As Graduate Fashion Week 2018 comes to a close, the winners of this year’s Gala Awards are announced, celebrating the Talent of Tomorrow with stars such as Rebecca Wilson, Aurélie Fontan and Evelyn Babin. Judges included Diane Von Furstenberg heading up the Gold Award, Oliver Spencer and Henry Holland with the awards taking place at the home of Graduate Fashion Week, The Truman Brewery in Shoreditch, London.
Professor Caryn Franklin MBE opened the award ceremony with a personal message from Prime Minister Theresa May, offering her support and well wishes to all students and universities involved, which read:
“I wanted to wish you every success for your Gala show, and to congratulate the winners of tonight’s awards.
I am very proud of the UK’s fashion industry. From street style to haute couture, some of the most iconic brands and biggest names in the business hail from the UK.
We are leaders in design, innovation, textiles, and our fashion colleges and universities are among the very best in the world. The sector contributes over £28 billion pounds to the UK economy, supports nearly 900,000 jobs and exports over £10 billion pounds to international markets.
The charity, Graduate Fashion Week, plays such an important role in the process of identifying and nurturing the very best of new talent at this crucial stage in their careers, helping ensure the next generation of gifted individuals can go on to secure leading roles in the industry.
I look forward to hearing about the winners and wish them every success for the future.”
Now in its 27th year, Graduate Fashion Week brings the latest innovative and exciting emerging talent to the world’s attention, showcasing the designers of tomorrow in a four-day event. Supported by 16 Global Ambassadors and six Lifetime Patrons including: Christopher Bailey MBE, Victoria Beckham OBE, Vivienne Westwood OBE RBI, Nick Knight OBE and newly appointed Diane Von Furstenberg and Nadja Swarovski.
The prestigious Christopher Bailey Gold Award, named after the first winner of the award in 1992, Christopher Bailey, was awarded to Rebecca Wilson (Arts University Bournemouth) for her menswear, womenswear and childrenswear collection. Judges for the award included Diane Von Furstenberg, Nathan Jenden, Christopher Raeburn and Fabio Piras.
Diane Von Furstenberg said, “Fantastic! I was really impressed, an incredibly forceful collection.”
Winner Rebecca Wilson said, “I feel ecstatic, can’t believe it, what an incredible award to win. My collection is inspired by Victorian working-class clothing and Victorian family portraits looking at the beauty in the wear and tear of garments.”
The Clarks Footwear Award was awarded to Charles Mein (Arts University of Bournemouth) (featured image) which was a completely unanimous vote. Judges for the award included Lisa Chatterton, Dan Bisson, Rosie McKissock and Jason Beckley.
Winner Charles Mein said, “I’m very happy about it, I didn’t expect it and I can’t wait to start.”
The Debenhams Menswear Award was presented to Hannah Gibbons (University of Brighton) for her product development and textile design to dying and the creation of all of the textures, Hannah was said to truly understand her customer and the judges understood her customer as well. Judges included Steven Cook, Alistair Waite, Jim Chapman, Sam Carder.
Winner Hannah Gibbons said, “Amazing, it’s so nice to be working on something for years and to have received such a great response to it.”
M&S Womenswear Award was presented to Aurelie Fontan (Edinburgh College of Art) for the delivery which was incredible and it was really fashion meet science. Judges included Belinda Earl, Queralt Ferrer and Tania Littlehales.
The Visionary Knitwear Award was presented to Fraser Miller (De Montfort University) and Jacaranda Brain (Nottingham Trent University) as the judges were so impressed by the different approaches of the students, they thought they both deserved the visionary title in their own way. Judges included Adele Cany, Louise Trotter, Iain R. Webb and Julien Macdonald OBE and Gemma Metheringham.
Fraser Miller said, “Really excited confused that we both won but that’s a great turn out love how it turned out!”
Jacaranda Brain said, “Really happy, really nice to have won a collection based on a weird little creature under the sea that I based a sculpture on.”
The Catwalk Textiles Award went to Aurelie Fontan (Edinburgh College of Art). The judges were surprised that nearly every student has some interest in textile manipulation and thought the collections were great as fashion collections as students used lots of colour. We particularly like Aurelie’s collection, as she showed real passion. Judges included Polly Lennard, Lizzy Bowring and Nigel Luck.
Winner Aurelie Fontan said, “Very excited, I can’t believe I’ve won.”
The Hilary Alexander Trailblazer Award sponsored by Swarovski has gone to Evelyne Babin (University for the Creative Arts Epsom) for the social message that she gave. Judges included Hilary Alexander, Richard Quinn, Pam Hogg, Dilaria Findikoglu, Daniel Lismore, and Myriam Coudoux.
The George Catwalk to Store Award went to Louise Clarke (Manchester School of Art) for her desire to inspire others. Judges included Mary-Kate Campbell, Tracey Lea Sawyer and Zahra Rose.
The Bonmarché Fashion For All Award went to Bethany Wainwright (University of Central Lancashire). Judges included Mark Heyes, Paula Moore, Geraldine Higgins, Helen Connolly and Adrian Marter.
Winner Bethany Wainwright said, “Feeling nervous relieved and shocked! It’s all about Nude underwear for all different skin colours and sizes, celebrating women and what we stand for.”
