London College of Fashion Students Become Future Agents of Change

At the end of January creative agency Superimpose, facilitated a takeover, ‘The Anti-Fragile Collective’ at London College of Fashion’s entire Lime Grove Campus, ending with a final presentation attended by more than 300 people from industry, press and alumni.

Attendees witnessed first-hand the next generation of up and coming creatives, consisting of 65 Year One students, emerging as future agents of change by tapping into their conscious vulnerabilities within today’s turbulent cultural-social-political climate, with an emphasis on positive action.

A sensory exploration and experience into ‘Anti-Fragility’, students from the crash course created a joint manifesto to consciously and collectively communicate their priorities, with the aim of inspiring others to follow suit. Treating the campus as an exhibition space, utilising and playing with all types of found and existing materials and variables, multiple activations played into each other to evoke emotion and energy, surfacing the manifesto through different mediums and art forms with a particular focus on sight, sound and social spaces. 

From a projection-mapped walk-in installation that interspersed with nature (a metaphor for acknowledging self-vulnerabilities as a catharsis for transformation), to an architected experience that incites feelings of ‘emergence’ through visual cues, and bespoke sound pieces notably familiar to the darker side of human vulnerabilities, the presentation closed off with an immersive ‘ritual’ encouraging self-control, reflection and acceptance.

The final presentation marks the end of this year’s partnership between two established entities crossing industry borders to challenge the possibilities of creative education. This programme demonstrates the value of putting theory into action, bringing industry and students closer together at a younger age, helping to build their body of work and practice. In addition, by recognising that new talent exists outside of the traditionally competitive Third Year presentations, the programme creates bridges into industry that is mutual beneficial. Flipping the notion that fashion has to be ‘behind closed doors’, younger talent can interact, challenge and stand side-by-side with industry professionals to develop themselves and interrogate traditional ways of working.

Prior to the final presentation, the week followed a structured scheme of play from EMPATHISE to DEFINE, IDEATE, PROTOTYPE and finally through to TEST. By framing future creativity through the lens of collective human emotion, students dedicated a space to channel universally-relatable truths, fears, knowns and unknowns.

The aim of the partnership with the University of the Arts London long-term is to create an annual rolling programme that will continue to nurture the new generation of creatives in 2020 and beyond. The partnership is proof of concept of Superimpose’s singular approach to education, with a long-standing background in partnering with institutions and organisations across the country. Superimpose wants to engage not only creatives and the industry but also businesses and the wider public, to demonstrate that moving beyond the traditional ‘agency’ model means breaking out of traditional frameworks, which can lead to a new ‘Supercurriculum’ in the future. 

Images courtesy of Superimpose and Ethan Hart