusiasm in Lauren’s voice is both captivating and endearing. Although still so young at the age of 22, she has already achieved a huge amount. Yet she remains eager to learn more. Her passionate eagerness, combined with immense artistic talent, will mean that she will quickly gain the admiration and recognition that she deserves – in whatever field she chooses. Lauren is a fantastic example of what it takes to stand out at GFW: Pas-sion, promotion and being prepared to take risks to stand out. Neophyte is looking forward to finding the stars of this year’s GFW - to see who can match up to, or maybe even surpass, Lauren’s achievements.

“Her passion, hard work and dedication to the

cause meant that she connected with her project

on a different level from many of her peers.”

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Tell me about yourself in terms of your background?

I’ve had a very nice and easy flowing childhood. I never got into trouble, always trying my hardest at school. Didn’t get straight A’s but I did get a few A*’s – which I was always very proud of! I used to be quite sporty, I used to be in both the running and netball team back in school! I miss it though, but I’m hoping to try and get back into running and fitness again sometime in the near future.

Have you always been a creative person? Growing up was your family big on creativity, the arts and performance?

I’ve always been creative, but parents have never really been big on creativity so they were quite surprised when I started going down that route. Although, my father is a part-time wedding photographer and I used to help him with that. So I think that’s what sparked my one of my passions for photography. I love going out and taking photos with my camera - I miss the photography assignments I had back at university.

What is your first fashion memory?

I remember being in nursery and I think its one of my earliest memories in general. We had this dressing up box and there were pair sling back, horrible black heels that were old and scruffy and I remember just strutting up and down with this hat on.

What do you like about fashion? What is it that thrills you about it?

One of the many reasons I love fashion is that you can dress as to what ever

7 QuEstions With LaurEn Briggsmood you’re in. Clothes can change your character, its like dressing up! When you’ve got a great outfit on, you feel so good and confident.

Which designer do you currently admire?

I’ve always admired Hohn Galiano. He’s so creative, he’s a God! And obviously-Marc Jacobs! I just love everything that he does!

What led you to going into the fashion industry?

I’m not so sure when it clicked, but I think it was when I was doing my foundation course in Newcastle college. Sitting in class back at school everyone else knew what they wanted to do and I remember sitting there thinking that I just had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. The first thing I looked at was costume design and I thought that it looked like fun. So in sixth form I studied fashion and textiles, which then led onto a foundation course. It was here that I discovered it wasn’t design that I wanted to do. Hence I thought what else can I do in fashion and I came across Fashion Communications at Northumbria, I read the course description, immediately deciding that’s what I want to do!

Favourite piece of work you have ever produced?

The Internship Project definately as it went so much further than I ever thought it ever would. But another contender is the photoshoot that I did for my magazine, Dover Street. I used a fashion student’s collection which consisted of colourful jumpsuits with a robot print on them! I did it in the studio in the Design Building using a friend and her sister to model for me.

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Lauren’s photoshoot,Dover Street Magazine

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CrEativE taLEnt FroM thE north East

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“I am Lorna Andersson, 24 years old. Brought up in the picturesque Yorkshire city of Hull. I’ve done a variety of work experience, working with M&S, George at Asda, Vauxhall fashion Scout,

The tea shed and Topman. Working mainly in graphic design, print and illustration.”

Lorna andErson

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A range of graphic prints to be used on Girls baby wear collection. Prints are themed around sugar, spice and all things nice. Creating cute, fun and graphically

diverse range of designs in an array of pastal sugary tones

MarKs and

sPEnCEr

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toPMan

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I AM A NUT

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What have you done since leaving Northumbria Uni?

Since leaving Northumbria, I have moved to the united states, Columbus Ohio to work at main office campus for Abercrombie & Fitch. I have been employed as a CAD designer for Hollister Bettys. (Translates as print and pattern

designer for Womenswear Tops, Hollister) Working in producing plaids, pattern and embroidery detail, alongside developing ideas and trend direction for the brand.

Are there any experiences that influence your work?

The main influence in my work I would have to say is people. The intricacies and personality which every person houses inspires me no end in producing portraits, creations and characters. I love to take emotional traits and repre-

sent them in a physical manifestation. Whatever that may be.

What has been your most unusual and extraordinary approach/technique when producing an illustration?

