Designer glad to be home for Christmas

Getting a job in London is not always easy, but Clare Warburton can thank iD Dunedin Fashion Week for helping her get a foot in the door of the UK fashion scene.

The former Otago Polytechnic and University of Otago student has been working in London for menswear label Ben Sherman for more than two years and loves it.

The Otago Daily Times caught up with her on her visit home for the holidays.

Design was a "fun environment to work in", and while her role in the fashion industry is not quite what she imagined when she was studying, she really enjoyed it, she said.

After graduating from polytechnic in 2004, Miss Warburton showed at iD the next year, a show which still features in her portfolio.

Images from the show, her media coverage and being able to talk about the experience were of great benefit when talking to prospective employers, she said.

Showing alongside well-known designers such as Nom*D had made a difference.

While her first attempts to get a job in the fashion industry, in Auckland, were not successful, the experience did result in her deciding to further her study at the University of Otago where she completed a graduate diploma in textile science.

"I always liked the technical side of things," she said.

She then worked for Hallensteins for two years, working in a "mixture" of areas from assistant designer to graphic artist and garment technician.

"More opportunities for work" resulted in her heading for London in 2008, when she was "so lucky" to land a job at Ben Sherman within a month.

After starting as a garment technician, Miss Warburton now works as an assistant designer for the company, which wants to be "king of shirts".

Working for the international design company was much different from working in New Zealand, she said.

"Here we have much smaller fashion houses," she said, compared with the four-storeyed building she now worked in, filled with designers, sales teams and fabric technicians.

"For others wanting to forge a career overseas, she recommended they went with experience: "Don't go straight from university."

Having the skills in demand and researching what jobs were available were also key.

Miss Warburton hoped to complete her masters and find more time to create her own designs, rather than "dabble".

"I want to do my time as `the assistant', and then go and get more design work," she said.

For now, it was just good to be home where "everyone is so relaxed".

ellie.constantine@odt.co.nz