Elizabeth Bishop began a degree in physics after her A Levels but quickly realised it wasn’t the right path for her and took the leap to follow her passion for fashion instead.
She said: “Throughout the following years my interest in fashion developed past being a hobby. I proactively enrolled in a range of adult education classes. I learnt to sew, understand patterns and basic garment construction. I fell in love with the whole process, from choosing fabrics to wearing something I had produced, which led to my decision to pursue a career in fashion, starting with a degree.”
“I was inspired to choose Fashion at Staffs because of the way the course structured. Before I started, I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career. This course really introduces you to all the different areas of the industry and gives you the freedom to choose what you want to specialise in.”
The BA (Hons) Fashion has a strong focus on employability and teaches the practical and technical skills used in fashion design, covering areas such as pattern cutting and computer aided design. It also provides students with a solid understanding of design theory, exploring the history of fashion, fashion business and the wider cultural context of fashion.
Elizabeth soon made her mark on the course and was awarded Kathleen’s Prize which celebrates the most outstanding piece of first-year written work across Staffordshire University. Lizzie maintained this high standard and produced a striking four outfit collection, Blood Orange, for her final year project which was inspired by her family’s experience of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
“My mum grew up during this time and my grandad was a police officer. My starting point really was looking at old family photos and taking to my family about their experiences.” Elizabeth explained.
“It’s been really great to learn about my own family’s history and also learn about a huge issue that is still affecting so many people today and is really relevant. It has also been a chance for me to put all of the things that I’ve learned throughout the degree into one project.”
After graduating with first-class honours, Elizabeth has secured a job working in merchandising with women’s clothing brand Mint Velvet.
“Merchandising is something that I didn’t know existed before I started but was introduced to in our module called Fashion Business. In this module you really get to learn about different areas of the industry and then pick one of them to learn about in more detail. Since I’ve done that, I’ve been able to incorporate it into my own projects to gain as much knowledge as I can which has been really helpful with my job search.”
Find out if you are eligible for an offer through Clearing by using our offer calculator, have a ‘live chat’ with Clearing experts at http://www.staffs.ac.uk/clearing/ or call our Clearing hotline on 0800 590 830.