James New, 29

Like a dream, James New was spotted at his Ravensbourne catwalk at Graduate Fashion Week in 2004, turning down a place at the Royal College of Art to work asan assistant in Vivienne Westwood’s studio. He has been there since, and is now also working on his own menswear range.

“It’s been a lot of work, but I’ve enjoyed every minute and haven’t looked back. I’ve loved learning about fabrics and improving my technical drawing skills, as well as working with buyers from all over the world. I’ve now got a really strong general knowledge on how the industry works.”

Kate Barron, operations director at Success Appointments, says: “James is a really talented designer with the skills and professionalism to succeed. With an adaptable approach he has successfully worked his way up from assistant level to being accountable for his own range.

His work demonstrates his creative flair and eye for detail at all levels of the market. He demonstrates how he can translate catwalk level product into styles that are accessible to the ‘average’ guy. He designs considered pieces that represent fashionability with great style.

The future for James is bright. He will continue to develop throughout his career and has the right level of creativity versus commerciality to really go places. He will continue to strengthen within the design arena and will one day be heading up a team of his own.”

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