What is the main thing Julia feels she has gained from her experience in retail?

Dr. Hilsden: Right, Julia, so from your CV and portfolio, and what you’ve already told me, you seem to be very much the sort of person we’re looking for on the postgraduate course. So tell me, you finished your Fashion Design course in London four years ago. Did you think of carrying straight on and doing a higher degree at the time?
Julia: Yes, but there were financial pressures. So I ended up working in the retail industry, as you can see from my CV. And actually it was a very useful experience.
Dr. Hilsden: Mmm. In what way?
Julia: Well, I was lucky to get the job with FashionNow—they’re a big store, and, one of my priorities was to get as much experience as possible in different areas, so that was good because I had the chance to work in lots of different departments. And having direct contact with the customers meant I was able to see how they reacted to innovation— to new fashion ideas, because with FashionNow, a designer might show something in New York or Milan and there’ll be something similar in the shop within weeks. So, that was probably the most useful thing for me.
Dr. Hilsden: Right. And so what’s made you decide to do a postgraduate course now?
Julia: Erm... Well, while I enjoyed working at FashionNow, and I learned a lot there, I felt... well, the way forward would have been to develop my managerial skills rather than my skills in fashion design, and I’m not sure that’s what I want to do.
Dr. Hilsden: Mmm, yes.
Julia: When I was doing my degree in London I’d been interested in women’s wear. But I know that there’s been a lot of work done in areas like new fabric construction— and, though I’m not intending to go too deeply into the technology—I’d be very interested in looking at how new fabrics could be used in children’s wear, so I’d like the chance to pursue that line.
Dr. Hilsden: Yes. Good. And are you at all concerned about what it’s going to be like coming back into an academic context after being away from it for several years?
Julia: No, I’m looking forward to it. But I’m basically more interested in the application than the theory—or at least that’s what I’ve found so far, and I’m hoping the course will give me the contacts and skills I need eventually to set up my own enterprise. I’m particularly interested by the overseas links that the department has.
Dr. Hilsden: Yes, many of our students look overseas or to international companies for sponsorship of their projects.
Julia: And the facilities here look excellent. I just went to look at the library—it’s really impressive. There’s so much room compared with the one at my old university.
Dr. Hilsden: Yes, most students find it’s a good place to study. And there are linkups to other universities, of course, and all the usual electronic sources—the staff run an Information Skills Programme which we recommend all postgraduates do in the first week or two. Design students find the Special Collections particularly useful.
Julia: Yes.
Dr. Hilsden: Then we have a separate Computer Centre, which has its own academic coordinator, Tim Spender—he’s got a background in art design, and the ethos of the centre is that it’s a studio for innovation and creativity, rather than a computer laboratory.
Julia: Oh, right. I liked the study spaces where students can sit and discuss work together—very useful for joint projects. We always had to do that sort of thing in the cafeteria when I was an undergraduate. And I read in the brochure that there’s a separate resource for photography.
Dr. Hilsden: Yes, it’s called Photomedia. It’s not just for photography, but things like digital imaging and new media. It’s a resource for all our students, not just fashion design, and we encourage students to work there producing work that crosses disciplinary boundaries. It’s well used—in fact, it’s doubled in size since it was set up three years ago. And we also have an offshoot from that which is called Time Based Media—this is for students who want to develop their ideas in the area of the moving image or sound. That’s in a new building that was specially built for it just last year, but there are plans to expand it as the present facilities are overstretched already. Julia: Right.
Dr. Hilsden: Now, is there anything you’d like to ask about the course itself?
Julia: Erm,... I know it’s a combination of taught modules and a specialist project, but how does assessment fit in?
Dr. Hilsden: Well, as you’d expect on a course of this nature, it’s an ongoing process. The degree course has four stages, and there are what we call progress reviews at the end of each of the first three. Then the final assessment is based on your project. You have to produce a report which is a critical reflection on your work.
Julia: And is there some sort of fashion show?
Dr. Hilsden: There’s an exhibition. The projects aren’t all focused on clothes as such, some are more experimental, so that seems more appropriate. We ask representatives of fashion companies along, and it’s usually well attended.
Julia: Right. And another thing I wanted to ask...