I don’t think i have any particularly interesting approaches to producing illustration, other than simply taking a pen to paper. I went through a phase whilst commuting where I would draw interesting train folk on my iPhone, capturing the essence of people in silly illustrations. But unfortunately, my methods are rather traditional. If ideas begin to dwindle I

may turn to a more creative method.

What has been your proudest moment within the fashion industry so far?

My proudest moment in the fashion industry so far would generally be seeing people in the street wearing my t-shirts. Knowing that they have paid good money to be wearing something that my had has created. It makes me extremely

happy to know that they are liked and enjoyed.

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Birds cant keep their Birds love me

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“I am a 22 year old Fashion Communication graduate from Northumbria Univeristy. I’m from the quaint yet vibrant city of York, with its startling beauty it’s given me much inspiration.”

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aMy hargrEavEs

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What have you done since leaving Northumbria Uni?

I showed my final year projects at GFW where I was nominated for two awards, the “Media and Design” for my magazine ‘’ Coralia” and the “Fashion Innovation” for my FMP project “Top Notch” which was about bringing attention to young Northern Design graduates from all fields of design and promoting the North as an influential design arena. I then, (after growing up and moving on from my “taking another gap year” idea) finally flew the nest and have moved down to London where I work as the Ecommerce & Marketing Executive for a beautiful kitchen shop called Summerill & Bishop. Its a small business but has a large customer base, which means I have quite a lot of responsibility and am constantly busy doing something- whether its on a marketing side, improving the company’s business profile, generating more interest in the company,social media, or customer service, ecommerce and sales, to creative things like photographing the products and creating newslet-ters.. there’s a lot to do!But its great because I love the company and the colleagues I work with and I will have gained so much experience from working there so Im really happy.

Are there any experiences that influence your work?

I suppose my main approach to taking photos is to try and be creative as possible and not hold back on anything. Issues like travel or weath-er.. things that cant really be changed I almost think are like fate that they were supposed to be that way so I try and be creative and use them to my advantage. I would say my style of photos all have a very prominent theme that they are shot out in the natural outdoors . I find working in a studio restricts my creativity and the white walls and harsh lighting dont work well with my ideas, so I always try and be outdoors photographing as much as possible. I also like a challenge and to really get myself stuck in myself- ive done shoots where im wading in two foot of snow, or climbing up a mountain, even traipsing through a forest in the middle of winter to find the perfect lighting and scenery to cre-ate a beautiful composition for a photo. One thing that im not a fan of is having other people to do the hard work and photographing or styling a shoot for you- without sounding pretentious, i genuinely think its one of the most exciting things to grab a camera and get out into the fresh air and see what you capture and its your vision so you should have fun creating it! If you dont put in the hard work you dont get it back- many of my photo shoots have involved a lot of travelling to get to the location which can be a pain but the shots ,with fantastic scenery of various things from city-scapes to mountains and countryside cancel that out and make it completely worth it. My main photo shoot for “Coralia” in-volved me travelling to Edinburgh where ive been a ton of times and so know the different parts and what they look like and would look like on camera, really like the back of my hand. I wanted to use the area around Arthur’s seat and the little village of Duddingston as I knew it would be perfect for what i envisaged for the shoot. I was there for about 5 hours and took roughly 600 photos which involved me lugging around a huge suitcase of clothes whilst carrying a camera and a tripod up a mountain and around and lake, over walls and through a forest. It was hard work and I was shattered by the end but it was totally worth it. I loved the pictures that were created and I will always remember the experience!

What has been your most unusual and extraordinary approach/technique when producing an illustration?

I wouldnt say I have a particularly strange or wacky approach to taking photos, I just like to be very hands on and will do (almost) anything to get the right shot, even if that means being on a shoot for hours on end, wading through the sea and having to be rescued by a team of people (that actually happened once!

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What has been your proudest moment within the fashion industry so far?

I think my two proudest moments were winning “photoshoot of the year” in the exhibition crit for our final year magazines- It was only a lit-tle competition decided on the day by the tutors, but I think it was the fact had worked so hard on that shoot and done everything myself; choosing the location and model, the hair, styling, photography and editing everything and I personally was proud, so to then have my hard work and effort noticed by others made me feel really touched. Then I would say my proudest moment to date was being nominated for the awards at GFW. I was interviewed by Jefferson Hack and Melanie Rickey about my work and it was amazing- I was so in awe to have the opportunity to meet them one on one and they were really complimentary about my work and the projects I had created which was such a lovely feeling. So I think that’s my proudest moment so far.

