Biography
Basia Szkutnicka is Professor of Practice and Programme Director of the MA in Fashion & Textile Design.
Once described as 'A breath of fresh air' by Susie Menkes in the International Herald Tribune, Basia specializes in design thinking, idea generation, creative design process, curriculum development and innovation, forecasting and nurturing young talent.
She is a visionary thinker and influencer, well respected in the global fashion community for her ability to move fashion forward by inspiring and motivating students and designers worldwide. Her reputation as an innovator has resulted in invitations to jury fashion shows and competitions across the globe.
After completing an Art Foundation course at Camberwell School of Art and upon graduating from St Martins School of Art with a First class Honours Degree in Fashion Design in the competitive 1980's, Basia launched her own brand at London Fashion Week. She worked with her mentor Isabella Blow on avant-garde projects, photographed by Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Roberts, Judy Blame, Zanna. Her work was featured in British Tatler, American Vogue, The Face, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Standard, Blitz magazine, Nova, ID, The Daily Mail YOU Magazine, International Textiles, and Moda.
Over the last 25 years she has worked as Programme Director, design educator, author, writer, freelance designer and creative consultant.
Prior to joining ITC Basia was the Director of the Study Abroad Programme at London College of Fashion (UAL) where over 15 years she created and developed a unique educational model, a beacon of excellence, henceforth her alumni and Fashion faculty network is global and prestigious.
Basia is a collector of European and American vintage clothing, shoes and accessories. Her latest book Vintage Fashion - A Fashion Sourcebook, published in 2016 and co-written with Jeffrey Mayer is published in both English and Mandarin.
Her first highly successful book Technical Drawing for Fashion, (now into its second edition), is translated into 8 languages and has been adopted as a text book on Fashion Programmes worldwide. Both books are published by Laurence King and are available on Amazon as well as reputable international bookstores, museums and galleries.
Basia has contributed to fashion magazines and publications writing opinion on fashion culture and style. She has been featured and quoted in a number of fashion books and magazines as well as interviewed for video and fashion reportage. She has participated in radio and TV interviews, as a commentator on fashion opinion and style.
She has worked for Camper footwear (Spain) for over 20 years, initially as a cool hunter, concept generator, retail trend reporter and sourcing innovative materials. She collaborated with the brand on the construction and planning of unique think tank design and creativity workshops which held internationally, most recently in Seoul, South Korea.
Excellence is her aim and the MA in Fashion & Textiles under her leadership, aims to produce creative, forward thinking design innovators who are encouraged to evolve their personal design identity, disrupt and bring new proposals to the fashion landscape.
Basia fosters a futuristic and sustainable approach to learning, referencing the past, living in the present, whilst looking to the future.
Her daily practice and interaction with creatives, contemporary thinkers, young designers and ambitious students is her research.