Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design Hosts Inauguration Party

SCHOOL’S IN: The Condé Nast College of Fashion & Design has been open for business for the past two weeks, and was officially inaugurated with a cocktail party on Tuesday night. Guests included Lulu Guinness, Tallulah Harlech, Alice Temperley, Rachel Johnson, Kim Winser and Michelle Feeney. “We won’t teach you how to hem a dress,” said Nicholas Coleridge, managing director of Condé Nast Britain and president of Condé Nast International, in a short speech to guests and students. “What the college will offer is a deep understanding of how the fashion industry works.”

The college building has been purpose-built, spans five floors and is located on Greek Street in London’s Soho. The college offers paying students — who hail from 22 countries — a yearlong British Vogue fashion foundation course, as well as 10-week intensive fashion courses among others. Susie Forbes, the former editor of Easy Living, is its principal.

Harlech, who fondly recalled her own days as a drama student, said her upcoming projects include “Spite & Malice: Rules to Filmmaking,” a feature film due out in the autumn. She’s also planning to spend her time between London and Los Angeles, as she pursues her acting career.

“But fashion will always be with me. It’s been with me my whole life,” said the model-turned-actress who features alongside Keira Knightley in Karl Lagerfeld’s latest short film for Chanel.