A former Fashion student from Stratford-upon-Avon College is moving towards her dream career after securing a Handbag Designer role with top high street retailer.
Tilly Kirby who studied Fashion at the college from 2018 to 2020 is now working as the Assistant Handbag Designer for River Island.
Tilly has always gravitated towards Fashion; enjoying shopping with her mum growing up, who also introduced her to the history and culture of Fashion by visiting exhibitions.
Her interest extended into academia, when she took GCSE Textiles and loved it but wanted to find a more practical route to continue her learning: “I struggled academically and knew A-Levels wouldn’t be for me, I looked at local colleges and the course at Stratford was perfect as it taught fashion as well as textiles.”
She loved her time at college as she was able to develop her craft and prepare herself for the real working world: “It was the perfect time to experiment with my design style and learn the foundations of the industry.”
Following college, Tilly went to Manchester Fashion Institute at Manchester Metropolitan University to study Fashion and graduated with a First Class Degree. After graduating she moved back home to Solihull and got a job at Levi’s in Touchwood Shopping Centre. This kickstarted her passion for Denim which led to her taking a role at River Island in the Denim department before transitioning into Bags.
Here are some examples of Tilly’s work.
Tilly loves her job: “I love being creative by working with trends and product, it’s also given me some fun opportunities like fashion shows and visiting my suppliers in China. Most of all, I love working in such a female dominated industry, fashion is all about working in a team, I’ve made a lot of friends, some days are really stressful but we end up laughing our way through it.”
Fashion lecturer, Louisa Figus, remembers Tilly from her time at college and is incredibly proud of her achievements: “Tilly was such an enthusiastic and highly motivated student when in the Fashion and Textiles course. Every project she worked on with huge passion and worked hard to obtain work experience opportunities when on the course. I had no doubt that with her talent and determination she would be successful in the fashion industry.”
Tilly is excited to progress in her role and in the future hopes to utilise her French passport and move to Paris to work for an iconic French brand.
Tilly’s advice for current students? “Always work hard, ask lots of questions and follow all your ambitions!”
