Testimonials & Industry Endorsements

I have known Sue Chowles her entire academic career and witnessed her passion for developing student talent during this time. She has always been focussed on developing talent in an engaging way, developing effective teaching models and best practice to give her students the best experience of learning and optimum engagement.
Most recently she reached out to me to support a live student and industry collaboration project for a small group of her students whilst I was head of design fashion at Oliver Bonas. This was a student led project, using the brand as a focus for their ideas, and enabled them to get real feedback on how to develop their creative ideas in a commercial way for an established brand. Over a series, of tutorials and presentations, the students took on different roles and aspects of developing a capsule collection, each took ownership and led for various parts of the project and learnt to collaborate and work together as a team to present a finished collection. It was an enjoyable and insightful experience that inspired me seeing the development of the students across the duration of the project.
Her focus is to build the gap between academic and creative learning and real-world situations to bridge the gaps between academia and industry. She encourages her students to develop an understanding of balancing a creative vision and the importance of developing their own direction and voice alongside driving them to develop commercial acumen. She does this by encouraging students to constantly take risks and work outside of their comfort zones, whilst continually providing the students with constructive feedback and criticism to support their learning, growth and to build their confidence.

Sue Chowles brings a rare combination of passion, expertise, and dedication to the field of fashion education. She possesses an unparalleled understanding of the dynamic and ever-evolving world of fashion, committed to fostering creativity and critical thinking among students. She encourages a collaborative learning environment where students are not just recipients of knowledge but active participants in their own educational journey.
In addition to her exemplary teaching, Sue is an approachable and supportive mentor. She goes above and beyond to ensure that students receive personalised guidance and feedback, nurturing their strengths and helping them navigate through areas of improvement. Moreover, Sue deeply invests in staying current with industry trends and innovations. Her ability to integrate these insights into the curriculum ensures that students are not only well-versed in established principles but also well-prepared for the future of fashion. I would recommend her to anyone seeking a transformative and enriching educational experience in the field of fashion.

Sue Chowles has that rare ability to make the ordinary extraordinary. I have known Sue since we were both students of the MA (Fashion) course at the Royal College of Art in 1987. Sue has always been a highly creative and visionary designer. Her final collection won the coveted Byblos Prize for the most innovative collection. A few years after graduation, she began her long and successful academic journey as Course Leader BA (Hons) Fashion Design with Business Studies at the University of Brighton and continued to other notable universities including the London College of Fashion and Norwich University of the Arts.
Sue possesses an engaging presence and embodies calm professionalism. She fosters steady, genuine, and stalwart relationships. She has a light and uplifting demeanour which carries stability and focus on any environment, she has a curious eye that sees things that most people would miss.
During the COVID pandemic in early 2021, when most educators around the world were struggling with on-line teaching, Sue had brainchild the NUA Industry Collaborative Project. Small groups of 2nd year students working in teams with one of ten fashion industry leaders who were working remotely around the globe. This is a prime example of Sue’s ability to maximise an opportunity for the most progressive, rare, and optimal circumstance which would otherwise be an improbable and an impossible situation. The industry leaders are all testament to Sue’s impressive academic teaching. They all have very notable careers in the global fashion arena. First-hand, the group of students that I was assigned were acutely developed and incredible problem solvers, cohesive as a team, superbly professional and engaging, highly organised, immensely creative, highly employable and their work exceeded even most industry standards. They were a huge credit to Sue’s ability to inspire, teach, mentor, and develop the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Post pandemic, the fashion industry has changed and is continually recalibrating, rejuvenating, and redefining itself. Sue’s highly developed focus and expansive expertise is a fresh, innovative, and much-needed approach for the skills gap between education and a very fast and ever-changing industry. With her extensive experience and vast knowledge of both academia and the fashion industry, she will positively impact the career of future creatives (as she already has demonstrated) and address the opportunities of this industry. There is no better time to redefine the education at the Fashion School level exactly as outlined at the HASOU Fashion Academy, and there is no one that is more apt, skilfully trained, expansively knowledgeable and well connected as Sue Chowles to lead such a new, exciting, original, innovative, and bright endeavour.

