Royal College of Art (RCA): Institution Overview
The Royal College of Art is widely regarded as the world’s leading postgraduate art and design institution, based in London with campuses in Kensington, Battersea, and White City. Known for its rigorous studio-based teaching and cross-disciplinary approach, RCA brings together art, design, engineering, and technology.
Ranked #1 globally in the 2025 QS World University Rankings for Art & Design—a position it has held for 11 consecutive years—the RCA attracts top talent from around the world.
Notable alumni and faculty include David Hockney, Tracey Emin, Henry Moore, Zandra Rhodes, Ridley Scott, James Dyson, Ridley Scott, Philip Treacy.
Academic Reference for Johnny Diamandis
Abbreviated reference from the former Head of Menswear at RCA. Full signed version available upon request
“In my role as Senior Menswear Tutor at the Royal College of Art between 1998 and 2015, and Course Director of the MA Menswear Course as Westminster University between 2015 and 2017, I ensured that Johnny Diamandis remained a core contributor to both curricula.
As a teacher Johnny is inspiring, forward-thinking, encouraging and profoundly supportive of the creative and professional processes required to nurture change within students. His teaching inspired future thinking in established designers such as Aitor Throup, Matthew Miller, Astrid Andersen, Alex Mullins, Liam Hodges and FengChen Wang, and many others who work within established design houses internationally.
In equal measure he is an inspiring, encouraging, reliable and supportive colleague and it is with great pleasure that I write this reference because Johnny has helped shape my own development and understanding of what it means to consider teaching and design for future generations.”
Yours sincerely, Ike Rust Head of Menswear - Royal College of Art 1998 - 2015)
Aug 2018
Johnny Diamandis' Work at RCA
Royal College of Art – MA Fashion Menswear
From 2006 to 2015, Johnny Diamandis was a longstanding core contributor to the MA Menswear program at the QS #1 ranked Royal College of Art. Working in close partnership with the Fashion department, he created and authored a series of original project briefs that became central to the curriculum.
Johnny designed and wrote projects with a sustainable focus, requiring students to address emerging ecological issues, manufacturing working practices, and fair-trade, and to create solution-focused proposals that lessen toxicity, raise awareness of diversity and equality, and increase reflection on the value of meaningful fashion design.
Johnny’s projects were primarily taught long distance, which required him to innovate and set up an online platform, RCA Menswear, so that briefings, tutorials, discussion groups, archived presentations, and critiques could happen digitally. Again, this introduced challenges that supported students’ development of essential skills required for effective communication within a changing industry.
His teaching inspired future thinking in established designers such as Aitor Throup, Matthew Miller, Astrid Andersen, Alex Mullins, Liam Hodges, and FengChen Wang, and many others who work within established design houses internationally.
Diamandis’ first collaboration with the Royal College of Art, Fighting Counterfeit Through Design, was created and led by Diamandis. The image features work by Aitor Throup, then a student and now a renowned designer, who won the project and subsequently worked with Diamandis at Evisu for three months.
RCA Studio Curriculum Project: Made in China.
Created and led by Johnny Diamandis, this virtual project challenged students to confront stereotypes of China as a source of mass production, while examining its growing role as both luxury market and high-end manufacturer. Through reimagined military garments, students explored sustainability, function, and the not-if-but-when emergence of a world-leading Chinese design house.
RCA Studio Curriculum Project: The Craft of Slow Wear.
Created and led by Johnny Diamandis, this project challenged students to critique fast fashion’s environmental impact and propose a long-life menswear item for a non–price-sensitive market. Designs emphasized thoughtful materials, critical function, and enduring beauty over trend-driven disposability.
RCA Studio Curriculum Project: The Signature Dish.
Created and led by Johnny Diamandis, this project explored the power of one defining piece—“the signature dish” of a brand. Students were challenged to create a single, iconic item that could lead a label, combining technical precision, responsible sourcing, and commercial strategy with clear, lasting design identity
RCA Studio Curriculum Project: An Inconvenient Design — RCA
Created and led by Johnny Diamandis and supported by Certainty Organic, this project challenged MA students to rethink the lifecycle of the most iconic fashion staple: the T-shirt. Drawing on Cradle to Cradle principles, students were tasked with designing a T-shirt that integrated sustainable, ethical, and socially responsible practices.