Darwen students learn from London fashion stylist

05/06/2009

-- Elizabeth Anderson

On Tuesday, friend of the Foundation, Anne Look, became a teacher for a day.  She wrote...

"The teaching staff at Darwen kindly asked me to head into the Northern town of Preston (which is about 2.5 hours train 
ride from London Euston) and speak to the 14-15 year old children who have chosen textiles and design as an elective subject.  I am not a natural public speaker so was very nervous - "would I inspire???", "would they understand what I was saying???", "would they think I was a fool???", etc etc, played on my mind until once I began and I realised that not only was I very passionate about design and, in particular - Fashion Styling - but that I had achieved and knew a whole lot more than I had previously given myself credit for.   It sometimes takes days like these to take a breather and look back for a moment!

I decided to make the class as interactive and hands-on as possible so it wasn't long until the kids were buzzing around the room pinning different fabrics and textures to the 5 or so mannequins set up around the room. In the end a great day was had by all - many thanks to the class and their lovely teacher Geraldine Baxter for being so enthusiastic and energetic....you certainly inspired me!