Association for Fashion Business Employability
The AFBE bridges the gap between fashion business education and the fashion business industry via events, awards, and opportunities in order to enhance employability for fashion business students.
Events
More information about our previous and upcoming events coming soon...DATE CONFIRMED
Industry Panel: 'Get to Work' - Wednesday 18th February 2026DATE CONFIRMED
AFBE Student Awards: Annual Symposium 2026 - Friday 29th May 2026
Past Events
About AFBE
The AFBE is the fashion business sector's student awards platform, advancing employability, entrepreneurship, innovation, and inclusive leadership. Founded by two of the UK's leading fashion business schools, London College of Fashion (University of the Arts London) and Nottingham School of Art & Design (Nottingham Trent University), the AFBE celebrates and supports students achievements in fashion business education.The AFBE achieves this by providing a platform to access pathways into industry through mentorship, networking, and real-world experience. The AFBE hosts a number of events and opportunities which support students and enable connection with the fashion business industry.
The Team
Our team represent the AFBE's Founding Member Institutions and oversee all of the Association's activity across events, affiliated groups, and publications. Their experience, industry knowledge, and connections power the Association and shape its direction and ambition.
Zoe Hinton
Senior Lecturer, London College of FashionZoe leads the Industry Curriculum Enhancement (ICE) project, linking students with global professionals. With over 15 years in senior buying positions at Arcadia, House of Fraser, and New Look, she combines her expertise in profitability, supply chain, sourcing, and customer with her skills in academia, effectively supporting the student journey.
Anthony McGrath
Senior Lecturer & Course Leader, London College of FashionAnthony is the Course Leader for Fashion Marketing at London College of Fashion, and is a Fellow of the HEA. He brings over 20 years of experience across journalism, styling, marketing, and education. His portfolio includes work on high-profile campaigns for brands including Emporio Armani, Lacoste, and Marks & Spencer.
Justine Davidson
Principal Lecturer, Nottingham School of Art & DesignJustine leads NTU's Fashion Management and International Fashion Business programmes. A Senior Fellow of the HEA and founding AFBE member, she brings over 20 years of industry experience and award-winning research in sustainable, collaborative fashion business practices on an international scale.
Adam Shaw
School Employability Manager, Nottingham School of Art & DesignAdam oversees the strategic implementation and integration of employability into NSA&D's course portfolio, working with academics, professional services, and industry. He brings over a decade of experience in education and personal development, including teaching, curriculum development, employer engagement, project management, student-facing events, scholarship, and practice sharing.
Maria Malone
Founder, Fashion Business HubMaria is an award-winning lecturer and leadership coach, a Senior Fellow of the HEA, and a Chartered Manager. Maria has broad industry and academic experience, and has an international reputation as an expert in fashion business, having lectured in China, India, the USA, and Canada. Her extensive media profile makes her a regular contributor to TV, radio, and print publications.
Universities: Contact Us
We are currently looking for university partners to join our network. If you are interested in joining the AFBE and providing opportunities for your students to benefit from membership, contact one of the team or find us on LinkedIn.
Industry Partners: Contact Us
The AFBE is the UK's only employability-focused platform exclusively supporting fashion business students. Our partner universities are the UK's premier producers of fashion business graduate talent, and our events showcase the best of our membership's graduating cohort.By joining the AFBE as an industry partner, your support and involvement will directly benefit graduating fashion business students, via advice, mentorship, or graduate opportunities. Your organisation will also get access to industry-leading graduate talent.For more information on partnership packages, contact one of the team or find us on LinkedIn.
Students: Contact Us
If you are a student at an AFBE member institution, congratulations! Make sure you attend our events and keep up to date with our activity on LinkedIn.If your university is not a member of the AFBE, help us change that! Encourage your academics to contact us to join our growing community. They can contact one of the team or find us on LinkedIn.