I have known Sue Chowles for over a decade and have to say that she is one of the most genuine, warm, approachable, and dedicated fashion programme leaders I know. Sue is an inspiring academic with a wealth of knowledge and experience, she brings a rare combination of expertise, and dedication to the field of fashion education. She has an unparalleled understanding of the dynamic and ever-evolving world of fashion effectively bridging the gap between education and industry. She is an enthusiastic educator and has a remarkable commitment for her student’s education, she instinctively knows exactly how to guide, inspire, and motivate every individual, championing them to realise their creativity, strengths, and unique creative handwriting. Sue has a great eye to spot and nurture talent. Throughout her extensive teaching career, she has mentored some eminent and talented designers who have made their mark in the fashion industry, significantly contributing to elevating the standards of fashion education in the UK.

Sue was a constant motivator and supporter when I was starting out in fashion on my undergraduate, and she still is today as my mentor. She is always happy to share her extensive knowledge with others and you can see how much she genuinely loves what she does. Sue is very open to being challenged and encourages her students to be self- confident and to develop their own creative style and methods, while providing constructive feedback and criticism to help them develop. Sue places a high value on craftsmanship and longevity, introducing me to F Ciment Pleating whilst at Norwich University of the Arts where I then went on to complete an internship. She also highlighted valuable opportunities to us, such as the Anne Tyrrell award which I won. Sue also guided me with the presentation of my application for the International Arts of Fashion Competition in which I was also a winner, gaining the opportunity to intern at Maison Lemarié, a design house of Chanel, in Paris. I learnt a huge amount under Sue's guidance - I couldn't have asked for a better tutor and mentor.

It is a privilege to be able to talk so easily of my incredible experience of having Sue Chowles as my tutor during my time at Norwich University of The Arts. Sue was undoubtedly the highlight of my university degree, from my very first interview all the way through to my graduate collection, I was completely inspired and driven to give my very best throughout my degree. There was nothing too big or small that I didn’t feel comfortable asking Sue knowing that any response would be filled with knowledge, understanding and constructive feedback. Sue encouraged me to take risks, push myself out of my comfort zone and produce work I didn’t realise I was capable of. I will forever be grateful for my years under Sue’s academic care and know that HASOU Fashion Academy will be that much needed bridge between education and industry, led by a pioneer in fashion education.

Sue Chowles was the reason I decided to go to NUA to study Fashion Design. I visited the university on an open day and heard her talk about the course and I was completely enthralled by her clear passion for the subject and for teaching. Unfortunately, Sue wasn’t my main tutor for any of my three years at NUA, however, she personally guided me through several other projects. She helped me immensely with my ‘Givenchy Portfolio Competition’ which was selected to represent NUA. Sue also guided me through two other competitions and was a guest tutor during my second and third years.
I always looked forward to my critiques with Sue as I knew I would always be given a fresh perspective on whatever I worked on. She gave valuable constructive criticism, positive feedback, and genuine encouragement to push myself as much as possible. Knowing that Sue believed in me, and my ability and vision took me so far on so many different projects.
Sue was not only a wonderful fashion mentor but also an incredibly caring tutor. I am so, so appreciative of everything Sue taught me, for all the encouragement she gave me and for giving me the confidence to realise my talents and push myself.

I graduated from Norwich University of the Arts in 2017 with a First Class Honours in Fashion. I thoroughly enjoyed my degree which was led by Sue Chowles. Sue's extensive knowledge and expertise of the fashion industry was evident in every lecture or one to one session. She encouraged me to think outside the box, experiment with new ideas and to push boundaries to find my creative voice. She gave me the encouragement and guidance throughout my under-graduate degree which helped to shape my skills and boosted my confidence. I am particularly grateful for her unwavering support that gave me the direction I needed to kick start my career and she has continued to offer advice even after graduation.

