Madrid fashion fix opens up future options for student
A student has prepared for her final year at GCU by spending part of her summer on a fashion exchange programme in Madrid.
Universidad Villanueva welcomed 25 students from around the world between the 26th of June and 10th of July for an introduction to fashion retailing in Spain. The trip involved industry visits, guest speakers and the opportunity to develop practical skills.
BA (Hons) International Fashion Branding student Beth Stark was joined by three other GCU students on the trip.
She said: “Paloma, who is one of the lecturers at Villanueva that runs the programme, came to GCU to tell us all about the idea behind it. I basically found out about it from that and I thought it sounded like an amazing opportunity. I also went to college before I came to GCU and a friend of a friend actually went on the programme last year and highly recommended it.
“I’d wanted to do a semester abroad, but obviously coming in as a direct-entry student meant that I didn’t want to travel right away. Having this opportunity meant it was a lot easier to take that step over summer, rather than taking a whole semester.
“I also realised there would be so many networking opportunities from Madrid, so that was definitely one of the selling points.”
The exchange programme has been running since 2012 with the aim of providing an insight into some of Spain’s finest small and medium fashion enterprises. This year saw students from GCU get the chance to interact with students from Mexico, Spain and South Korea.
Beth explained: “It was great to get the opportunity to see the process from manufacturing to packaging – we’ve only ever really seen that in pictures at University, so it was a totally different experience.
“Visiting Tendam was amazing because we got to see how they had everything in the one house, including their manufacturing and photo studios. They also had what was effectively their own high street – seeing all their brands was so cool! I’d heard about mock shops before but it really was impressive to see all the new products lying out.
“It was also amazing to see how the Spanish retail environment works because it’s so different to what we have here in the UK. All the businesses just have such a good understanding of their client base and recognise the market so well. El Corte Inglés has about ten brands and five of them are female, with each aimed at a different demographic. You could see all the brands tried to clearly aim their designs at Spanish people. There were so many different shops that you don’t get in the UK, but because they understand the client base so well they know how to thrive as a business.”
Beth added: “Another benefit of the trip was getting the chance to meet some of the other students from GCU that I’d only ever seen in lecture halls before. I also spoke to some of the South Korean students and it was really interesting to hear about their perspective on the world of fashion.”
It wasn’t just about clothing and design, the students involved also got the chance to learn about store aesthetics and experience the passion individuals have for the fashion sector in Madrid.
“We went to Casa Loewe, which is basically the company's main shop in Madrid,” said Beth. “The person taking us round was so invested in everything he spoke about, and I think that was the case across all the different places we visited. You could really see everyone cared about their roles – they all eat, sleep and breathe the companies.”
“We also got to find out about the importance of store design at Loewe, which I think is something that can be easily overlooked. Everything that was put in the Casa Loewe had thought behind it. There was a curtain made to stretch three floors so that all three floors connect to each other. The company also focus on nature and one of the things that was quite prominent was a big tiled wall, which represented the Spanish landscape. It just shows you the amount of thought that’s put into these different spaces and the impact that can have on where consumers decide to shop.”
Doing everything in their power to avoid a return to rainy Scotland, Beth and the other three GCU students decided to stay in the city for an extra week - and they certainly made sure they got the most out of their time in the Spanish capital.
Beth said: “We tried to squeeze in as much as we could. We went to the Royal Palace and Cathedral. We went on the rowboats in the park and also did a bit of shopping…I came back with 7kgs worth of stuff! The shopping is amazing over there – it’s all very much small to medium enterprises as opposed to big corporations you’d get in London.
“I also decided to venture out myself one of the days because none of the other girls wanted to do anything. I got the Metro to El Retiro Park and just sat with my book. It’s a big city but it felt so safe.”
She added: “I absolutely love Madrid. I’d actually been before with my family when I was about 10 years old. We stayed in a villa just outside the city – I kept getting moments of déjà vu walking through different parts. It was amazing to see it in a different perspective and experience the whole culture – everyone is so smartly dressed!”
With her final year just around the corner, Madrid has left a lasting impression on Beth’s future career aspirations.
“Going into my final year is a bit of an unknown for now because everyone talks about how big a year it is. It’s a bit intimidating, but I’m excited to see what the future holds in terms of career paths afterwards. The good thing about the BA (Hons) International Fashion Branding degree is that there are so many options - if I wanted to go into buying, marketing or public relations then I could.
“The experience this summer has definitely made me realise that I want to work abroad. It’s always been on my radar to go away for six months to a year - this trip has definitely solidified that in my mind. I’d love to get an internship, and I’d have never of thought about Madrid but I’m now so open to going back.”
Find out more about the BA (Hons) International Fashion Branding programme here
By Ross Clark
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter