Art students preparing for interviews at top universities

Art and Design students are preparing for university interviews at top institutions including London College of Fashion, Central Saint Martins and the University for the Creative Arts (UCA).

The second-year Level 3 students are working on their portfolios, as well as starting to plan their final projects of the year and to think about the exhibition in June.

Their current projects including creating pieces for existing fashion houses, working on 3D prints and props for well-known films, and designing illustrations and graphics for limited-edition books.

“We encourage the students to have a career plan that they’re working to, whether that’s university or going straight into the industry,” said Slavina Kalendzhieva, the specialist Fashion and Textiles tutor.

“We plan the final projects of the term to help challenge and support the students to create their best work yet so that they can have a portfolio and end-of-year exhibition that they’re really proud of.”

Final-year student Rebecca is preparing for interviews at London College of Fashion, where she is hoping to study Fashion Design and Development or Fashion Styling and Production.

Rebecca, who went to Saint Cecilia’s in Wandsworth before joining Nescot, said she was aiming to become a stylist for a musician or influencer, or to become a buyer for a household name.

“One of the things I love about art is that it’s so versatile,” she said. “There are so many opportunities to specialise, so there are lots of careers you could go into once you’re qualified.”

Rebecca’s last project was themed around a ‘journey through fashion’ and involved extensive research into trends through the decades.

She focussed on the 1960s silhouette and 2019/20 trends to design and develop a dress inspired by Yves Saint Laurent’s famous cocktail dress inspired by the paintings of Piet Mondrian.

She is currently designing a collection for Thierry Mugler, introducing holographic materials, embellishments and structured silhouettes inspired by his iconic haute couture collections.

“I always knew I wanted to go into art, but I didn’t know exactly what, so the course at Nescot has been brilliant for me,” Rebecca said.

“I’ve been able to learn about all the different types of art, like fine art and 3D art, and all the different skills and processes you need for the industry, like how to research and how to refine an idea.

“Overall I’ve improved so much, and I’m so much more confident in my ideas and my skills.

“The teachers here really push you to keep improving and developing yourself as an artist. They don’t let you settle for ‘good enough’; everything has to be as good as you are capable of at that time.”

Nescot offers Art and Design qualifications at Levels 1, 2 and 3, as well as Art and Design for Digital Media and Props and SFX Making for the TV and Film Industry.

As well as UCA, London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins, students this year have applied and been accepted onto courses at Ravensbourne University, London Metropolitan University, Middlesex University, the University of Hertfordshire and Wimbledon College of Arts.