UK's fashion and interior design colleges return to Middle East

LCF will be hosting a total of 14 courses with Chelsea offering eight in total. For the first time the former will have a special seminar 'Your Future in Fashion' that will act as a comprehensive introduction to the fashion industry allowing attendees, aged 16 and over, to explore the different facets of fashion to get a better idea of where to start a career in this competitive environment.

Also, in response to past students feedback LCF will also offer the Special Occasion Makeup course, which will be taught by international celebrity makeup artist Lucy Wearing, who has worked with some of the world's top magazines including Vogue and Elle as well as celebrities including singer Ellie Goulding.

Being held at the Pullman Dubai, Mall of the Emirates, the courses have been designed for those seeking international standards of tuition from lecturers who will be travelling from the UK to teach the courses.

Both colleges aim to support the development of the fashion and interior design industries in the Middle East and have designed the courses to offer something to both professionals already within these fields or people who are interested in joining them.

Alanah Cullen, Business Manager of Chelsea College of Art and Design, said, "The Middle East is fast becoming a hub for design. Our first programme of short courses were a huge success and it was encouraging to see how many people from such diverse backgrounds were interested in interior design. We had students who were taking on smaller personal projects within their homes and offices right the way through to seasoned industry professionals who were looking to further improve their knowledge and refresh their skills."

"There is so much inspiration in the Middle East thanks to its multi-cultural community, which is reflected in the plethora of interior and architectural styles, so it is a great place to come and impart skills and knowledge to those with an interest in design," said Cullen.

LCF has held four short course programmes in the Middle East since 2010 due to the increased demand from both local and expat residents.

"Each time we come back to the Middle East we try to offer an evolved portfolio of courses to offer even more to potential as well as past students to keep the subjects relevant and useful. The fashion industry has so many elements to it we want to ensure that we cover as many of the key topics as possible and these include everything from fashion buying and design to make up and fashion cultural studies," said Linda Roberts, Senior Business Manger, London College of Fashion.

High profile tutors for LCF include designer Richard Sorger, whose collection is worn by stars like Jennifer Lopez, Heidi Klum, Cindy Crawford and Kate Beckinsale, and international bestselling author of 'How to Set up & Run a Fashion Label,' Toby Meadows.

The 14 LCF courses and consultancy sessions on offer for the May 2012 programme cover the full spectrum of fashion education:

- Your Future in Fashion: One Day Seminar
- Essential Guide to the Fashion Industry (2 Days)
- Fashion: History, Culture & Society (4 Days)
- Fashion Buying & Merchandising (4 Evenings)
- Fashion Buying for your own Retail Business (3 Days)
- Special Occasion Makeup (3Days)
- Principles of Fashion Styling 1 (5 Days)
- Principles of Fashion Styling 2 (4 Days)
- Fashion Design 1 (4Days)
- Fibres & Fabrics (2 Days)
- Manufacturing Methods (1 Day)
- Starting your own Fashion Label (5 Evenings)
- Globalising your Fashion Brand (3 Days)
- Luxury Fashion Brand Management (5 Evenings)
- Fashion PR (2 Days)
- Business Start-Up Consultancy (90 Minutes)

Tutors from Chelsea include Lyndall Fernie who has run her own successful interior design company, consulted and designed many high end residential projects and specialises in remodeling exiting projects, Sue McGregor an interior designer for leading consultant Interior Statements Ltd. that specialises in projects for hotels, residential developments, private and commercial properties and Debbie Blandford who holds a Masters Degree in Furniture Design and has worked across numerous multi-sector interiors projects for clients including the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The eight courses being offered by CCAD are:

- The Principles of Interior Design 1 (5 days)
- The Principles of Interior Design 2 (5 Days)
- Starting an Interior Design Business (2 Evenings)
- Lighting Design for interiors (2 days)
- Designing Bespoke Fitted Furniture (4 evenings)
- Creating a Colour Scheme for your Home (2 days)
- Decorating your Villa or Apartment (3 days)
- Interior Design Project Management Consultancy (90 Minutes)

Both colleges are offering a 10% discount on the courses if booked online by the 17th April using the code DUBAI10.