Fiona Chautard

I am a clothing designer & creative business coach who is passionate about creativity both in education and the workplace. I have been involved in the design, fashion and textile industry for over 25 years. I have lived and worked in Germany, France, Amsterdam and London. I am a dedicated Europhile and I am passionate about people connecting & collaborating across borders. I speak French and have a good understanding of the German and Dutch language. I travel frequently with work, researching trends, giving talks and writing articles for the fashion and textile industry. As a creative business consultant, I work with businesses & individuals on their business & design development, which includes digital marketing, design, trend forecasting, manufacturing and retailing. In 2012, I founded and established Fashion Foundry, a sector specific designer fashion and textiles business incubator & talent hub for designers in Scotland, funded by Creative Scotland. The programme focuses on accelerating the growth of talent in fashion and textiles for the apparel sector in Scotland, with a specific focus on the international luxury goods market. I am the consultant industry adviser for fashion, textiles & retail at Cultural Enterprise Office, Fashion Foundry, Textiles Scotland and Emergents Makers where I advise & mentor creative businesses & individuals. I also serve on advisory boards at Caledonian University, Emergents Makers and Craft Town Scotland.