London fashion in focus

The UK trip takes students to iconic retail locations like Carnaby Street.

Since 2017, UC College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) professor Laurie Wilson has led a study abroad trip called "United Kingdom: The Style Studies."

Wilson, associate fashion professor and represented adjunct in DAAP's Myron E. Ullman, Jr. School of Design, joined 15 students right before the fall semester in seeing all the retail expertise London has to offer.

"This was our 10th year since we started taking students," Wilson said. While the program had to skip a few years due to COVID-19, over 120 students have since made the trip and some were inspired to study abroad for a full semester afterward.

"It is an ideal first international experience due to no real language barrier," Wilson said. "It is a week full of thousands of steps, dozens of Tube rides and a rich cultural experience that becomes a core memory for the participants."

The trip had students meeting fashion icons like Dame Zandra Rhodes, exploring London icons like the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace and taking a day trip to seaside town Brighton for its unique retail environment.

Between all the sightseeing was hands-on experinces with industry experts.

UC international business student Paige Ficke recently picked up a minor in fashion studies, taking the London trip as her first class toward her new minor.

Her favorite part was the workshop they did in Brighton with designer Sophie Darling. The workshop covered silk-screening and sustainability in England.

"Darling has some really cool designs she was showing us, and she uses some different screen printing methods that I hadn't seen before," Ficke said. "The experience was really cool. She was amazing."

Fashion design student Amariyah Burton decided to sign up for the trip after hearing rave reviews from a close friend. She is also focusing her upcoming capstone project on Victorian-style garments. "I figured the trip would be a good source of inspiration," she said.

A trip to London has to include tea time.

One of Burton's favorite parts was being in proximity to so many luxury retail locations.

"The attendants at the stores welcome you warmly and like taking care of you. They'll bring you coffee. It feels a lot more elevated," Burton said. "Seeing that helped me conceptualize what makes a good shopping experience for someone who would want to buy my garments in the future."

From the oldest hat shop in the world, Lock & Co. Hatters, to a West End production of "The Devil Wears Prada," there was no shortage of experiences for students with all sorts of interests across fashion, art and business.

"Being in the presence of original creations from masters of fashion and art changes the way you view the world and your own possibilities in that world," Wilson said.