ABOUT MY JOURNEY

“There is no design without construction — and no great construction without creativity.”

My name is Arena Page. I’ve spent my career inside the world where design becomes real — the messy, technical, intuitive middle between the sketch and the catwalk.

This course is born from those years in the industry: the late nights, the sleeves that wouldn’t fit, the wins, the losses, and the absolute magic of making things work.

Now, I’m stepping into a new chapter — sharing everything I know to keep this craft alive and pass it on to the next generation of creators, makers, and thinkers.


Creative pattern cutting in progress – studio view Arena Page

Let me tell you how this started.


It wasn’t on a runway. It wasn’t in a studio. It was early — stitching tiny outfits by hand for my dolls and obsessing over how clothes came together.

That obsession never really left me. I went on to graduate with a First Class Honours degree in Fashion Design and moved to London to complete a Masters at London College of Fashion. As soon as I arrived, I knew I’d stay. London had the energy, the ambition — the pull. But breaking in? That was something else entirely.

I was a young mum, interviewing for internships. I still remember one interview clearly — being told: “Fashion doesn’t stop at 6pm. No one in fashion has children.” I left in tears, thinking that was the end of it.

Luckily, it wasn’t.

Arena Page Masters Graduate Collection Image Editorial Fashion Shoot
Arena Page Masters Graduate Collection Sculptured Jacket on a catwalk and the pattern image
Ralph & Russo Collections Catwalk High Fashion Image

And then came Ralph&Russo. 


A world apart. Immaculate couture. Precision down to the millimetre. Every client a different body shape, every piece, every corset, peplum, dress, jacket draped from scratch. It was intense, intimidating — and deeply validating.


There, I realised two things:


1. How much mastery still lay ahead.
2. How much I loved being inside a world where excellence was the bare minimum.

So many years later I have come to what feels like the end of this chapter and my love for the industry as it is today. This is for many reasons (all I will cover in detail). I did always enjoy passing on my skills when there was a chance. I see that now more than ever there is a serious issue with skill shortage in London.

Creative pattern cutting in progress – studio view-Muslin prototype on dress form – couture draping
Catwalk Fashion Models Wearing Dresses and pink background

So this course I am creating is for:


- The students who never got the training
- The pattern cutters ready to step up
- The designers with vision, but no one who can make it real

And maybe, it’s for the next generation with big imagination — who just needs someone to show them how to turn it into something you can actually wear.

Conceptual Editorial Fashion Shoot-models wearing sculpture Masters Collection-Arena Page

My Experience Includes:


  •  Masters Graduate, London College of Fashion
  • Over a decade working in London’s luxury fashion and couture scene
  • Former Head of RTW Patterns at Ralph & Russo
  • Intimate knowledge of what it takes to bring ideas to life — from sketch to catwalk
  • Worked on high-profile client projects that required absolute precision — including custom couture pieces for Michelle Obama

  • Brands I’ve contributed to include: Victoria Beckham, Ralph & Russo, COS, Galvan London, Miss Sohee, The Own Studio, and more

  • Author of “Creative Pattern Technology,” published in the International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education — a solo research paper exploring how industrial 3D design software (not fashion-specific at the time) could be adapted to enhance creative pattern cutting and draping processes. 
  • Exhibited at the Moscow Design Museum as part of British Design and the Digital Revolution, in partnership with the V&A and Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (2014).
  • Invited Speaker at the British Fashion Council’s Creative Cutting Seminar at Somerset House, London — presenting on experimental design methods and inspiring the next generation.

Let's work together! x