Susie Carter

When I left d'Overbroeck's I went to Central St. Martin’s in London to do their foundation course and then on to Nottingham Trent University were I got a BA (Hons) in Knitwear Fashion. While I was at Nottingham I was lucky enough to be awarded a scholarship from the Drapers Guild to study for a semester at the Fashion Institute of Technology. It was great fun, and while I was there I met up with one of my closest friends who I had been at d’Overbroecks with, but who I had lost contact with. While at University in the summer holidays I taught windsurfing for two seasons in Turkey and Greece. My final collection was shown on the catwalk at Graduate Fashion Week which is associated with London Fashion Week and from there I showed my designs in Milan at a Pitti Falit (a trade show) and got a stage to work at a company called Eurreuno (the company were Amarni started his career!). I stayed in Milan for 6 months and was then recruited to work for Ralph Lauren in New York on the Purple Label. From there I moved onto Liz Claiborne.

I have just accepted a job at a Supplier in London to design Sweaters and Jerseys for Marks & Spencer's while at the same time.

I am now finishing an Advanced Diploma in Marketing Communications in the evenings. I have also started to produce my own products, which will hopefully be in Boutique shops by next year under the label Carterlondon. I have two equally favourite memories of my days at d'Overbroecks. Firstly, the time I spent at the Science Department. Science was not easy for me but Jamie and Adam made it fun and they were so supportive. Secondly, Sandy Bloc in the Art Department made sure that we were always stimulated and she encouraged us to be creative. It is thanks to her I still try to think outside of the box not only in my design but in life in general.

For me things would have been very different if I had not been to d'Overbroecks. It was an amazingly supportive environment with teachers who were not only talented but really made me feel they cared about me.