8 February 2023 | 26 minutes
Jeffrey Young is joined by Oonagh O’Hagan, Senior Lecturer & Knowledge Exchange Leader at Central Saint Martins. They discuss the role she plays, the history of college, the variety of the course available to students, and how sustainability is embedded into many of the courses – including edible fashion! This insightful episode explores sustainability, creativity, the arts, and of course, Camden.
Oonagh is a Curriculum Leader in the Fashion and Textiles department on the Foundation Diploma course at Central Saint Martins. She has taught Fashion Design, Fashion Promotion and Textiles at a range of levels and institutions since obtaining her teaching diploma over 10 years ago. She completed the BA in Textiles and Masters in Fashion:Textiles at Central Saint Martins. After graduating, she worked as an art director at Tank magazine, and also in advertising at Mother Agency and Saatchi & Saatchi after winning a D&AD placement.
Her main work outside of teaching is as a design consultant, researching and creating concepts for luxury brands, such as Chanel, Burberry and Louis Vuitton. She has also collaborated with several other fashion brands on one-off pieces – mostly prints, shoes and accessories. Themes on desire and identity feature heavily in her work and has led to a fascination with the idea of ‘original’. These themes are the basis for her PhD research in fashion, also from Central Saint Martins.
The breadth of her creative interests extend beyond fashion, textiles and accessories to photography, writing and broadcasting. Her art direction work has been exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, New York. She has had two books published, one of which was optioned by CBS America for a television series, and she regularly presents fashion related slots on national radio and TV.