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Ones to Watch: Meet the 2018 grads making waves in the fashion world

Meet the talented 2018 grads from our BA (Hons) Fashion Media & Marketing degree, already making waves in the fashion industry and working with the likes of Dazed magazine and House of Holland.
<p>Fashion is a fast-paced, multi-faceted industry, and our <a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-fashion-media-marketing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BA (Hons) Fashion Media &amp; Marketing</a> degree is designed to give students a thorough grounding in all aspects of the industry - from creative styling and campaigns, to marketing, fashion photography and publishing.</p>
<p>We caught up with two graduates from our class of 2018 who are already firing up the fashion world. Read on to see what these exciting creatives are doing to kickstart their journey into the UK’s fashion industry.</p>
Mikey Neale 5

Mikey Neale

<p><strong>Mikey Neale<br />BA (Hons) Fashion Media &amp; Marketing</strong></p> <p>Fashion Media &amp; Marketing graduate Mikey Neale is aiming for a career as a fashion stylist and creative content producer.</p> <p>Mikey’s final major project took the form of an exhibition titled FORM which took place at Plymouth’s Radiant Gallery. For the show, Mikey presented a collection of images from a fashion shoot alongside an installation featuring outfits from the shoot, showcased in large vacuum pack bags suspended from the ceiling. Mikey’s concept focused on the fact that streetwear is fast becoming more widely available and more popular for women, and his styling work combined menswear and womenswear on an all-female cast of models.</p> <p>"FORM was an exhibition that showcased fashion photography as the sole focus, which is a rare sight for the city of Plymouth, it's a bold way of presenting work that is so often seen as an accompaniment rather than the focal point.”</p> <p>When it comes to styling, Mikey’s main sources of inspiration are Alastair McKimm (Fashion Director at i-D Magazine and stylist for brands including Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, The Row, Alexander Wang, and Versus Versace) and Tom Guinness (Senior Fashion Editor at POP Magazine and Arena Homme+ and has worked with the likes of Stussy, Adidas and Gucci). Mikey said, "I like how they are both able to combine luxury with streetwear, and create a modern day aesthetic.”</p> <p>Mikey recently completed an internship with <a href="http://www.dazeddigital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dazed Magazine</a>, working as a <strong>Fashion Assistant Intern</strong>. His role there included managing the magazine’s fashion cupboard, collecting and returning samples for shoots, researching brands and imagery for future shoots, and assisting on set for fashion shoots for the magazine. He said, “I completed two weeks with Dazed and was then asked to come back for Fashion Week in September. Being at Dazed was really insightful, as it was my first time at a publication. I learned quickly about the booking in and returning of samples, as well as having to prep for photo shoots and being on set to assist.</p> <p>“I am pleased to say that I have now got a job as a full time stylist at <a href="https://www.endclothing.com/gb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">END. Clothing</a> - one of the most influential, forward thinking niche menswear businesses in the UK. END sell both online and in stores, stocking brands including Nike, Raf Simons, Common Projects and Off-White. It feels great to be in such an amazing job pretty much straight out of uni, I feel very lucky to be working with so many of the brands that I love.”</p> <p><strong>Check out more of Mikey's work on his Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mikeyynealee/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@mikeyynealee</a></strong></p>
Mikey Neale 4

Mikey Neale

<p><strong>Poppy Baker<br />BA (Hons) Fashion Media &amp; Marketing</strong></p> <p>Poppy Baker is a graphic designer and visual artist, who specialises in content creation. Her collage work focuses on recreating fashion imagery into something weird and new, taking inspiration from the Dada and surrealist movements, as well as contemporary artists such as Quentin Jones.</p> <p>For Plymouth College of Art’s 2018 Degree Shows, Poppy created the second issue of her zine, <a href="http://www.tartzine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tart</a>, which she edits alongside graphic designer Ellie Higson. Tart is an independent magazine that believes in creativity and authenticity, with the goal of sparking creativity in readers through the use of meaningful imagery and inspirational content, providing a physical space for artists of any medium to showcase their work, and championing causes that the creators believe in.</p> <p>Poppy said: “Alongside creating the printed magazine, <a href="https://www.tartzine.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">I also made a website</a>, held an event to celebrate the launch of issue two of Tart, and focused on <a href="http://instagram.com/tartzine_" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">increasing our audience on Instagram</a>. This whole process gave me the opportunity to work with some incredible and talented artists including <a href="http://www.hattiestewart.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hattie Stewart</a> and <a href="https://butlerarchive.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Butler Archive</a> - I could not have been happier with the outcome.</p> <p>“Considering both artists are so successful, it was wonderful that they were happy to work with a small independent publication like Tart, and truly speaks masses for their characters and how willing they are to support other creatives."</p>
Poppy Baker Surreal 2 images colour carpet copy

Poppy Baker

<p>Just after finishing her degree here at Plymouth College of Art, Poppy secured an internship with iconic British designer Henry Holland. Known for his slogan tees and bold, colourful designs, Henry Holland has collaborated with high street retailer Debenhams since 2009, so was representing the store at this year’s <a href="http://www.graduatefashionweek.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Graduate Fashion Week</a> event at the Truman Brewery in East London. Originally pitching to Henry as part of a competition to win a Debenhams internship, Poppy’s presentation impressed him so much that he asked her to intern with his own company instead.</p> <p>Poppy explains; “I did a two minute pitch in which I showed a small selection of my work. The work I showed was mainly experimental collage work from my research for my final major project, along with some typography and branding exercises for my magazine, Tart.</p> <p>“After seeing my work, Henry offered for me to come and work with him for two weeks instead, which was amazing!”</p>
Poppy Baker Tart Zine

Poppy Baker

"I want to keep working on personal projects in my spare time, as I really thrive when I have different ideas and projects on the go, and just love the thrill of constantly creating - it inspires me more than anything.”
Poppy Baker
<p>Working at House of Holland as a <strong>Digital Marketing Intern</strong>, Poppy’s role was focused on content creation for the brand’s social media and website, creating everything from imagery for the brand, to homepage icons for the website as well as editing videos and creating collage-style Instagram posts and Stories to announce new product launches, promotions and events. Poppy continued, “My wide skill-set really helped me here, as it allowed me to offer to help on projects and tasks that otherwise I wouldn't have been able to do. The whole experience was incredible - the people that work there are all so lovely and welcoming, and the office space was an interior design dream.”</p> <p>At the end of the internship, the team asked Poppy to return to work with them during London Fashion Week, assisting on the brand’s catwalk show in September 2018.</p> <p>Poppy said, “The House of Holland show was great. Seeing a fashion show from behind the scenes is just so overwhelming... all I can really say to is that it was total chaos but in a really wonderful way. Models running around everywhere, make-up and hair stylists chasing them, all of the show assistants (including me) panicking about our outfit changes... it was so busy and bustling! The highlight for me was definitely meeting Winnie Harlow though, she is a total icon and just as amazing in real life.”</p> <p>“In addition to my internship with <a href="https://www.houseofholland.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">House of Holland</a>, which was an incredibly exciting opportunity, I’m also looking for roles or internships in the realms of content creation and graphic design, in either a creative agency or publication environment. </p>
Poppy Baker Homepage suits13 copy

Poppy Baker

<p><strong>Check out more of Poppy's work on her Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_poppybaker_/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">@_poppybaker_</a></strong><br /></p>