Introducing… Moma Hilo, responsible womenswear brand founded by Penelope Tucker
Bringing together education and industry, we are pleased to announce our collaboration with Penelope Tucker, a fashion designer and brand consultant. This is part of BCA’s employer residency programme, providing studio space for small businesses free of charge in exchange for sharing their industry expertise with students.
The residency offers students the opportunity to have day-to-day interactions with an employer, who can exchange ideas and information and add rich dialogue to their education. Students will see a business running first hand, understanding the hard work and determination it takes to succeed in the fashion industry. This will complement the T-Level in Fashion Design and Production which includes core competencies in business development, and meets skills shortages in technical fashion production roles as outlined in London’s Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP).
We are thrilled to collaborate with Penelope, who has a distinguished career in fashion, having previously worked with Agent Provocateur, Pretty Green and Albam amongst others. She is now using her extensive experience to start her own womenswear brand, Moma Hilo . The brand is rooted in nostalgia and transparency and comes from Penelope’s real love for being on the factory floor. Moma Hilo not only has a distinct aesthetic but also takes the customer on a journey of responsible, local clothing manufacture, with a commitment to creating timeless fashion that is adaptable to our ever-changing bodies. Moma Hilo strives to produce garments that are treasured and endure beyond a single lifetime.
Penelope hopes students will foster the same respect for manufacturing and is keen to pass on her knowledge to the fashion designers of tomorrow, saying:
“Having studied a degree course in Fashion Design I understand the importance of having real-life experience. I love that I can offer that to students at the college.
Craft and making has always been really important to me, and is a huge part of the brand I’m building. I work with numerous medias including wax carving for the jewellery elements of my brand, tufting, graphics and print and, of course, pattern cutting and sewing. Sharing this with students will be amazing!”
The majority of students at BCA are from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds and Penelope is a positive role model students can learn from. She supports BCA’s mission for our young people to have a powerful impact in the creative arts, challenging stereotypes within industry.
One of our students commented, “I’m really looking forward to working with Penelope, who will help us with our portfolios and give us loads of business advice. Seeing someone running their business makes it visible for us and makes me think I can do it too.”
Students will benefit from industry briefs set by Penelope and detailed feedback, work experience opportunities and fashion masterclasses.
We are very pleased to have another young entrepreneur utilise the space and facilities we offer to support their business, following in the footsteps of Ricky Harriott, founder of the Wesley Harriott fashion brand and now Creative Director at SRVC Studio. In fact, Penelope has been awarded a £50,000 Creative Catalyst grant from Innovate UK under the UKRI Sustainable Fashion Fund to develop her brand, and her work with our students was acknowledged as a real strength of her application. The collaboration is already successful!