After meeting ECA staff in her hometown of Shanghai, Jennifer was inspired to make the move to Edinburgh to study Fashion. Whilst here, she embraced the resources that ECA had to offer and got involved in projects such as design competitions. After graduating, Jennifer has gone on to work for luxury fashion houses and now designs footwear for Lacoste.

Why did you choose to study at ECA?

During my time in my hometown of Shanghai, I met a few tutors from ECA while searching for the perfect place to kickstart my fashion journey. I was really impressed by their hands-on approach and the personalized attention they gave to each student. Additionally, the association that Edinburgh has with the Harry Potter world was a bonus for a fan like me. I knew I'd have an amazing learning experience, and I definitely did!

Tell us about your time at ECA

I studied Fashion at ECA and got really into knitwear by the end of my second year. The course had plenty of industry events, like design competitions, recycling projects, and seminars. Honestly, I don't regret anything about my time at ECA. But if I could do it all over again, I'd definitely get more hands-on fashion internships.

Tell us about your experiences since graduating

The Fashion department felt like a second home to me. I left ECA in 2019 but have stayed in touch with beloved teaching staff through email even now. I've always proudly identified as an ECA graduate in my professional life. My commitment to being a solution provider in the fashion industry started during my time at ECA and has guided my career ever since. ECA not only taught me how to be a designer but also a self-sufficient project manager.

I'm often recognized as an organized designer with a strong professional ethos. I've assisted luxury fashion houses in pre-collection consultations, contributed to supplier meetings and B2B communication, and worked as a 3D artist and technician at H&M's Atelier. Currently, I'm a 3D designer for footwear at Lacoste PCL.

Alumni wisdom

First year tip: to visit vintage markets as much as possible, be a designer standing on the shoulder of giants.

Graduate tip: Be proud and connect as much as possible with alumni on social medias like LinkedIn.