British Fashion Industry Attracts Linkedin Followers

British Fashion Industry Attracts Linkedin Followers

With figures released earlier this year revealing that the British fashion industry is currently worth in the region of £21 billion to the UK economy, it's perhaps no surprise that a career in fashion is among the most sought-after by students.

Professional networking site Linkedin report that fashion brands account for four of the 10 most-watched company profiles on their site by British undergraduates. Topping the list is social media savvy label Burberry, while affordable online retailer ASOS are in third place, (one above Facebook). Fashionable department store Harrods is seventh most watched, and online luxury fashion store Net-A-Porter.com is tenth. In comparison, the global top 10 doesn't include a single fashion brand, being instead dominated by Internet, finance and software companies including Google (1), Microsoft (3), IBM (4), and Apple (10).

To compile the lists, Linkedin looked at the Company Follow, Company Page, Job and Profile viewing activity of more than 20 million students and recent graduates registered on the site, before breaking the figures down into smaller regions.

"We know one of the main reasons our members follow a company is because they want to work there," a spokesperson said.

Lulu Kennedy Sees Herself As A "Foster Mum" To Young Designers.

Lulu Kennedy Sees Herself As A "Foster Mum" To Young Designers

           Lulu Kennedy sees herself as a "foster mum" to young designers

The designer is renowned for honing talent - having been instrumental in the rise of designers including Roksanda Ilincic, Gareth Pugh and Jonathan Saunders - and advises all hopefuls to seek help and collaboration in their nascent careers.

She told The Guardian newspaper her best advice was: "Don't try to do everything by yourself."

Of the role her Fashion East company plays, she added: "I'm just a foster mum. The designers are with me for one or two seasons and then I let them go. I can't grant them wishes. They make things happen. They've got to put the work in."

Lulu - who describes her personality as a "bossy big sister" - also explained the way in which the non-profit Fashion East initiative can aid designers in launching their careers.

She added: "Yeah, they're all friends. Basically, what we do is select designers we believe in the most and who need some support and then we give them sponsorship, a show, advice and mentoring. We bring a good audience into the show and we give them a small bursary as well, which doesn't get very far. The equivalent would be a music industry showcase