Prof. Jimmy Choo's JCA | London Fashion Academy Is Serious About Its Mission to Establish the Next Wave of UK Based Fashion Designers

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Prof. Jimmy Choos Mayfair-based JCA | London Fashion Academy sets itself apart from other educational institutions by offering higher education with mentorship and practice based learning, London Fashion Week Shows and retail opportunities as its core.

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Thursday, August 25, 2022
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Fashion, Education, Retail, Luxury, Other Education, Continuing, Training, Bond Street, Master, Threading, CEO, Royal College of Art, Mentorship, Government, McDowell, Calendar, Academy, Choo, Heart, Somerset House, JCA, Collection, Head, Fashion, Dean (education), Learning, Curriculum, Education, Student, London Fashion Week, Student Loans Company, Metropolitan, MA, Instagram, Entrepreneurship, Local government, Princess, Tutoring, Hatmaking, Management, Faculty, Art
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UNITED KINGDOM, EUROPE, UK, MAYFAIR, WALES
Summary
Key Points: 
  • Prof. Jimmy Choos Mayfair-based JCA | London Fashion Academy sets itself apart from other educational institutions by offering higher education with mentorship and practice based learning, London Fashion Week Shows and retail opportunities as its core.
  • The JCA is determined to create the next wave of fashion designers by consciously supporting their businesses from the day they arrive at 20 Hanover Square.
  • JCA | London Fashion Academy is a pioneering fashion school and professional incubator founded by Prof. Jimmy Choo OBE and Mr Stephen Smith.
  • Stephen has worked closely with international, UK and local government to develop and deliver strategies aiming to build a sustainable creative industry.


Prof. Jimmy Choo’s Mayfair-based JCA | London Fashion Academy sets itself apart from other educational institutions by offering higher education with mentorship and practice based learning, London Fashion Week Show’s and retail opportunities as its core. The JCA is determined to create the next wave of fashion designers by consciously supporting their businesses from the day they arrive at 20 Hanover Square.

Regarded as ‘revolutionary’ by government ministers and ‘design trailblazers’ by industry commentators, the Academy has been built with one sole purpose: to support and accelerate emerging designer entrepreneurs in the ultra-competitive world of fashion. To do so, the school tailors the learning of each individual to the discipline they are interested in rather than offering an homogenous curriculum to a large number of students.

Courses are designed to follow a professional workflow and help each designer build and launch their brand, design and make beautiful collections, commercialise their work and engage with customers through its own permanent Mayfair store, run by the designers’ collective.

Only one year after its opening, the school has already seen some of its first cohort of students launching their brands and presenting them to the world. An example of this, is the success of Melissa-Kate, who was invited to present her collection at the inaugural Northern Fashion Week back in July and is up for three awards, including best designer, and the stories of Annabelle Barton, Maryam Orchid, Noon Khouri and Sophie Park, who will present their debut collections in the JCA x Patrick McDowell x MA Show and Party on the 19th of September.

As part of their programme at the JCA, the students have access to a variety of mentors, including Prof. Jimmy Choo himself, unfettered access to professional atelier workshops and resources that do not usually come with learning, such as a dedicated PR team that are commercially focused to support each designer entrepreneur.

In the past few months, the Academy’s Master Students have been preparing for London Fashion Week, having convinced organisers to have a spot on British Fashion Council’s event schedule. Having all-important support and funding given by the Academy in order to showcase its upcoming talent is at the heart of the JCA’s vision.

After helping its students develop their design craft, entrepreneurial mindset, and launching them at the world renowned platform that is London Fashion Week, the fashion entrepreneurs will get to sell their product at the Academy’s soon to open Mayfair store, situated alongside the world-famous Bond Street.

Whilst most of the £18k course fees can be paid through the government owned Student Loans Company, Stephen Smith, CEO of the JCA, says ‘we encourage our learners to think like entrepreneurs from the outset. Don’t see the loan as funding your postgraduate qualification; instead see this as an investment in you and your creative enterprise. By joining our Masters programme we will be supporting you to launch your brand with commercial product that you have designed’.

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EDITOR’S NOTES:

  • The JCA is located at 20 Hanover Square in the heart of Mayfair
  • The first cohort of MA students will be presenting their brands on the 19th September in the JCA x Patrick McDowell x MA Show and Party.
  • The debut MA collections will be available at the JCA store.

ABOUT JCA

JCA | London Fashion Academy is a pioneering fashion school and professional incubator founded by Prof. Jimmy Choo OBE and Mr Stephen Smith. It opened its doors in Mayfair in September 2021 to play a pivotal role in re-galvanising London’s fashion community post-pandemic and has been established as Mayfair’s international hub for all those interested in design and luxury brands. Taking inspiration from and disrupting the boundaries from the likes of the V&A, Royal College of Art, Parsons New York and Somerset House, the facility will be more than just an educational academy, providing contemporary co-working spaces for fashion start-ups, gallery and exhibition space and a calendar of networking and fashion-focused events.. Since its opening in September 2021, the school has helped many students launch their projects, like Melissa-Kate, a Master's student invited to show at the Northern Fashion Week, and Scottish mature student Paul McCann, who has launched his label whilst in the first-year of his degree. It houses a number of professional designers, including its Designer in Residence, Patrick McDowell.

Students and emerging designers can discover more information about the JCA via its website at, www.JCA.ac.uk and via its Instagram handle, @JCALONDON

ABOUT JCA MA Fashion Entrepreneurship in Design & Brand Innovation

The MA Fashion Entrepreneurship in Design and Brand Innovation has been designed with enterprise creation as a central distinctive feature. Students on the course will establish themselves as freelancers or micro-SME's and will be encouraged to develop a commercial enterprise from the outset.

ABOUT PROFESSOR JIMMY CHOO

Malaysian born Jimmy Choo grew up in a family of shoe designers. From an early age Choo took an interest in creating beautiful shoes, making his first pair at the age of 11 under his father's guidance. After graduating from the London Technical College in 1983, Choo opened his first shop three years later and subsequently became one of the most successful shoe designers in the world. His unique style and beautiful designs become increasingly popular with high end clients including Diana, Princess of Wales. Jimmy Choo sold his share of the company in 2001 and in 2002, Jimmy Choo was honoured with an ‘Order of British Empire’ to recognise his service to the fashion industry.

ABOUT STEPHEN SMITH, FAUA, MBA (Dist.), PGCE FAHE, BA (Hons,) CEO & FOUNDER

Stephen Smith, has more than 20 years in leadership roles across the public and private higher education sector. During his career, he has undertaken roles such as Head of School, Dean of Faculty, Vice Principal, Provost, Registrar, Managing Director and now CEO. He has worked in large Metropolitan University’s, specialist College’s of Art and Design and international educational institutes of Design. Stephen has worked closely with international, UK and local government to develop and deliver strategies aiming to build a sustainable creative industry. Threading together Stephen’s career is the focus on education and its bridge to enterprise.

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