My undergraduate school experience with Sue was nothing short of amazing. Despite being a full international student, I never felt anonymous or disconnected. In fact, when Sue was the Course Leader, the relationships that I built with classmates and faculty members were better than ever. Sue was able to help us to build up connections in the industry through encouraging us to be involved in competitions and her rich source of contacts in the industry is incredible. She embraced the personality aesthetic of every student in the class through pushing us to be proud of our identities as designers. I encourage everyone to learn from Sue with a guaranteed successful career as I am now a Course Leader and that all comes from what I have learnt from her.

Throughout my second-year Sue was an essential rock to my development as a student, and as an individual. The love and passion Sue has not only for fashion but also to the care of her students, shined through her lectures, tutorials, and the time she spent with us. Sue made the effort to know me personally, she understood my way of working and consequently adapted her teaching style to benefit me and my peers, she always goes above and beyond.
Sue was eternally approachable, fun, and down for a laugh with the year group, continually giving helpful and supportive lectures, which benefited us all. Her feedback was always in-depth and constructive, outlining strengths and areas for development which helped boost our self-assurance.
I struggled outside of university during my second year which affected the quality of my work, Sue took the time to listen, support and nurture which significantly boosted my confidence and progress. Thankfully I found my feet and fashion mojo which is all thanks to Sue, she filled me with confidence and amazing advice propelling me into my final year of study, Sue really is an outstanding tutor.

It has been a great pleasure and I feel super lucky to have been one of Sue’s students. Her professionalism is no doubt the best I have experienced in 8 years of studying fashion, she always tried her best to push every student to unlock their potential. Sue has extensive industry knowledge, she always kindly shared this with her students which was incredibly helpful. In contrast to the typical stereotypes of the fashion industry where people are known for being competitive and unfriendly, Sue has been the angel that brings love and warmth to her students, she guides them to be ready for the real-world without damaging their motivation. This is a very precious quality within fashion education which can make any fashion student who doesn’t have a tutor like this to be jealous.
The expert help and patient guidance I received from Sue will carry me very far on my fashion journey, she guided me on my current skill level and pushed me to form my own critical eyes like hers which enabled me to become more confident and professional. Sue respects every student’s style, background, and personality and in addition always gave further personalised advice. Through her teaching, I have learnt to analyse and evaluate myself before showing my work as Sue would always finds the tiniest details which could be improved which pushed my skills up to a further level.
I highly appreciated every tutorial I had with Sue, discussing my work with her ‘felt like a dehydrated plant being watered’. I feel extremely honoured to have been Sue’s student, the experience can be life changing.

I was lucky enough to be selected many years ago for the prestigious BA Fashion course at the University of Brighton led at the time by Sue Chowles. The course was renowned for being hugely creative whilst balancing real industry experience and business acumen. During my time at Brighton Sue really was instrumental in setting the foundations for my future career in fashion. She had the perfect balance of tutor, mentor, and a real nurturing instinct that I very much needed at this stage of my education. Her creativity, energy, passion and knowledge were incredibly infectious, and I lapped this up! During my 4 years she built a confidence in me and a ‘fire in my belly’ to move beyond my degree believing in myself and with a knowledge that with hard work anything is possible.
I always look back at my time in Brighton with great fondness and a huge amount of gratitude to Sue. Due to the huge impact Sue made on me, we have always stayed in touch. She has shown a continued interest in my career development and always celebrates my milestones like a proud mother. Her investment in these lifelong connections with her students beyond graduation means Sue is as connected to the industry as she is to the education side of fashion. I have been honoured to since work alongside Sue as a mentor to her NUA students as part of an initiated industry project. Sue’s understanding and commitment to the value of industry mentors for students is inspiring. Allowing students these insights before they graduate is essential, so I am incredibly passionate about Sue’s next chapter through the establishment of Hasou Fashion Academy.

