University Student on Her Journey to Future in Fashion
- Louisa Clarke
- Apr 23, 2021
- 2 min read
University of Creative Arts BA Fashion student, Isabela Libanio-Broadbent has remained passionate through obstacles on her journey through the industry
Although she recognises the cliché, she tells how her interest in fashion began as a young girl, drawing designs at after-school club and creating her “style file” until they had to restrict her paper use.
As a tall girl, Isabela was often told “you should be a model”, a role she was drawn to until aged 12, when she faced ridicule from fellow students, or what Isabela called “character development”.
Isabela has been making her designs since her GCSE studies. A-Level Textiles allowed her to make her fashion designs a reality plus “mix it up” with textile hangings and a final piece of “really intricate and really nice” fabric booklets
“A lot of myself went into that” she says. She poured herself into fabric pages with personal touches from hand-sewn illustrations to totems of her Brazilian background.
There were nursery rhymes her mother read to her when she was young, pages in English, pages in Portuguese, favourite quotes, poems signifying progress in her life and hand-stitched diary entries readable to her eyes only.
Although it was not her best mark, this hand-held mirror of a design was her “favourite project so far”
“Designing has been an all-around aspect but I found it really frustrating” says Isabela.
Expectations to start anew at each new stage of education made for difficult development.
After being pushed to complete a foundation year by her A-Level teachers, she was left asking “what was the point?”
Certain about her decision to pursue a position in the industry, she had joined to gain skills in graphics and photography but only got three focused sessions.
Following the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, she is glad for her foundation year, claiming she dodged a bullet by not reaching the more stressful years of the course in this time.
She is finding her stepping, happy to do it her way and see what works. “I can do it” she says.
Although balancing fast-paced projects intertwined with theory study and “very self aware” essay titles can be “bit of a headache”, Pattern Cutting and Construction is her favourite module to date at UCA, and one she has done very well in.
As she lists off past projects she jumps up from her seat. She goes through her closet and gets out a piece made just for the fun of it - a hand-embroidered bucket hat. Sounds like an embroidery internship may be on the cards.
Isabela has also volunteered for London fashion week at the swiss church with, stylist, Andy Palfreyman, picking and styling her models for the show.
However, when asked about the future, Isabela was not the excited dreamer you may expect. She says “I have no straight and narrow path” and it could not be more true.
She describes one future where she imagines opening a quaint little boutique in the countryside and another working at London fashion week with designers.
In third year she will build up to a full fashion show. Students hire models, style and accessorize collections in a project known to cost around £3000. Isabela is looking forward to saying ‘I did that, that’s my collection’.”
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