Fashion Retail Academy fit-out and refurbishment

The Fashion Retail Academy (FRA) required a new home that could accommodate their expanding student body and educational programs, fostering the next generation of fashion professionals.

Cluttons’ agency team led a building selection process and the project management team monitored the landlord refurbishment and FRA multi-million pound fit-out. The project was a Category B educational fit-out to transform an existing building into a new school for the FRA. The vision was to create a modern educational environment that would support the Academy’s growing needs.

Cluttons conducted a feasibility study to help the FRA select their new home. The fit-out commenced in Spring 2024, focusing on creating an educational environment that embodied the spirit of the fashion industry while providing state-of-the-art facilities for students and staff.

Cluttons managed the selection of the design team to develop the FRA fit out, and then led the design development stages including planning and listed building consents. High student densities made the design complex, particularly in relation to the services design. Additional cooling and fresh air plant and distribution was required in addition to the new supply being installed by the landlord.

Cluttons provided close project monitoring of the landlords’ works who undertook significant changes due to listing building complications. These impacted on the timeline and design for FRA which required careful coordination and control.  We also led on integrating base build alterations to suit FRA fit-out e.g. demolition of walls and alterations of services.

The project faced significant challenges, particularly delays due to the landlord works overrunning. This delay caused a setback of almost a month, creating pressure to accelerate the project’s timeline to meet the strict school opening dates. Additionally, the landlord’s contractor went into administration leaving a substantial list of outstanding works and compliance issues that needed to be resolved.

The new school provides a cutting-edge facility which enables them to expand their programs and support a larger student population. This environment not only enhances the learning experience, but also positions FRA as a leader in fashion education, ready to nurture the next generation of fashion professionals. The project delivered an accelerated programme on time and under budget, and included resolving the landlord contractor issues to facilitate the opening.