Design graduate deals with Disney
Tue, 29 May 2012 12:51:00 BST
Ivy ensures that clothes which feature famous Disney characters meet the exacting standards of the legendary organisation
UNIVERSITY of Huddersfield graduate Ivy Holt (pictured) has landed a dream job that will see her working closely with the world’s most famous dream factory.
But Ivy, 25, will be firmly anchored in reality when she takes on the demanding job of ensuring that clothes that feature famous Disney characters meet the exacting standards of the legendary organisation.
“If anything goes wrong, I could be told off very badly!” says Ivy, who was born and brought up in Bridlington.
In 2011 she graduated from the Surface Design for Fashion and Interiors degree course at the University of Huddersfield. And now, after a stint as a freelance designer in which she honed her skills and worked on collections for a Liverpool company, she has been appointed as an approvals and products – co-ordinator for the Leicester-based Fashion UK.
This company deals with a large number of licensed brands, incorporating famous characters from publishing and movie companies such as Marvel and Disney into the designs of garments and accessories.
But these corporations are highly protective of their valuable commodities, so clothing firms which licence characters must ensure that they are reproduced accurately and used appropriately. For example, colours must be spot-on and there can be no distortion in the shape of the character. There might also be problems, if, for example, a comic character was used for clothing that was excessively skimpy, or if an inappropriate fabric was used.
The job of an approvals co-ordinator is to liaise closely with Fashion UK clients and make sure that when famous characters such as Tinkerbell or Goofy are used for clothing and that the designs meet all of the specifications laid down by Disney.
And Ivy’s training as a designer herself will mean that when problems arise, she will know how to sort things out.
During her University of Huddersfield course, Ivy did a work placement with a Bridlington–based firm named Raw Fusion, and she designed jewellery that incorporated Disney characters. This was ideal preparation for her demanding new role, which will involve a considerable amount of travel, mainly around Europe but possibly to the USA as well.
“It is a really exciting opportunity,” said Ivy, adding that her degree course prepared her well to work in the fashion industry, opening up a lot of channels.
