A talented Lichfield designer says an opportunity to pick up tips from fashion industry leaders in Birmingham was inspirational.
Gemma Ramage was invited to Selfridges as part of the Bright New Things Project.
The 30-year-old was one of two promising Midlands designers selected after her Bijou Boudoir label impressed the organisers with its ‘free size’ concept.
Her creations are designed to fit most women as the fabric is able to be tied in different ways – and the likes of Mischa Barton and Louisa Lytton have already donned her outfits.
She joined Birmingham City University graduate Holly Jayne Smith to meet experts from across the fashion and retail sectors.
“Meeting an expert from The Centre of Sustainable Fashion was very inspiring, and he promised to help me source fabrics in the UK and also recommended to me some contacts for local manufacturing which would be useful to me,” she said.
“I was also given some great feedback on my collection, and some inspiration from the visual merchandising team on how I can create further ideas for my Lichfield-based store and brand.”
Adam Hockney, general manager of Selfridges Birmingham said he hoped the initiative would help Gemma and Holly to build on their blossoming careers.
“We were really impressed by them both and were glad to be able to pass on some of our knowledge to these two talented designers,” he said.
“Hopefully we will be seeing their designs on some of the world’s top models soon.”
