Arizona State University Showcases Fashion Design Talent at ASU London Launch Events

When Elijah Samuels graduated from Arizona State University in May with a bachelor’s degree in fashion design, he expected to spend his first months as an alumnus building his portfolio and looking for opportunities. Instead, he found himself standing inside Wolf & Badger, an upscale concept store in London’s Soho district, watching guests admire the outfit he spent ten months creating. His design occupied the store’s front window during the kickoff celebrations for ASU London, the university’s new independent, U.K.-degree-awarding higher education provider.

For aspiring designers, the story of Samuels and his fellow Herberger Institute students offers a concrete look at what dedicated craft, strategic industry relationships, and a university committed to experiential learning can produce. This article examines what happened at the ASU London kickoff events, why the collaborations with Wolf & Badger and Cadbury/Mondelez International matter, and what prospective students in the USA and abroad can learn from these showcase opportunities.

ASU London: A New Global Extension of Arizona State University

ASU London represents a significant milestone for Arizona State University. Located on the nearly 300-year-old Clerkenwell campus of City St. George’s, University of London, the new institution currently offers six undergraduate degree programs: business management, computer science, electrical and electronic engineering, engineering with artificial intelligence, engineering with mechatronics systems, and global design engineering.

Although the initial program list focuses on business and engineering, design principles run through the institution’s identity. Luis Angarita, head of the industrial design program at ASU’s The Design School, described it directly: part of the DNA of ASU London is to embed design in everything it does. That philosophy explains why students from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts played a visible role in the launch, even though the showcased work originated from programs based in Arizona and California.

The launch events made the university’s educational approach tangible. Rather than celebrating the new campus with speeches alone, ASU put student work in the windows of a respected London retailer and on the program of the London Design Festival. University Provost Nancy Gonzalez summarized the mindset at the Wolf & Badger event: students are engaged immediately as creators of knowledge, art, design, and solutions to real-world problems, and that engagement is considered part of their training, not something that begins after graduation.

Fashion Design in the Spotlight: ASU FIDM at Wolf & Badger

The most visible moment of the kickoff belonged to five students from ASU FIDM, the fashion program within the Herberger Institute operated from the ASU California Center and the Downtown Phoenix campus. Their outfits filled the window display at Wolf & Badger, a store known for spotlighting independent designers, and the pieces were also scheduled to appear at London Fashion Week, which ran through September 21.

Samuels’ featured look came from his five-piece capstone collection, originally presented in April at Scottsdale Fashion Square. The craftsmanship behind the single outfit illustrates the level of technical skill the program demands. He hand-manipulated a silk shirt, hand-dyed a leather vest, and laser-engraved a pair of jeans for eight straight hours to produce a herringbone pattern.

How the Wolf & Badger Opportunity Came Together

The exhibit did not happen by accident. Dennita Sewell, founding director of ASU FIDM and a professor of practice, started the process through a conversation with the store’s owner at the Fashion Tech Show in Los Angeles. Knowing ASU London was on the horizon, she cultivated the relationship and turned a casual industry meeting into an international showcase for student work.

The lesson for emerging designers is straightforward: opportunities in fashion design rarely arrive unsolicited. They grow from industry events, professional conversations, and faculty members who actively leverage their networks on behalf of students. Attending trade shows, introducing yourself to retail owners and creative directors, and following up consistently are career skills as essential as patternmaking or draping.

From Graduation Project to International Stage

Samuels’ reaction captured what the moment meant. Coming out of graduation to have his look positioned front and center at Wolf & Badger felt, in his words, like an honor — and something he would not have believed possible four years earlier when he enrolled at Arizona State University.

His trajectory offers a practical blueprint. A capstone project should never be treated as a classroom formality. When it is conceived with professional ambition, documented thoroughly, and refined with distinct techniques that show range, it becomes a portable business card capable of traveling from a Scottsdale runway to a Soho storefront within months.

The Design School and Cadbury: ‘The Curious Matter of Chocolate’

About two miles from the fashion exhibit, inside the Tait Building on the Clerkenwell campus, a second collaboration unfolded. Twenty-five students from The Design School partnered with confectionery brand Cadbury/Mondelez International to create an exhibition titled “The Curious Matter of Chocolate.” Industrial design and graphic design students explored the relationships between chocolate, people, products, packaging, communication, and experience — with one playful constraint: since real chocolate would melt, the prototypes were made from other materials and the exhibit asked visitors to think about eating experiences rather than taste them.

Angarita initiated the partnership by reaching out to a friend and design director at Cadbury/Mondelez, and the resulting exhibition became part of the London Design Festival, which ran September 12–20. Five winning designs were displayed in London throughout the ASU London kickoff week.

