The creative industries sector now accounts for more than 7% of the economy, employing over 2 million people.

Specialist higher education colleges can play a particularly important role in stimulating innovation, not least those linked to the creative industries.

The London College of Fashion (part of the University of the Arts, London) the Fashion Business Resource Studio provides a single point of contact for the fashion industry to access the college’s creative, business and technical expertise.

Partners in the project include Next, Jaegar, Puma and the 2012 Olympics. Lecturers at the college are often practitioners who bring their real-life experience to tomorrow’s fashion trendsetters, while BA Fashion Management students work in pairs to act as consultants to industry partners.