Meeting fresh design talent is of course an integral attraction for retailers.
For example, George has produced collections with some of last year’s students, including knitwear with Rory Longdon, a babywear range with Emma Byford and girlswear with James Bruce.
But, as Lambert points out, the brand has recruited students for placements across fields as varied as buying, PR, marketing and visual merchandising, with more than 60% returning to work for the retailer.
GFW can also be an ideal platform to convey a retailer’s brand, says Lambert. “Whether internally, within the industry or for our customer, [it is important to convey] that we are a business that believes design is at the heart of what we do and supporting young talent is a key part of our business.”
Equally keen to support – and snap up – emerging talent is Gemma Metheringham, joint managing director and creative director of She attends the event alongside most of the retailer’s designers, to “meet as many graduates as possible”.
The team, four of whom were themselves recruited at GFW, aims to recruit up to four graduates per year, and while generally the internships have been in the design studio, the company has also created roles in PR, marketing or ecommerce, where appropriate.
“We look for a high level of creativity along with a practical approach to the industry,” says Metheringham.
“We like to see an understanding of the importance of balancing creativity with commerciality.”
For Chapman, inspiration is the key focus of a GFW visit and is not all about filling positions. “We go with a very open mind and just look for anything that captures the imagination, or somebody who has a sense of what might work for our business,” she says.
Despite the talent and inspiration on offer, retailers still don’t make the most of events such as GFW, believes Chapman. “I don’t think enough retailers attend,” she says. “But there’s something for everyone. It’s very modern, because it offers such a young talent pool and [the students] have such modern ideas. It’s about harnessing them and keeping an open mind about where they can fit within your business.”
This year, there is more focus on jobs, but Templeman is keen to attract more industry involvement across retail, manufacturing and design.
Subject to funding “next year will be a change year”, he promises.