Standout Student Prototypes

The exhibition demonstrated how varied design thinking can be when students are given a real brand challenge:

• “Cadbury Interlude” — Designed by industrial design and ceramics student Sydney McCoy with graphic design student Margaux Kwan, this concept structured chocolate as a four-part eating experience meant to be enjoyed throughout the day as a “snack for every moment.”
• “Environments” — Graphic design major Mekai Rai Hogan Begay drew inspiration from the Sonoran Desert, creating a piece that resembled a potted cactus plant but opened to reveal chocolate, connecting Arizona’s landscape to a global brand.
• “Go Notz” — Industrial and product design student Gaargi Pandit developed a chocolate prototype shaped like peanuts, rethinking form and familiarity in snacking.
• “Royal Treat” — Graphic design student Claire Ballard designed chocolate candies shaped like gems, elevating the visual language of confectionery packaging and presentation.

Each prototype shows the same principle at work: brands like Mondelēz International value designers who can merge concept, material exploration, and consumer psychology. Students who practice presenting these ideas publicly — as the exhibitors did while explaining their work to the global design lead at Mondelēz International Chocolate — gain presentation confidence that classroom critiques alone cannot replicate.

Why Industry Collaboration Matters for Design Students

Both showcases share a common structure: faculty identified an industry partner, negotiated a real-world brief, and secured a prestigious public platform for the results. For students evaluating fashion design and design programs in the USA, this model deserves close attention when comparing schools.

Here is what effective industry collaboration provides that traditional coursework often cannot:

• Authentic constraints. Working with an actual brand like Cadbury means working within brand guidelines, manufacturing realities, and consumer expectations — pressures that sharpen creative judgment.
• Professional visibility. A window display at Wolf & Badger or a slot in the London Design Festival places student work in front of buyers, press, and creative directors, not just professors and classmates.
• Career acceleration. A graduate whose work appears at London Fashion Week begins their career with a credential that distinguishes them in a crowded job market.
• Network development. Faculty relationships become student introductions. Sewell’s conversation in Los Angeles became Samuels’ moment in London within a single year.

How to Pursue Fashion Design at the Herberger Institute

If these stories resonate with your own ambitions, consider the practical steps that connect aspiring designers to programs like ASU FIDM and The Design School.

Build a Portfolio That Shows Process, Not Just Products

Samuels’ collection stood out because of its documented techniques — hand-dying, laser engraving, fabric manipulation. Admissions reviewers and industry scouts look for evidence of experimentation and problem-solving. Photograph your work in progress, explain your material choices, and show iterations. A portfolio that reveals how you think is more compelling than one that only shows finished garments.

Treat Every Project as a Professional Opportunity

Approach class assignments as if a retailer might display them next month, because at institutions committed to experiential learning, one might. Ask yourself whether each project could survive outside the studio: Does it solve a real problem? Does it reflect a coherent point of view? Could you explain its commercial or cultural value to a stranger in two minutes?

Evaluate Programs by Their Industry Connections

When researching universities, look beyond course catalogs. Ask admissions representatives where student work has been exhibited, which brands faculty collaborate with, and whether undergraduates participate in public showcases before graduation. Programs that can answer with specific examples — like window installations at London retailers or exhibitions at international design festivals — are demonstrating outcomes, not promises.

Ready to take the next step in your design education? Explore the fashion design programs at ASU FIDM and The Design School to see how hands-on industry projects could shape your own portfolio, and submit your application today to join a community that treats students as working creators from day one.

Key Takeaways from the ASU London Showcase

• ASU London launched as a new independent, U.K.-degree-awarding provider founded by Arizona State University, with design embedded across its curriculum.
• Five ASU FIDM fashion design students exhibited at Wolf & Badger in Soho, with pieces also featured at London Fashion Week.
• Alumnus Elijah Samuels’ capstone collection — featuring hand-dying, laser engraving, and silk manipulation — earned the centerpiece position in the store’s window.
• Twenty-five Design School students collaborated with Cadbury/Mondelez International on “The Curious Matter of Chocolate,” part of the London Design Festival.
• Faculty-initiated industry relationships, such as those built by Dennita Sewell and Luis Angarita, directly created international exposure for undergraduate and recent graduate work.

Final Thoughts: Turning Educational Moments into Career Momentum

The ASU London kickoff events illustrate a principle every aspiring designer should internalize: talent needs a platform, and platforms are built through relationships, initiative, and institutions that prioritize real-world engagement. Samuels did not plan to appear in a London storefront when he enrolled at Arizona State University four years earlier. He enrolled in a program that connected coursework to industry, produced a capstone worthy of professional attention, and stayed ready when the opportunity arrived.

Whether your interest lies in fashion design, industrial design, or graphic communication, the path is similar. Choose a program with demonstrated industry partnerships, treat each project as a portfolio piece, and put your work where decision-makers can see it. The distance between a campus studio and an international stage is shorter than most students assume — provided you build toward it deliberately.

Have questions about studying fashion design at the Herberger Institute or starting your application? Write to us — we are happy to help you map your next steps. And if this story inspired you, share your own design ambitions in the comments below, or subscribe to our newsletter for more coverage of design education, student showcases, and career advice.