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My friend and former boss Sandra Holtby, who has died aged 82, was head of the London College of Fashion (LCF), University of the Arts London, from 1995 to 2006. She was an inspirational leader – dynamic, ambitious, astute, warm and generous. Stylish and glamorous, Sandra was great fun and renowned for throwing a good party.

She had joined the LCF as a part-time hairdressing tutor in the early 1970s, progressing to full-time lecturer in 1975, head of department in 1986, and dean of fashion promotion and management in 1989, before taking over as head of the college.

Under her leadership, life at LCF was exciting: developments and initiatives to improve the college were always under consideration. Plans were often hatched in the evening over glasses of wine in Sandra’s office with its white carpets and Corbusier sofas. The portfolio of degree courses was expanded, a postgraduate school established and the foundations laid for a vibrant research culture.

Sandra was entrepreneurial. She spearheaded the recruitment of international students and supported commercial enterprises, using the income to improve the student experience, creating a gallery, extending the library and developing open-access learning environments for technology and IT. A major charitable donation from the Rootstein Hopkins Foundation funded a chair, as well as a flexible catwalk and lecture facility. The Centre for Fashion Enterprise, whose alumni include Erdem Moralioglu and Jonathan Anderson, developed from fashion incubation units funded by the London Development Agency.

As the profile of the college’s teaching and research grew, we forged partnerships with industry, other universities, and the V&A, and were awarded significant Research Council funding.

A popular head of college, Sandra inspired great loyalty; she knew the names of all staff whatever their role and they felt they knew her. She understood the importance of developing people and built a team of dedicated colleagues who supported her in the transformation of LCF from a “technical” college to a leading international fashion institution with world-class research. In 2005 she was made OBE.

Born in Stockport during the second world war, Sandra was the youngest of five children of Elsie and Albert Dodgson. They lived in a two-up, two-down in Heaton Norris, and Albert worked in a nearby aircraft factory. Sandra attended Silverlands secondary school for girls in Buxton, Derbyshire, where she particularly enjoyed arts and crafts, and she went on to study at the Hollings Domestic Trades College in Manchester.

During the 1960s and early 70s she worked as a hairdresser, but also did product demonstrations for Wella in Manchester and taught part time at South Trafford College. She left Manchester for London with her partner, the sports journalist James Mossop, in 1975.

Sandra and Jim retired to Hale Barns, near Altrincham in Greater Manchester, and enjoyed an active social life. Jim survived Sandra by only a few weeks.