Sue Chowles is a dynamic, driven, passionate leader and a force of nature within the fashion education industry. She absolutely inspires those she teaches and those who teach under her guidance to be their very best; to push themselves to be the best version of themselves both through their work ethic and the creative output of their work. Her passion and enthusiasm have never dwindled since I first met her as one of her students at the University of Brighton to working with her more recently as a mentor to some of her students during her tenure at Norwich University of the Arts. Sue is an absolute champion of her students both past and present, setting her students up for the most successful career in fashion that is within her gift.

As a former student at the University of Brighton, I had the privilege of being mentored by Sue Chowles for four years, and I can attest to her exceptional abilities as an educator and mentor who played a significant role in my academic and professional journey, going on to be Head of Design for various brands including Alberta Ferretti, Converse by John Varvatos, 7 For All Mankind and Current Elliott.
During my time at the University of Brighton, Sue, demonstrated an unwavering commitment to nurturing her students’ growth and development. Her deep knowledge of the fashion industry, combined with her innovative teaching methods, consistently engaged and inspired students to excel. Sue possesses a remarkable ability to create an open and collaborative learning environment, encouraging students to explore their creative boundaries and push the limits of their abilities while always pushing us to think with a business and entrepreneurial mindset.
Her classes and projects as well as guest tutors she invited to coach us were always challenging, inspiring and fun. Sue provided me with the guidance and support necessary to graduate successfully from the University of Brighton. Her insightful critiques, personalised feedback, and dedication to my progress were instrumental in helping me achieve my academic goals. Furthermore, her efforts extended beyond the classroom, as she actively connected students with industry professionals and opportunities, enhancing our chances of success in the competitive fashion world.
Thanks to Sue’s mentorship, I was accepted into the Royal College of Art (RCA). This accomplishment speaks volumes about Sue’s ability to cultivate talent and prepare students for prominent institutions such as the RCA, and I proudly claim the title of being Sue’s first graduate to be accepted at the RCA. I have no doubt that Sue will continue to inspire and empower her current and past students. Her dedication, expertise, and passion for teaching are truly commendable. Sue has a natural caring gift for mentorship and leadership, and I feel very fortunate to have had such a wonderful first experience within fashion.
More recently during Covid Sue asked me to be part of a mentorship group to 4 students at NUA and it was an absolute delight to reconnect and have a chance to mentor young creatives. I could still see the exact same remarkable passion and commitment from Sue for her new students' education as was with myself 25 years ago. I am so excited to hear about Sue’s new endeavour to create the HASOU Fashion Academy and have no doubt new students will experience the same incredible learning experience that I did.

Sue Chowles served as both my tutor at fashion school and my initial mentor in the fashion industry during her tenure as Head of the Fashion and Business Degree at the University of Brighton. Her profound insights into the industry were truly inspiring, and it was evident that her passion for her work was boundless.
One of Sue's remarkable attributes is her ability to offer direct and no-nonsense critiques to her students while maintaining a kind and compassionate approach. As I've progressed in the industry, I've endeavoured to embody this same approach in mentoring the designers I work with.
Recently, I had the privilege of collaborating with Sue on a mentorship program involving her students. Contributing my experience to the project was fulfilling, and reuniting with Sue showcased her unwavering commitment and care in her role as a fashion mentor. I consider myself fortunate to have had Sue as my inaugural mentor, and any student would undoubtedly benefit from her guidance.

Sue was an excellent tutor throughout my second year at Norwich University of the Arts and provided a commendable level of creative insight and industry knowledge to all her taught sessions. With her guidance I found significant growth within my technical knowledge and personal design skills across the year; enabling me to confidently progress into my final year of university. By encouraging a continual self-questioning and exploration into the professional standards required within the industry, Sue's feedback provided us with the level of self-assurance needed to excel within employment.

