Final year fashion students from Northumbria University are celebrating creative success at the world’s largest showcase of up-and-coming fashion talent, Graduate Fashion Week in London.
This event is organized by Graduate Fashion Foundation and features final year fashion student collections at UK universities. They are given the exposure they require to start conversations with industry professionals, recruiters, buyers and stylists.
The four-day event took place at London’s Truman Brewery on Brick Lane from Monday 12ThThursday, 15Th In June, the soon-to be Northumbria 2023 graduates received a variety of accolades.
Aimee was a fashion student who specialized in womenswear and pattern cutting during her study. Aimee Mann’s key design was a dress that started life as a silk corset, but evolved into a stunning piece of hand-dyed chiffon.
“This garment was about elevating the female form and I’d describe it as ethereal and ghostly in a lot of ways,” said Aimee, whose ambition is to work in Milan or Paris one day on couture designs which stand out from the crowd. “For me, couture is the height of fashion and an art form all of its own, so I’d love to be able to do that in the future.”
Her innovative design work was recognized by the Creative Pattern Cutting Award.
Rebecca Frost’s garments for children impressed Graduate Fashion Week judges. These included an embroidered jacket and dress with screen-printed designs, as well as a detachable jacket.
The Fashion Design and Marketing student said: “It was an absolute honour to win the Childrenswear Award after such a brilliant opportunity to be seen and to present my work and portfolio to the judges.
“My collection is inspired by the childlike joy found in the little things in life. Old stamps or badges are often collected by children. That’s the thinking behind the prints I used and I’m really proud of the feedback I received.”
In the fashion world, sustainability is an important topic. Sometimes, occasion wear clothes are bought only for a special event and then never used again. Amy Clunes from Northumbria’s Fashion programme set out to challenge that with her collection based around upcycling deadstock to create unique looks which can be worn repeatedly.
“For one of my favourite looks I took an old wedding dress a repurposed it as an evening wear top with a train, which I paired with some tailored trousers with cut out stars and pointed edges,” explained Amy. “I enjoy that juxtaposition because of the play on what we traditionally see as masculine and feminine pieces of clothing.”
She was awarded the Hilary Alexander Sustainable Trailblazer Award for her efforts and began discussions with brands whose representatives were present at Graduate Fashion Week about paid opportunities.
Meg Fletcher, a Fashion student at Northumbria University, was named the winner of Northumbria’s Catwalk show and Fashion presentation Award. Kira Banks, a fellow Fashion student, was awarded the title of Highly Commended.
Kira was also selected by expert judges from the industry as one of the winners of the Kornit Printed Textiles Competition for her outerwear garments featuring a striking print she calls the ‘Future of Antarctica’. Kira, one of the eight designers chosen by Kornit (a company offering digital printing technologies to garment and textile manufacturers), was flown to Dusseldorf in Germany to watch her designs being brought to life.
Amy, Meg, and Kira also had garments on display at the Best of Show Catwalk that closed Graduate Fashion Week Thursday night.
The shortlist included 20 Northumbria University students. These students were:
- Digital Fashion Award – Lucy Fletcher (Fashion Communication)
- Fashion Communication Portfolio Award – Storm Walker and Anna Jeffries (Fashion Communication)
- Fashion Moving Image Award – Lucy Fletcher (Fashion Communication)
- Fashion Styling and Creative Direction Award – Adam Raitr (Fashion Communication)
- New Business Award – Lulu Nabridnyj (Fashion Communication)
- Footwear Award – Meg Fletcher and Holly Haughin (Fashion)
- Accessories Award supported by YKK – Meg Fletcher and Holly Haughin (Fashion)
- Hilary Alexander Sustainable Trailblazer Award – Amy Clunes (Fashion) and Julia Marzec (Fashion Design and Marketing)
- Considered Fashion Award – Amy Clunes (Fashion)
- Creative Pattern Cutting Award – Aimee Mann (Fashion)
- Sportswear and Leisurewear Award supported by Gymshark – Kira Banks (Fashion) and Anna Wright (Fashion Design and Marketing)
- Childrenswear Award – Rebecca Frost (Fashion Design and Marketing)
- Fashion Portfolio Award – Olivia Gomez De Zamora and Lauren Lansbury (Fashion Design and Marketing)
- Fashion Innovation Award – Julia Marzec (Fashion Design and Marketing)
Once back from London, the Graduate Fashion Week showcase by Northumbria students was recreated for visitors, industry professionals and family members as part of the REVEAL graduate degree shows held every year at the University’s Newcastle City Campus.
Head of Fashion at Northumbria, Professor Anne Peirson-Smith, said: “This year’s Graduate Fashion Week was another amazing showcase of Northumbria talent and one that our students, academic and technical staff can be exceptionally proud of. I was really left in awe by the creativity and skill represented in all of the students’ garments and portfolios on display. We choreographed a catwalk with a twist, using a cross-formational runway that allowed us to see the entire collection in a 360° way.
“Recognition on a national level, thanks to events such as Graduate Fashion Week, is the best way for our fashion students at Northumbria to stand out from crowd as they take the next steps on their chosen career path or towards furthering their studies.”
Northumbria’s Fashion programs are world-renowned for producing graduates that are innovative and ready to enter the fashion industry. Northumbria School of Design ranked 11th nationally according to Guardian University Guide 2020, and Art and Design at Northumbria ranked fourth in the UK when it comes to research power according to Research Excellence Framework results 2021.
Northumbria offers a variety of fashion studies. Visit northumbria.ac.uk for more information.