Graduate Students Spend Spring Break Studying Fashion in London

A group of nine grad students, including both on-campus and online students, traveled to London for a non-credit program, which involved cultural and business visits. This program resulted from LIM’s partnership with the London College of Fashion, which has sent students to visit LIM in previous years.

Students toured historic shopping areas around Brick Lane and Dover Street Market, in addition to analyzing the fashion retail experience at the Westfield Mall. Professor David Loranger, who accompanied the group in London, said it was enlightening for students to observe U.S.-British differences in terms of merchandising displays and pricing levels. “The British are not shy of using bold colors and patterns,” he said.

The core of the experience consisted of seminars that took place over two days at the London College of Fashion, where LIM students took specialized sessions on design trends, sustainable fashion, and the effects of Brexit. Students were also accompanied by Professor John Keane, who noted that they found it helpful to learn about fashion business topics from the British perspective, as opposed to simply reading about the economic impacts of Brexit in U.S. news.

During the program, LIM students were also thrilled to secure tickets to the sold-out Christian Dior exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum. 

The inaugural spring break program helped supplement the information presented in students’ coursework, according to Keane and Loranger.

The Center for Graduate Studies is brainstorming ways to tie study abroad sessions into the graduate curriculum for future semesters.