A former Fashion student from Stratford-upon-Avon College is making her mark in the industry, turning the skills, determination and creativity developed during her studies into an impressive series of university and professional achievements.
Phoebe Steer studied Fashion at the College from 2021 to 2023, completing her course with a Distinction before progressing to Nottingham Trent University (NTU). Since then, she has embraced a host of exciting opportunities, from winning competitions and taking part in a Black Leadership Programme to gaining valuable industry experience with leading fashion designers.
Phoebe has always wanted to pursue a creative career, and Fashion provided the perfect outlet for her ambitions. Looking back, she credits her time at college with preparing her for the challenges and opportunities of university life.
She comments: “I would say the journey from where I started and finished college prepared me the most. I started college with very little knowledge of fashion and didn’t achieve the grades I wanted in my first year, so I dedicated the entire summer to improving. I then finished the course with a distinction and the Progression Award. That whole experience gave me a massive amount of evidence and confidence that I can create the results I want when I’m honest about what I need to do and put in deliberate, consistent effort!”
At university, Phoebe has made the most of every opportunity to broaden her skills and explore different areas of the creative industries. Alongside entering NTU Enterprise competitions and getting involved with university societies, she has experimented with a variety of specialist disciplines, including laser cutting, power knitting, ceramics, leatherwork and print.
Among her university highlights has been taking part in the Black Leadership Programme. Phoebe collaborated with friends from the programme to enter a styling competition, which they went on to win, with their work subsequently featured on BBC News.
She has also put her talents to work on a particularly personal project, designing and creating her own outfit to wear to her graduation.
Earlier this year, Phoebe added another achievement to her growing portfolio by winning the Paul Smith Design competition. She was awarded fabrics to use in her graduate project as well as the opportunity to join the team for a summer internship in July. Reflecting on the experience, Phoebe said: “I assisted with design, product development and sampling, which was a major learning opportunity for me!”
Some examples of Phoebe’s design, work and exhibitions including: Graduate Exhibition (titled Far Offline ), Graduate photoshoot and magazine and Paul Smith design submission (titled Paul & The Renegades)
With university behind her, Phoebe is continuing to build her professional experience and pursue new creative projects. She added: “I’m very excited to be returning to NTU next month to deliver a professional styling workshop for their Black Leadership Programme, as well as working on a really fun project with another NTU graduate! I’ve also recently started contributing to the development and marketing of a local clothing business, and I have more projects in the works…watch this space!”
From developing her skills at Stratford-upon-Avon College to award-winning competitions, industry internships and exciting new creative projects, Phoebe has built an impressive portfolio that demonstrates just how far talent, resilience and determination can take you.
