Returning IRL to the Vogue Foundation Programme post-pandemic
Ahead of this evening’s final Vogue Foundation Programme exhibition, a culmination of a year’s work which was largely based exclusively online, foundation student Sadaf Punjoo reflects on the moment the CNC doors re-opened and how the students prepared for their final showcase.
Returning to CNC
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the definition of normal for students all around the world. Normal for us CNC students would be anxiously waiting for the message that in-person classes would resume. After receiving that message, the students began to plan their return to college. Walking into the college, there was an indescribable energy as everyone was ecstatic. Not only were we meeting old friends but also making new ones that could not attend the course due to Covid. All the students and staff were overjoyed to return to “normal” even if the definition of normal is not as it used to be, with Covid regulations still in place and all of our smiles hidden with masks.
The course was coming to an end and the final exhibition was just around the corner – we hit the ground running. From external trips, to studio days, lecturers and the industry speaker series. My fellow Vogue Foundation students were all completing our final projects, each project unique to each other, just as intriguing and creative as the next. Our excitement for the return to college was also met with dread as it would mean saying goodbye to each other and the college that we have all grown so fond of. Despite only having a limited amount of time left at the college, we all were giving 100% effort to our assignments, hoping to finish the course on a high.
Styling Experience
One of the highlights of returning to the college was utilising the photographic studio and having IRL styling sessions. A memory that will alway be fond to me is the time spent in the photo studio helping our peers shoot their final projects. Music blasted from the internal speakers, fellow students were adorned in stunning outfits; professional photographer, a former CNC graduate at the ready, we were all collaborating as future creatives. Something unimaginable from the previous restrictions of lockdown. Reality began to set in as we were all getting ready to enter the world of fashion. It has been interesting to see the growth of all my friends around me from our first few weeks to our final weeks.
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Time has sped by so quickly and I can speak for all the students when I say that as excited as we are to progress, we are all sad to say goodbye to CNC. Our experience here was unique especially in the face of a global pandemic. I came into the course unsure about how studying fashion would be with social distancing and a global pandemic, but I can confidently say that I would not have it any other way. Despite the distance that us students have had to face, whether it is studying from different countries all over the world online or maintaining social distance in the classroom; we have never been closer.
By Sadaf Punjoo, Vogue Foundation Programme
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