We were delighted to welcome back Alex Gore Browne, alumna of the Class of 1993, to speak with our current students. Our working lunches are a great way for alumni to return and share their career journeys since leaving Francis Holland School, Sloane Square.

After leaving Francis Holland, Alex studied at Chelsea School of Art to build her portfolio before securing a place on a foundation course at Central Saint Martins. There, she explored different areas of art and discovered a passion for textiles, initially aiming to become a textile fine artist. She went on to study Textiles for her BA, where she was drawn to knitwear for its flexibility compared to weave. It wasn’t until her final year that she became more interested in fashion, influenced by working alongside fashion students. This led her to pursue a MA in fashion knitwear—a challenging but invaluable experience that prepared her for the fashion industry.

After leaving Saint Martins, Alex made a living selling her knit swatch designs through an agency to brands like Louis Vuitton, Gap, and Donna Karan, while also launching her own brand, Alex Gore Browne (on a shoestring). In the early days, she would cycle to the Alexander McQueen studio, where Lee (Alexander) would sketch designs based on her knit fabrics for his catwalk shows. Her collection soon found its way into Joseph Brompton Cross, followed by Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, and Net-A-Porter, with some support from a lottery grant.

Now, 25 years on, her brand is still going strong, having evolved alongside family life and raising her two children, now 14 and 16.

Our current student, Nikki Maxwell (UVI), shares a few words about the working lunch. "This week, we were thrilled to have Alex Gore Browne, a former FHS student, give us a very insightful talk at our Working Lunch session. She walked us through her exciting career in the fashion industry which began at Central Saint Martins, where she completed a BA in Textiles and where she was first introduced to knit – the underpinning of her company. After leaving Saint Martins, Alex earned a living selling her knit swatch designs to household brands including Louis Vuitton and Donna Karan whilst, simultaneously, developing her brand Alex Gore Browne, which was incredibly impressive to hear. Alex certainly made a name for herself with her unique and captivating products, having designed and made show pieces for Alexander McQueen and being appointed knit consultant at Nina Ricci. It was also amazing to hear that her designs have been bought and worn by the likes of Cindy Crawford and Kate Moss. Moreover, for those of us that are considering becoming entrepreneurs, Alex gave very valuable advice on the hardships of growing and sustaining a company in a world of an ever-changing business climate."

Stay tuned for more news of our working lunches, and if you are interested in becoming a guest speaker please email alumni@fsh-sw1-org.uk.