Fashion Design Intensive Short Course

Abigail Jones

Abigail Jones is a dynamic associate lecturer and artist with boundless energy and enthusiasm. She enables students to think creatively whilst encouraging a "can do" attitude. Part of Abigail's success is her ability to motivate students to generate a body of work, which enables them to experiment and explore and ultimately for them to reach their full potential. Abigail studied Fine Art at Byam Shaw School of Art, and was awarded a British Academy Scholarship to do an MA at the Slade School of Art (University College London). After graduating Abigail worked across a range of disciplines; as fashion illustrator her work was published in Vogue’s December issue 2008; as a scenic artist she produced the backdrop for the Supergrass Acoustic tour and as a sculptor she restored the Elfin Oak situated in Kensington Gardens. Subsequently she set up her Hackney studio and went on to exhibit across Europe. Since 2006 Abigail has been employed as an Associate Lecturer at London College of Fashion, UAL, specialising in drawing and product design. During this time she was awarded a distinction on the Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning and also built a reputation as an academic. Her success record is impressive, as many of her former students have gone on to take on pivotal roles within the fashion industry. Abigail has an extensive collection of teaching resources that are currently being collated into a text book. The lectures and workshops she facilitates are carefully constructed to inform and inspire students to be as creative as possible. Her experience and plethora of knowledge gained by working and teaching within the fashion industry has made her an inspiration to students past and present.

Dawn Kelso

Dawn graduated from Womenswear at LCF in 2018 with a first class honours and specialism in techniques of couture dressmaking, and is currently starting a luxury label that focuses on hand-craft and the production of one of a kind pieces made with love, care and skill. Dawn's work explores themes of environmental destruction, capitalism, cultural heritage, and "the end of the world"... she imagines a utopian future that looks much like the past, one where humans are once again in touch with the land from which they live. With transparency and ethical, artisan production at the core, Dawn travels to Bangladesh to source fabric from rural weaving villages, where she meets and interviews weavers, with the intention of partnering with a social enterprise in the near future and a focus on preserving the dying handloom weaving industry. As well as this, she collaborates with her mum (a spinner, dyer and knitter of yarn) to create materials that are entirely handmade and as locally sourced as possible. Dawn's mission is to create a model for a fashion business that makes beautiful clothes free of harm, one that gives back to communities and preserves the life of hand-craft production in developing countries. She has been teaching on short courses since graduating and has a passion for the process, so is excited about passing it on to others!

Suzanne Beirne

Suzanne Beirne launched her career at Vivienne Westwood's design studios starting out as an assistant. She developed within the design team overseeing all creative for shoots, look books, exhibitions, installations and window concepts worldwide. Suzanne also consulted for both Prada and Miu Miu. Styling all visual platforms such as windows, exhibitions, showrooms and events - she worked closely with the renowned photographer and stylist, Manuela Pavesi. She has exhibited her work nationally, culminating in selling artworks to the singer Kylie Minogue. Having assisted the art director Simon Costin, Suzanne currently works as a set designer and contributes to international magazines such as Another, Another Man, Self Service, Document Journal, i-d, Under the Influence, Wonderland and the Gentlewoman among others. Commercial clients include Burberry, Topshop, House of Hackney, Ben Sherman and Shrimps.

Carlyn McGuire

Carlyn McGuire is a graduate of Central Saint Martins and Senior lecturer at the London College of Fashion at the University of Arts London. Carlyn has taught on the pre-degree course since 2016 and is currently the fashion design leader. With over 20 years teaching experience delivering fashion design and development at pre-degree level. Carlyn specialises in teaching established methods and experimental techniques to prepare and help students discover their fashion design direction and build visual design identity through design development and process. See Carlyn on Instagram: iisf_lcf

Lezley George

Lezley George ran her eponymous fashion label based in London for twenty years. She is a fashion design practitioner whose work includes developing unique textiles for her collections of designer womenswear, which were sold in boutiques and department stores worldwide. Between 1991 and 2008 the label showcased at international trade shows in London, Paris, Milan and New York and presented on the runway at London Fashion Week, Australia Fashion Week, Rome Couture Week, Buenos Aires Fashion Week, and at catwalk events in Japan, Germany, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, South Africa, Dubai, China, and Uruguay. She then spent eight years living and working in the Middle East, and she taught fashion design at Universities in Dubai and mentored locally based designers. Lezley holds a PhD in fashion from LCF, where she currently teaches at undergraduate and post graduate levels and continues to work on projects and research that examines global fashion design cultures and practices.