Fashion students focus creative talents on construction industry

Second year Fashion Design students, with Victoria Bellandini

Winning team with Izy from Simons

Lincoln’s fashion designers of the future have been turning their creative talents to help promote health and safety in the construction industry.

University students on the BA (Hons) Fashion Design programme have been working with leading property solutions business, Simons Group, to support its ‘Building Safer’ and ‘Building Greener’ initiatives.
The students, who are currently in their second year of study, were presented with a live brief which tasked them with creating proposals for an engaging character to act as a mascot for Simons Group. The character should be able to communicate health, safety and environmental messages about construction sites to young children.
The project began when Simons Group challenged primary school children across Lincoln to put forward creative designs for their ‘Simon Says’ character. More than 200 ideas were submitted before a final shortlist was presented to the University of Lincoln group, who have taken the campaign to the next phase of development.
Working in groups of three, the budding designers worked to refine these shortlisted designs and create technical sketches, to further develop a brand-appropriate character based on the principles of health, safety and sustainability.
Speaking about the project, Victoria Bellandini, Deputy Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Fashion Design at the University of Lincoln, said: “This project has provided our students with a fantastic opportunity to work to a live brief for a large external organisation, and we are delighted with the designs they have created.
“This experience has been invaluable, as our students have received extensive feedback from Simons regarding their designs, from the brand associations of their characters to the fabrics they have selected for their costumes. This process of critique furthers their understanding of how the creative industries work outside of the studio. They have engaged in a programme of professional consultation with Simons, and we are confident that this practical business experience will stand them in good stead when they graduate from Lincoln.“
Simons Group selected a winning entry from the proposals submitted by the Lincoln Fashion students, which could go on to further development as the organisation explores possibilities to develop a physical mascot, as well as opportunities for comic strips, animations and graphic designs.
Speaking about the winning design, which was created by Kerry Plumtree, Rebecca Hurst and Emma Schofield, Izy Hodgkinson from Simons Group said: “The students have gone into great detail, from a technical manufacturing process, all the way to the logistics of having a novelty costume on site. We really hope that all the students have enjoyed the project, as well as gaining experience on a live project and appreciation for the breadth of creativity in construction. They’ve done an incredible job.”