Introduction
The VIN + OMI Project is an ongoing Internship opportunity where Art & Design students at Oxford Brookes collaborate with an award-winning eco design duo. This Live Project aims to provide students with real life, hands-on experiences working in the creative industries alongside professional designers. In the eight years that Brookes has been involved, students have designed and built the set for VIN + OMI collections in line with their sustainable practice at various shows, including London Fashion Week.
For an insight into this unique partnership Brookes Creative Assistant, Katherine Lai, interviewed Amy Harris – Lecturer in Art & Design at Brookes, who leads on this Live Project.
What are Brookes students asked to do for this Internship?
VIN + OMI set the overall work which I then write into a brief to communicate to students. For the last few years we have been responsible for designing the catwalk set at London Fashion Week. Students usually begin by making maquettes – small, freestanding 3D models of their ideas. They make between 6-8 mini designs which are then submitted to VIN + OMI who select the ones they like. Students then scale those up using mount board, tissue paper and paint – the materials that we are given by VIN + OMI’s sponsors. The models are sometimes scaled to be human-sized but also have to be flat packed because students carry them on the bus from Oxford to the London, where the fashion show takes place. There has been an impressive list of venues, including the Dorchester, the Savoy, Andaz and Congress Centre. We then set up the entire hotel ballroom or congress hall, laying out chairs, undoing all of our packages and building the set to create the catwalk. That takes all day. When the show is on, the students marshal the event, greet all the guests and make sure guests are sitting in the correct place. They monitor the whole thing, watch the show and at the end they tear it all down and pack it up.
What skills, attributes or competencies did students demonstrate throughout the project?
Students work to really strict and time-pressured deadlines. They do the whole project from start to finish in less than two weeks, from being given the brief to the event at London Fashion Week. It’s really intense and within that there are strict deadlines for making a certain amount of samples, not to mention they have to be finished to a professional standard. How students behave is also incredibly important. Punctuality, attendance, dedication and commitment is essential but also the quality of the work produced, because if it’s not good enough VIN + OMI won’t use it. So if something isn’t up to standard, the students will need to do it again.
Responding to the brief and adapting ideas is also key. VIN + OMI quite often will alter what they want halfway through the project because their ideas change. Sometimes in the past we’ve had to redo things and students have to adapt to design developments. On top of the creative side, it is very technical too. Students have to abide by what materials we are given from the sponsors as well as have the foresight to design pieces in a way that they are transportable and easy to assemble and disassemble.
Collaboration is a really important part of it because students are making their own pieces, but they’re work is part of the wider set. So they help and support each other. When they’re at London Fashion Week they work with and become part of the wider team, including hair stylists, makeup artists, models, dressers and hotel staff. These are people that are working in the fashion industry already so students work alongside professionals. When the fashion show is on they are exercising a high level of communication skills: managing the public, greeting people, answering questions and more.
How do students get involved with this project?
VIN + OMI is an additional Internship for Art students not a mandatory project. The work they produce on this project can be assessed as part of the unit, but they don’t need it. The Foundation Art and Design course provides many different options for projects so that students can opt into the ones that are most relevant to them and include them on their CV. While this is a project on Foundation course it is also open to Fine Art degree students. Throughout our years of working on projects with VIN + OMI we’ve had many students in various School of Arts subjects at Brookes who have moved on from the Foundation Art and Design course come back to join in.
How many events has the School of Arts at Brookes been involved in with VIN + OMI?
There are two London Fashion Weeks a year where VIN + OMI showcase their work. Oxford Brookes has been involved with VIN + OMI for around seven or eight years now. When this collaboration first started, maybe a few students would go and work with them in the studio for a bit. However, the scope of collaboration has grown since then. VIN + OMI used to prep their catwalk backdrops on the day, or maybe have an artist work on it a little. But because of how we’ve done it at Brookes, over the past 4 years it’s grown into something more complex, more of a structured project where we design and build the set.
How was this Live Project negotiated with the partner, VIN + OMI?
The relationship with VIN + OMI started before I worked at Brookes. I believe the link started because VIN + OMI employed a former Brookes student, who got back in touch with us to establish a connection. Our students used to go and work with them in the studio, and then through the quality of work and the commitment of our students, the project grew. Our responsibility has grown because of that reason and from there it has developed quite organically. Through this previous experience we’ve been able to set a manageable amount of work to be delivered with an appropriate number of students. It was definitely a bit of trial and error on both sides but through that we’ve come to a mutual understanding of what Oxford Brookes can commit to.
What has been the partner’s contribution to this working relationship with Oxford Brookes?
VIN + OMI will explain their idea, which I translate into a more traditional sense of a brief. They also provide the materials through the generous support of Daler-Rowney – who create sustainable, qualitative and durable art materials with the aim of making art accessible. VIN + OMI select the designs they want and give constant feedback on student’s work, which might include alterations or a conversation about which ones are going to be more successful and why. Then on the day of the show they work directly with the students and give them directions. They’re quite involved and very willing to communicate and keep these channels open so that everyone can do the best that they can. They’re a brand who are pioneering new strategies for producing sustainable fashion and textiles. They don’t make clothes to sell, they just make clothes to promote this message. Part of that is educating, supporting and encouraging young designers. They’re very open to working with students in education, and guiding them along the way.
What impact do you think has this project had for both the partner and the students?
I believe that VIN + OMI have dedicated more time to the design of the set, more than they used to. When we first started doing it, the whole backdrop was made on the day of the show and now it takes two weeks. They have gotten more extravagant with their set design and since the set has been made this way, it’s only ever been the Oxford Brookes Foundation Art and Design course that’s been responsible for it. I think it’s pretty much wholly outsourced to us. They have lots of input, but we make it. In the past there have been artists that have done banners and painting, whereas now, I think it’s just entirely handed over to us. So hopefully it’s more manageable for them and the sets get more glorious each time.
Sometimes our students go to VIN + OMI’s studio and help them with the collection when they’re finishing garments, for example. Students get real-life experience of what it’s like to work on a creative industries project. It’s for the real world. They’re working directly with professional designers. So this is a great stepping stone into knowing what is expected of you as a professional.
You can read about the impact of VIN + OMI’s educational projects, which provide hands-on learning experience and education about sustainable design and practices on their website: www.vinandomi.com/worldofvo/educational-impact.
Instagram: @vinandomi
Special thanks to Amy Harris and Brookes Creative Assistant, Katherine Lai for conducting and transcribing this Live Lab interview. Other articles related to this Live Project include Advice for Lecturers working with external partners (Coming Soon!) and VIN + OMI Student Spotlight.