Agnes Abelson (Class of 2016

Congratulations to Agnes Abelson who was selected for the British Fashion Council’s Graduate Preview in June 2020. Read on to find out about Agnes’ journey since leaving RMS and her internship in Stockholm at the luxury fashion house Acne Studios.

I have always been a creative person and enjoyed arts and crafts as a child. When I was 12, my mum sent me to a weekly sewing class at the weekends which is where I learnt how to sew and make clothes. Around that time I started textiles in Year 7 and really enjoyed it, learning new techniques such as silk painting and felt making. I continued to do textiles for GCSE and A Level and would combine the techniques I was learning in textiles with my sewing knowledge.

I have such fond memories of my time at RMS. As I was a weekly boarder, I spent a lot of time there so it has been a huge part of my life so far. When I think back on my time at RMS I always remember it being a very well - rounded place where you were supported to excel in whatever you were good at. The opportunities and experiences we were given were amazing, now looking back I realise how lucky I was.

When I first left school, I deferred my place at university and took a gap year as I wanted to have a bit of a break from education and travel. I worked full time for four months as a waitress and then went solo travelling for eight months to China, Japan, Australia (where I lived and worked for six months), and America, something which I would highly recommend. The experiences I had on my travels were so amazing; exploring new places and meeting new people. I then returned to the UK and started my degree in Fashion Design at Nottingham Trent University, from where I have just graduated with First Class Honours and had the best three years of my life. My course covered the whole process from concept development and design, to construction and manufacture to final photoshoots and look books. During the three years we did a range of projects which enabled us to decide whether we wanted to specialise in menswear or womenswear.

Despite enjoying the menswear project, I have always wanted to be a womenswear designer so my final collection was womenswear. As the course covered the whole design process, I learnt a range of skills and discovered that I wanted to become a pattern cutter. I had always enjoyed maths and pattern cutting combines both my love for maths and my creativity.

During the university summer holidays, I did internships which enabled me to gain invaluable experience, developing the skills I was learning at university and translating them into working in industry. My internship at Marques’ Almeida was particularly informative as it was a small company, so I was able to see how the designs came to life from sketch to production and then how they were marketed to wholesalers. It was really interesting as it gave me a greater understanding of the industry and life cycle of a collection.

Last year, every student on my course had to submit their portfolios to tutors who then selected individuals to be put forward to feature on the British

Fashion Council’s Graduate Preview. It was really exciting for my work to be chosen and a major confidence boost as the end of my degree was heavily affected by COVID-19.

My main role is creating the sketches which get sent to the factories for production and annotating them with the correct construction methods, which is great for me as I am learning a lot about construction methods for a range of garments from T-shirts to tailored jackets. I have also met some great people and it’s really fun working in such an international office.

Living in Sweden over the last six months was a bit weird at first as the COVID-19 restrictions have been very different to the UK; you don’t have to wear a mask anywhere and bars and shops are still open as usual. However, as the cases have risen there have been more restrictions put in place, such as a 10pm curfew and encouragement to work from home if possible. Most people are respectful of the few rules that are in place like the two-metre rule.

Looking back on my time at RMS, I know that boarding helped me to be more confident and unafraid to move to new places. I am comfortable being away from home and I didn’t even have a second thought when given the chance to move abroad. I would definitely say that the freedom to experiment and the consistent support from the teachers in the textiles department definitely helped me develop my skills, meaning that I got into university without having to do an art foundation, which in turn got me to where I am now!

Adapting the last few months of my degree to working from home was a big challenge. Fashion design is obviously very much a practical subject and can be hard to do when you don’t have all the resources. In the end I developed my CAD (computer animated design) skills as a result of working at home and probably wouldn’t have got my current internship without that, so it is all swings and roundabouts.

Since graduating in June, I have moved to Sweden and am now living in Stockholm on a six-month internship at Acne Studios in the Technical Design Department. I am really enjoying both the work and living in Sweden, it is such a beautiful country, despite the fact it gets dark at 3.30pm! I have learnt so much at work so far and get to take part in fittings and the development of the garments, which is a really interesting process to be involved in.