Steven Dell

Steven Dell is the Course Leader of the BA (Hons) Fashion Design. His role is to provide creative and academic leadership to the course team, foster teaching excellence and support the students creative, technical and professional development throughout their time on this innovative and dynamic fashion degree programme.

Throughout his academic career, he has initiated and led on various industry collaborations and inter-disciplinary projects that seek to enhance professional development and enterprise across our student communities and academic team. During my time at Regent's, Steven has established numerous live industry projects with international fashion companies including conceptual designer Studio Johannes Warnke, Swedish brand COS, British fashion designer Georgia Hardinge, and Australian fashion label Studio Amelia, that have enhanced and shaped our students learning experience as well as generating online press exposure for our students and the university.

The Industry focused projects that he has integrated within the fashion design curriculum, is centred on fostering creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship within our students learning as well as supporting their professional development. The learning and teaching initiatives that he has introduced on the Fashion Design course has contributed towards increasing our student achievements, directly resulting in numerous student awards as well as aspirational graduate destinations working for luxury fashion brands, or the successful launch of entrepreneurial fashion business start-ups.

He has over 20 years of experience in teaching, research and professional practice within fashion design, which he has gained throughout his role as Course Leader for a number of highly successful fashion degree courses. Prior to starting at Regent's, Steven has been the course leader of the BA (Hons) Fashion programmes at Kingston University, University for the Creative Arts and Northbrook College Sussex. He was also the Director of Programmes for the Design & Craft cluster of degree courses at London College of Fashion, where he was responsible for overseeing the course manage and student experience on the BA (Hons) Fashion Accessories, FdA Fashion Accessories, BA (Hons) Footwear, FdA Footwear, BA (Hons) Bespoke Tailoring, and FdA Production Tailoring programmes.

• HEA Senior Fellowship, 2017
• BA (Hons) Fashion, Epsom School of Art, 1992
• BTEC Diploma Fashion & Clothing, Gt Yarmouth College of Art, 1990
   

• 2018 – Present: Course Leader - BA (Hons) Fashion Design, Regents University London
• 2016 – 2018: Course Leader - BA (Hons) Fashion, Kingston University
• 2011 – 2016: Course Leader - BA (Hons) Fashion, University for the Creative Arts
• 2009 – 2011: Director of Programmes - Design & Craft, London College of Fashion
• 2004 – 2009: Course Leader - BA (Hons) Fashion, Northbrook College Sussex
• 1998 – 2003: Design Director / Business Partner, Jensens London
• 1998 – 2004: Designer at various International Trend Forecasting and Design Consultancies

Industry Experience

Previous industry experience included design consultancy and trend forecasting for a number of clients including Pringle of Scotland, Fred Perry, Nelly Rodi, InDesign, Global Design Consultancy, PromoStyl, I.N.D.E.X, The Bureau and International Textiles.

Steven also established Jensens Dainties in 1998, an individual, eclectic British knitted underwear and fashion label sold through exclusive fashion boutiques and department stores in the UK, USA and Japan, including Henri Bendel, Barneys and Louis Boston in New York (USA), and in Harrods, Koh Samui, Pelicano and The Cross in London (UK) as well as in Bus Stop, Isetan, Matsuya Ginza and Barneys in Tokyo (Japan).

This prestigious label also established a celebrity following and was worn by Madonna, PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Jennifer Love-Hewitt, Zoe Ball and Carleen Anderson as well as items featured on the cult TV series ‘Sex and the City’. Jensens Dainties also received national and international press coverage in Vogue, I-D, Dazed & Confused, Sleazenation, The Face, Marie Claire, International Textiles, Viewpoint, US Vogue, Glamour, InStyle, US Elle and Jane as well as national broadsheets including The Times and Style Magazine, The Guardian, The Observer, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail and You magazine.
 

Throughout his career Steven  engaged in a range of research, scholarship and professional practice projects - these produced considerable improvements to the delivery of Learning and Teaching methods and informed the enhancement of the student learning experience and related project outcomes.

Work Based Learning Project, ADM-HEA / Skill Fast UK

Steven  also worked in collaboration with Catherine McConnell on a project with ADM-HEA and Skill Fast UK to build links with the fashion industry and develop work based learning opportunities within an assessed work placement module.

Sri Lankan Leather & Footwear Industries Strategic Roadmap

Whilst Steven Dell was the Director of Programmes of the Cordwainers Footwear and Accessories programmes at LCF, he was invited by the Sri Lankan Fashion Forum and Department of Trade and Industries to undertake a research scoping exercise into the manufacturing capability and educational provision offered in Sri Lanka, in order to explore and develop a Strategic Roadmap for the Sri Lankan Footwear, Accessories and Leather Goods Sector.

During his visit, Steven Dell presented the findings of this exercise at the SL Footwear Summit as a part of a dialogue between footwear associations, footwear companies and international footwear experts on how to strengthen the footwear sector in Sri Lanka and set of objectives for the development of the Strategic Roadmap.

Jensens Dainties successfully gained New Generation sponsorship for two seasons to exhibit and show at London Fashion Week; Crafts Council Award and funding to support the elaborate and hand-crafted knitted underwear collection; short-listed for the Peugeot Design Award finals; featured in the book Lingerie: A Lexicon of Style by author Caroline Cox; and exhibited at the ‘Inside-Out’ exhibition at the Design Museum and then worldwide, organised by the British Council.