Before embarking on my undergraduate journey in fashion at NUA, I had no prior experience in the field. Unlike other universities I applied to, which focused solely on my portfolio, Sue Chowles took the time to delve deeper and discover my untapped potential as a designer. Acknowledging I brought a fresh and unique perspective to the world of fashion, Sue made a significant impact on my academic and creative growth.
The learning curve was steep, but Sue consistently provided unwavering support, guiding me through challenges and inspiring me during every tutorial. Despite my initial struggles with traditional design methods involving pen and paper, Sue introduced me to the art of working with materials through draping and understanding their properties.
Sue instilled in me the belief that authenticity is key to becoming a successful designer. Throughout my undergraduate years, this philosophy propelled me to remarkable achievements, such as winning the KIN project with John Lewis, being featured at F.A.D. and securing the Textile Award at Graduate Fashion Week
Even after these accomplishments, I found myself at a crossroads, uncertain about my next steps. Recognising my potential for further self-discovery, Sue encouraged me to pursue a master’s degree at the RCA. Armed with the confidence instilled by Sue to remain true to myself, I delved into the world of Biomaterials, a field I self-taught and subsequently gained global recognition. I carved out a unique niche in fashion as THE biomaterial specialist, a role that had not existed before.
This transformative journey wouldn't have been possible without Sue's belief in me and her unwavering support. Her encouragement fuelled my passion, teaching me the invaluable lesson that hard work truly pays off. I am immensely grateful for Sue's mentorship, which played a pivotal role in shaping my successful and fulfilling career in the evolving fashion landscape. I owe everything to Sue, when no one saw the light in me, she always did.

Sue Chowles, I have to genuinely say I would not have lived the journey in the fashion industry that I have if it were not for Sue. Whilst at the University of Brighton I went to Sue's office and quit in my first year, mentioning I was going to become a fireman. Sue reinstalled faith in myself as a human and a designer that I was already on the right path and not to quit.
Sue as our tutor and mentor was able to manage the space that made us curate our own journey, yet also keep us on track and accountable. The word mentor is important, Sue worked hard for us and with us and inspired us to be better and more rounded. Sue's ability to bring out the light, specialties, and talents I believe is rare. This combined with her human side that kept us connected, engaged, and inspired. My days at The University of Brighton under Sue's guidance still shine as some of my favourites as a designer. I have gone on to forge a career in America working for Banana Republic / Calvin Klein and served as Creative Director at both Theory and Lululemon.

I am delighted to express my utmost admiration and gratitude to Sue Chowles as a guiding force in my pursuit of a career in fashion design. Her exceptional tutelage has been instrumental in shaping my creative journey in the world of fashion.
From a very young age I had always known what career I wanted to pursue, and following in the footsteps of my maternal aunt, a knitwear designer, graduating from Brighton’s school of Art in the 1970’s gave me direction and the urge to channel my aspirations.
The Fashion Design with Textiles degree at the University of Brighton had a reputation of producing esteemed world- renowned designers, and this is where I met Sue. A beacon of inspiration in the realm of fashion design.
Her deep understanding of design principles, coupled with an innate creativity, ignites a passion for innovation and excellence amongst her students. With insightful guidance, she transforms the complexities of fashion theory and technique into accessible and stimulating lessons, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation for the artistry of design.
But what sets Sue apart, is her unwavering dedication to nurturing individual creativity, whilst fostering a dynamic learning environment. She not only imparts her technical expertise but also encourages exploration of personal artistic expression, pushing boundaries and encouraging you to redefine the conventional norms in fashion.
Her mentorship extends far beyond the studio, creating a supportive and inclusive space where diverse perspectives flourish. Fostering a collaborative community of industry experts and student's which in turn contributes to a rich tapestry of ideas, opportunity, and creativity.
I am profoundly grateful to Sue for her guidance and generosity of time, which did not only hone my design skills at the very beginning of my career; but also instilled in me the confidence to express myself authentically through fashion, whilst building a network of contacts that assisted me in getting my foot in the door of one of the most competitive and exciting industries to work in!
In short, Sue is a visionary in the realm of fashion education, and I feel honoured to have been under her tutelage.