12 education & business
A real passion for fashion at the Re:So relaunch
Solent University’s award-winning Re:So store was officially relaunched last month with a VIP reception attended by British fashion entrepreneur and designers’ champion Barry Laden MBE, writes Alison Dewar
The newly-expanded store and meeting space now takes in two floors of Southampton’s Marlands Shopping Centre and marks a major step forward for the project, which was launched two years ago.
For the first time, as well as giving students the chance to display and sell their collections to the general public, the Re:So store now offers local businesses the chance to showcase their products.
Lisa Mann, Re:So project lead and university programme group leader for fashion management, says the move is designed to give students the opportunity to learn new business skills as well as sell their own collections.
“We want to give local businesses the chance to work with us in collaboration. Not only does this help promote their brand, it also gives our students much greater understanding of how a business operates,“ said Mann.
“They can see what businesses have to do in terms of promotional activity, how they make sales, how they maintain stock levels, take payments – all the issues you need to think about when going into a career in the retail fashion industry. The more contact they have in different ways with real businesses, the better.“
While the lower level of the store offers a wide range of items for sale, including fashion, home accessories, jewellery and artwork, the second floor will be used for teaching and creative activities.
Mann says the students themselves will be responsible for identifying and approaching new suppliers for the store, backed up with support from the university. Small retailers, home-based designers and several of the university’s own alumni are expected to take up the offer and will be able to display products for between a week and a month.
“Many small start-ups don’t necessarily have the visibility they need to sell their brand so this is an opportunity for them to promote their designs and bring them together under one roof with our students and the public,“ continued Mann.
A core team of five students make up the store’s management team, taking responsibility for
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all the key business elements of running the operation, including ensuring there are enough student staff to cover daily and weekend opening hours, which mirror those of other stores in the Marlands complex.
A percentage of commission on items sold contributes towards the team’s wages – they treat it like any other part-time job and juggle rotas to fit in with course commitments – while many of the other ’employees’ use Re:So as the perfect way to gain the work experience they need to complete their degree.
When the shop first opened its doors in October 2012, it was the first full-time student-led store in a UK shopping centre and Mann says although there have been smaller pop-up student ventures, it is still unique. Within its first year, Re:So received national recognition from the British Council of Shopping Centres, which awarded it a Purple Apple Marketing Merit award for Community Relations.
Mann says the Marlands team together with The Other Retail Group, which manages the centre, and property investment company Rockspring, have been incredibly supportive in enabling the project to go ahead at what she calls “very fair“ rates.
“We have had significant support from the centre owners and managers and also financially from the university, but our overall goal is for Re:So to become self-sustaining,“ she said. “It’s taken a lot of hard work and commitment and people have had to make some brave decisions, but now everyone recognises the way this project has really enhanced the learning experience for our students and improved the opportunities for them to get jobs.
“My motivation is the students, seeing them so inspired by Re:So and how much they
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – NOVEMBER 2014
enjoy being involved is fabulous. They really engage because they know this project is real.“
She describes Laden, who was awarded his MBE for services to the fashion industry and is well known as a champion of up-and- coming British designers, as a really great ambassador for what the university is aiming to achieve.
He has already met students and been closely involved with providing feedback and advice on their designs; while the university’s own “Tainted“ collection is currently in production at East End Manufacturing, a business set up by Laden to bring garment manufacturing back to London.
Laden commented: “With so many fashion courses across our universities, it’s totally refreshing to see Southampton Solent providing practical commercial experience which will directly benefit them in the real world beyond university. This is a rare, excellent provision for students which places Southampton Solent’s School of Fashion at the top of its field.“
With the relaunched shop now fully open Mann, who works closely with many major retailers, including Next, Bhs, Fat Face and Top Shop, plans to develop a group of Re:So fellows to act as student mentors and use the facilities for events such as lectures and tutorials.
Details:
www.solent.ac.uk
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