Prestigious fashion designer, Robert Cary-Williams, was part of the University of Northampton’s judging panel to decide which students will showcase their final year collection on the Catwalk at this year’s Graduate Fashion Week.

A graduate of Central Saint Martin’s School of Art and Design in London and a contemporary of Alexander McQueen, Robert set up his own label in 1998 and within a year had already won the British Fashion Council’s New Generation Award. He has been dubbed the UK’s most challenging and innovative fashion designer and has produced some very conceptual clothing and catwalk shows.

Robert was invited to join the judging panel formed by the University’s Fashion department on Tuesday 5 May, which resulted in 15 students from across all fashion pathways being selected for the University’s Catwalk Show. The students submitted their final year collections and were judged on a number of criteria, such as creativity, technical excellence and individuality.

The successful students are:

  • Robyn Lockton – Fashion BA (Hons)
  • Nyoka Francis – Fashion (Textiles for Fashion) BA (Hons)
  • Izabela Mundzik –  Fashion BA (Hons)
  • Ngoni Chikwenengere – Fashion BA (Hons)
  • Martha Adams – Fashion (Textiles for Fashion) BA (Hons)
  • Salwa Mohamed – Fashion BA (Hons)
  • Harriet King – Fashion (Textiles for Fashion) BA (Hons)
  • Paige Alexander – Fashion (Textiles for Fashion) BA (Hons)
  • Freddie Beeb – Fashion BA (Hons)
  • Rebekka Johnson – Fashion (Textiles for Fashion) BA (Hons)
  • Herjot Garcha – Fashion BA (Hons)
  • Sophie Parke –  Fashion BA (Hons)
  • Naomi Leslie – Fashion (Textiles for Fashion) BA (Hons)
  • Daniyal Khan – Fashion (Footwear and Accessories) BA (Hons)
  • Ashleigh Wise – Fashion (Textiles for Fashion) BA (Hons)

Dr Julie King, Head of Fashion at the University of Northampton, commented: “We value Robert’s input enormously, as having someone of his experience working with the students adds a further dimension to our Graduate Fashion Week Catwalk preparations.”

Graduate Fashion Week has been firmly established as the world’s leading event for fashion graduates and this year takes place between Saturday 30 May and Tuesday 2 June at the Truman Brewery in Shoreditch. The University of Northampton’s Catwalk Show takes place on Monday 1 June at 3:30pm.

Find out more about Graduate Fashion Week

  • At the University of Northampton, we offer our students more than just a good degree; we blend academic and vocational skills with ‘real world’ industry experience and are ranked a top 50 University in the Guardian University league table two years in a row (2014 and 2015).
  • We were the first UK University to be awarded the Ashoka U ‘Changemaker Campus’ status, in recognition of our commitment to Social Entrepreneurship.
  • The 2014 National Student Survey (NSS) figures reveal that the University of Northampton’s overall student satisfaction rate is 89%, which places us three percentage points above the sector average of 86% for Higher Education institutions in the UK.
  • 96% of our graduates are employed or completing further studies within six months of graduating.*

*Source: HESA Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) Survey 2012/13. July 2014, compared to full HEI’s for full time study first undergraduate degree leavers.  (96% for the last three years)