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“I am 23, from Hull, East Yorkshire. I did a foundation year at Hull college and then BA(Hons) Fashion Marketing. During my placement Year I worked at Jack Wills as a menswear design assistant, I am now working at a

Men’s formalwear and tailoring supplier called Bagir, who supply to Topman, M&S, Ben Sherman etc.”

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What have you done since leaving Northumbria Uni?

I am currently working at a menswear supplier as a junior designer, working onvarious accounts, product areas including knitwear, shirting and tailoring, also working for a small in house brand, which involves

brand development.

Are there any experiences that influence your work?

I think traveling is a good source of inspiration. I am particularly interested by Scandinavian aesthetics. This is what I focused my final collection on, visiting Stockholm and Copenhagen for inspiration.

I am interested in pattern and texture, this is a fundamental part of my design work and illustration.

What has been your most unusual and extraordinary approach/technique when producing an il-lustration?

I like simple design, for my final collection I did a lot of hand rendered drawing of nature, very sensitive and detailed. I like the use of pencil and watercolour together. I think mixing hand rendered drawings with

adobe illustrator and then drawing back over it is a good way to mix the two mediums.

What has been your proudest moment within the fashion industry so far?

My proudest moment would be being nominated for the Barclays New Business Idea award at graduate fashion week, it was a good end to four years of hard work. Having people my project was aimed at

complement the product was very rewarding.

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RAW OnLinE Fashion MagazinE

Rebecca Eland And Jessica Askham

Your New Fix For Fashion, Music And The Arts

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Who are the people behind the venture?

RAW was set up by Rebecca Eland and Jessica Askham, fashion communication students and flatmates/best friends. We had been blogging for over a year and we both did some work for a big blogging company, British Style Bloggers too

however, it wasn’t really my style of fashion or writing.

Why did you decide to create an online magazine?

We really wanted to create something which wasn’t just a fashion blog as so many people have them now. So calling it an online magazine and putting it on a website felt right. We also have about 10 writers for us at the moment which makes it quite

exciting as we are managing other people.

What is it about?

RAW isn’t just a fashion magazine because we personally feel that there are other vital components which make up the fashion industry, music, art and culture. We think that these elements get overlooked but they are where all the inspiration comes from behind the ideas. Therefore we have a strong focus on art and music and we are really encouraging young, talented people to

step forward so we can showcase them. Purple PR have also put us in contact with some of their new acts.

Who’s your target audience?

The target audience is for all ages but specifically for people with a strong interest in what is going on in fashion, art and music maybe from an alternative and fresh point of view. New musical talent, personal fashion and street style and local art exhibitions

as well as the big ones.

What is the future for RAW?

We would love the magazine to become a physical and profiting business but only time will tell! If we are successful then it is definitely something we want to consider. Even if RAW doesn’t make it onto the shelves of shops we want to work for a

magazine like Dazed and Confused so been in editorial and styling for a magazine is where we want to be.

What has been the hardest and favourite part you’ve encountered throughout the process?

We have loved the process of designing the site, gathering support and writers and of course the launch event was fun! Love scouting people to showcase too, stopped a busker in the street this week to ask if he would get in touch because his voice was

so good. Overall, RAW goes beyond just fashion and offers an honest and interesting perspective on the industry!

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thE CoatPhotographer: Jessica Pomfret

model: Chris edgar

Location: Chopwell Wood, Durham

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There is anticipation in the air. Months of planning have been leading to this very moment – but amongst over 1,000 students there will only be a small handful of winners. Yes, tonight is the Gala Show, the final show of Graduate Fashion Week 2012.

The doors open. The catwalk hall begins to fill.With the front row reserved for the VIPs such as Matthew Williamson, the crowd jostles past each other to get the best seats. Shortly after it’s our turn, the GFW team are then ushered into the second row and the lights begin to dim.

No more than 45 minutes later, the doors fly open again.The madness after is addictive. There is a huge release throughout the team; the feeling of relaxation is euphoric. Students, tutors and guests pool around the bar to grab their drinks and animatedly gossip about the week.

WorK ExPEriEnCE With

graduatE Fashion WEEK

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Photoshoot location:

Rooney’s Recycling and intermezzo cafe

Photoshoot designers:

Leah oldroyd and leah kirby

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showcasing:

lorna andersson, amy hargreaves, nicola westoby and

raw magazine

Article:

lauren briggs

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CoMing nExt to LEEds.................

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