Steven Dell gained professional recognition and was successfully awarded his Higher Education Academy Senior Fellowship in October 2017 for his contribution towards supporting course teams, driving teaching excellence and enhancing the student experience for a number of highly successful fashion degree programmes.

Industry Engagement and Consultancy
Steven Dell has a wealth of experience in relation to industry engagement and consultation as well as establishing a number of high profile collaborative projects with industry partners. Recent industry collaborative projects that have enhanced and enriched the student learning experience have included working with fashion brands: Burberry, Topshop, GAP, Zara, Abercrombie & Fitch, Hardy Amies, New Look, Red or Dead, Timothy Everest and Henry Poole & Co.

Sri Lankan Leather, Footwear & Accessories
As the Director of Programmes for the Cordwainers Footwear and Accessories programmes at London College of Fashion, Steven was invited by the Sri Lankan Fashion Forum and Department of Trade and Industries to undertake a research scoping exercise into the manufacturing capability and educational provision offered in Sri Lanka, in order to explore and develop a Strategic Roadmap for the Sri Lankan Footwear, Accessories and Leather Goods Sector. 

During his visit to Sri Lanka, he presented the findings of this exercise at the SL Footwear Summit as a part of a dialogue between footwear associations, footwear companies and international footwear experts on how to strengthen the footwear sector in Sri Lanka and set of objectives for the development of the Strategic Roadmap.

The Little Black Jacket – Celebrating 150 Years of the Tuxedo
The Little Black Jacket project involved the collaboration between BA (Hons) Bespoke Tailoring students at London College of Fashion, internationally renowned Henry Poole & Co of Savile Row and luxury fabric supplier Dormeuil to re-invent the Tuxedo for the 21st century.

In partnership with Henry Poole, BA (Hons) Bespoke Tailoring students at London College of Fashion were asked to design and produce individually bespoken Tuxedos for twelve actors from the MA Drama Centre at Central Saint Martins.

Documentary and Art Films
Two films were produced to capture and illustrate the collaborative and creative process – the first a behind the scenes documentary, the second a creative black and white short art film.

The Little Black Jacket Publication
A Little Black Jacket publication was also commissioned, featuring a number of editorial contributions from well known journalists and fashion writers and included a series of contemporary fashion photographs of the final Tuxedos produced by LCF students as well as Norman Parkinson style photographs of high profile figures from the fashion industry including Harold Tilman, who were artistically photographed in their own Tuxedos.

International Exhibition Showcase
The outcomes of this exciting collaborative project were creatively curated and formed the basis for The Little Black Jacket international touring exhibition. The Little Black Jacket exhibition has been showcased in London at the V&A Museum, Somerset House, Harrods, Burlington Arcade and also in New York at the prestigous Tuxedo Park, with future proposed venues planned for Paris, Rio and Sydney.

Teaching

Steven has eighteen years' experience working in Higher Education, providing academic leadership to support course teams through my various Director of Programmes and Course Leader roles. I enjoy working closely with academic teams, setting a shared vision and creative direction that seeks to nurture professional practice as well as creating an inspiring and engaging learning environment for the student community.

He has extensive teaching experience, informed by in-depth knowledge of design theory and practice across a range of different creative disciplines. Steven encourages course teams to employ a range of teaching methods, underpinned by a combination of studio practice, online learning materials and critical reflection to provide an inclusive learning experience. 

Throughout his career in Higher Education, Steven has established a number of interdisciplinary projects and live industry collaborations that seek to enhance the student learning experience and support their professional development. In addition, he has also organised extracurricular activities, including careers workshops and industry insight talks, where students can seek advice as well as learn essential skills to prepare them for working with a luxury fashion brand or to establish their own fashion enterprise in the future.

Steven has worked on various course development and curriculum design projects across a range of creative disciplines. He has attended various curriculum design workshops and included inclusive teaching practices and course design within his HEA Senior Fellowship application. The validation documentation that he prepared for the BA (Hons) Fashion programme at UCA Epsom was highly commended by the external panel, who praised its course design and structure. More recently, the validation work that Steven and his team worked on as part of the New Curriculum Model at Regent's was also highly praised - 'the course spec is excellent' and 'the narrative and the scaffolding were compelling and read exceptionally well'. As a result, the course spec has been used as an exemplar to other course design leads who are still drafting their own.

Course Development

Steven has been instrumental in fostering a collective approach within our international student and staff community that aims to support the development and implementation of innovative teaching and learning strategies that enhance the quality of the student experience. He has implemented a number of initiatives that have contributed towards a wide range of course and University related successes, including finalists of national design competitions, brokering of sponsored industry projects, developing new working partnerships, establishing student showcase opportunities, and increasing graduate progression into employment or onto Post Graduate study.

His Course Leader responsibilities include planning, management and review of the course including the promotion and enhancement of curriculum development, course organisation and timetabling, staffing and mentoring, and preparation of course documentation. He is also responsible for course monitoring and evaluation to enhance the student learning experience and maintain high levels of student retention, progression and achievement.

Steven Dell is currently the External Examiner for the Graduate Diploma in Fashion at Central Saint Martins (UAL) and BA (Sons) Fashion with Business Studies at the University of Brighton.