Major Clothing Chain Challenges Student Designers
6 January 2012
University fashion students research SportsDirect designs as part of the project.
Here at SportsDirect.com we are keen to encourage students to challenge themselves, in designing sports and leisurewear for an ever growing market
”Joanne Christmas, a Senior Designer at SportsDirect.com,
New fashion ideas by University of Derby students could be taken on by one of the world's leading sports and leisurewear chains.
The SportsDirect.com retail group includes more than 470 stores in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Holland and Slovenia selling sports and leisurewear brands such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Umbro and Dunlop. Its staff also produces original creations for in-house brands such as Golddigga and No Fear.
Company designers have challenged first-year students on the University's BA (Hons) Fashion Studies degree course to come up with some bold new designs for SportsDirect.com's own sports and leisurewear brands.
Stand-out designs could be selected by the company to become part of its autumn/winter 2012 selection.
The students will have to research what the company and its competitors currently sell, anticipate the fabrics and colours that will become popular trends next year and come up with a theme. Above all, the designs they eventually present to SportsDirect.com's executives by their deadline this summer,2012, will need to have customer appeal and be potentially profitable.
Ann Draycott and Fiona Hawthorne, Senior Lecturers in Fashion, are leading the project for the University.
Fiona said: "From the first year of the Derby degree course we try to get our students involved in real projects and thinking about how to turn their design ideas into commercially viable products, just as they will have to do once in the industry."
Joanne Christmas, a Senior Designer at SportsDirect.com, added: "We are always excited about offering design projects to students as we feel it gives them the opportunity to work on something different, helping them to enhance their skills ready for industry.
"Here at SportsDirect.com we are keen to encourage students to challenge themselves, in designing sports and leisurewear for an ever growing market."
For further information please contact Press and PR Officer Sean Kirby on 01332 591891 or 07876 476103, or email s.kirby@derby.ac.uk
