This year saw the launch of the Collaborative Unit, a unique way of working that offered postgraduate students an opportunity to gain industry relevant experience through cross disciplinary industry projects. Students worked collaboratively on innovative and enterprising projects that replicated the needs and demands of the industry.

340 students from across 15 of postgraduate courses created 150 projects ranging from creating magazines, building apps, designing ethically sourced footwear, producing and curating a photography exhibition, launching an engaging digital sustainability campaign and using digital anthropology to explore the Internet of Things.

It was difficult to pick a winner of the Graduate Communities Project Award as so many amazing industry partners worked on the Collaborative Unit but after voting from both staff and students digital creative studio Holition was chosen.

LCF have worked with Holition for a few years on a variety of exciting and thought provoking projects. The winning Collaborative Unit project saw students challenged with creating their vision for the future of retail. You can watch the end result in the short film below.

When asked about the importance of investing in students Holition’s Alex Clunie said:

Holition has always been interested in the collaborative element of projects. Working with LCF and its students has exposed us to multiple new ideas and points of view that in turn inform our team and idea generation process and from which both parties benefit

Runners up for the Graduate Communities Project Award include:

• Iotic Labs who worked with students in the Digital Anthropology Labon a project called Internet of Fashion Things.

• Author David Foy who worked with students on the release of his latest fashion title. Students were given an amazing insight into the world of publishing.

• Festive knitwear brand Jack Masters who challenged students to look at their entire business and marketing strategy in order to grow awareness and sales.

• WRAP asked students to improve the image of second-hand & upcycled clothing through a printed publication and and engaging web content.

• Tateossian tasked students with evaluating then improving their marketing material in order to improve impact.

Thank you to all the brands and individuals who invested their time and expertise in the graduate students during the Collaborative Unit project. The collaborative working experience is fantastic for preparing students for professional life. By encouraging collaboration students to develop the necessary networking, team working and negotiation skills required to succeed in the fashion industry.