Francesca White - Placement Profile
Course: BA (Hons) Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles
Placement: Aman Knittings Ltd / Tesco International Sourcing
Placement position: Product Developer
Could you tell me about your work placement?
During my placement as a Product Developer I learnt huge amounts about the garments industry, both from the view of the buying house (Tesco) and the factory (Aman Knittings). I have learnt about how garments are made from the very beginning of the sampling stage to how they are bought and then put into production. I have learnt about how a garment is costed and how external factors such as rising cotton prices and workers minimum wage increases have affected the costing of garments this year. My role included producing trend reports and ‘What’s Hot’, developing and designing garments, helping the factory to understand UK trends, actioning samples, chasing and checking samples and trying to make sure they are correct first time. I also took part in buying meetings with different buying houses and gave my opinion on design and product development, liaised with yarn and accessory suppliers in both Bangladesh and China and helped make decisions on detailing when my factory were unsure of what the buyer would want.
What was the highlight of your placement year?
The highlight of my placement year was getting my designs bought by a buying house and put into production. It was great because it really boosted my confidence and the factory was very pleased. I received bonuses because of some designs.
Has your placement experience helped you make a decision regarding your future career?
My experience on placement has really helped me make a decision about my future career. As I got to see a lot of different roles within the industry from Buyers and Merchandisers to Designers and Product Developers I really got to learn what interests me the most and where my skills lie.
Would you recommend NTU and your course?
I would really recommend my course because it enables you to be creative and gives you the freedom to explore your interests through varied and interpretive technical and design briefs. The course also prepares you for a career in the fashion industry by constantly making sure you're focusing on the way the industry works and ensuring you consider this when working