The Mothercare Childrenswear Award went to Sarah Fielden (Arts University of Bournemouth) and the Mothercare Catwalk Award went to Hannah Lewin (Birmingham City University). Judges included Suzanne Bailey, Noella Dixon, Jenny Titchmarsh of Mothercare and Charlotte Kewley.
Winner Sarah Fielden said, “I’m freaking out. My heart is racing – It’s such an honour to even be shortlisted.”
Winner Hannah Lewin said, “I’m so happy and I’m so excited.”
The TU at Sainsbury’s Womenswear Scholarship went to Jennifer Healy (Manchester School of Art). Judges included Catherine Teatum, Rob Jones, James Brown, Toni Salters-Warner, Hannah Mallett and Caroline Leaper.
Winner Jennifer Healy said, “Feeling overwhelmed, I didn’t expect it at all, 60 kitsch and abstract art inspired.”
The Tu at Sainsbury’s Menswear Scholarship was awarded to Molly Hopwood (University of Leeds). Judges included Oliver Spencer, Rebecca Hitchings, Aimi Williams Smith, Seth Harrington.
Winner Molly Hopwood said, “I’m shaking, I’m really happy. My collection was based on denim and sustainability.”
Judge Oliver Spencer said, “The collection is sustainable and that’s something I’m very interested in at the moment, I like the way she used vintage pieces to make new pieces, I like that whole element I think it’s something that could fit in very well with what Sainsbury’s and TU are up to at the moment.”
The Boohoo Social Media Award went to Alicia Brown (Leeds Arts University). Judged by Ellie Kelsall and Sam Marvin.
Winner Alicia Brown said, “I designed four t-shirts, creating slogans that every girl can relate to. Slogan t-shirts are huge at the minute. Feeling amazing about winning the award I’m still shaky I’m so happy.”
ASOS Future Communications Award was awarded to Jamie Windust (University for the Creative Arts Epsom) while the Future Talent Design Award went to Charlotte Heley (University of Leeds). Judges included Aisling McKeefry, Steven Andrews, Nick Eley, James Lawrence, Dean Francolini, Hayley Kell, Zoe Burrows, Morgan Allen – Oliver, Claire Downes, Lea Zana, Sarah McGreevy and Maggie Wilde.
Winner Jamie Windust, “Feeling good and very happy, it’s been a lot of hard work and it’s a very personal project. Although as LGBT people we don’t need mass market validation it’s always nice to have that, as I think people like me going into things like this thinking I’m not going to win, as it’s a fairly niche project so to have that validity from a company like ASOS.”
Boux Avenue Swimwear Award went to Lucy Nolan (Northumbira University) while the Lingerie Award was awarded to Daniella Jayes (De Montfort University). Judges included Sue Dover, Debby Duckett, Alex Paphitis.
Winner Lucy Nolan said, “Ecstatic I think I’m speechless for the first time in my entire life! With my collection it was all Japanese inspired, sushi inspired, so I’ve made a six-piece collection of swimwear with all screen prints.”
Dame Vivienne Westwood Sustainable and Ethical Award Sponsored by LEVIS went to Aurelie Fontan (Edinburgh College of Art) Judged by Elizabeth Radcliffe and Maria Bertram.
Winner Aurelie Fontan said, “My collection is very intricate, I grew my own textile for one of the pieces, so I grew my own dress, and I really think they saw the effort which went into this collection, I really tried to master the materials I was using, raw and recycled materials, and I put in place different design strategies that are actually applicable to the industry, so it’s not just up-cycling it’s design for disassembly, and a lot of work on the materials, I have basically done by scratch.”
David Band Textiles was awarded to Marta Kazmierczak (Edinburgh College of Art). Judged by Veronica Potocko, Clare Johnston, Emma Cook and Davinder Madaher.
Winner Marta Kazmierczak was excited and thrilled peopled had understood her futuristic collection.
Drapers Publication Award was given to Emma Dearling (Arts University Bournemouth). Judged by Cecilie Harris, Maurice Mullen, Keely Stocker and Emily Sutherland.
Fashion Marketing was awarded to Daisy Ratcliff (Northumbira University). Judged by Hannah Freeman, Charlotte Pennington, Charlotte Forsyth and Kate Thompson.
Winner Daisy Ratcliff said, “My inspiration came from my 6 sisters, we all had the same issue it was the first bra, so I made a brand behind that, it was creating products but also creating a community.”
size? Fashion Photography Award was awarded to Natalie Campbell (Heriot-Watt University). Judged by Dave Bennett, Rebekah Roy, Paulina Otylie Surys and Luke Matthews.
Winner Natalie Campbell said, “I can’t believe it, still hasn’t sunk in! I wanted to focus on re-touching, I think it gets quite a lot of bad press within photography, but I wanted to highlight it as creative entity and look at the good aspects of it.”
Fashion Styling & Creative Direction was awarded to India Wright (Leeds Arts University). Judged by Rose Forbe, Phoebe Lettice and Amy Bannerman.
Winner India Wright said, “Very shocked, I didn’t think I would win, it’s amazing! I was looking at how image making push the boundaries of masculinity, I was inspired by A2s and A2 songs, so I made a collection of vinyl’s and collectors books.”
New Business Award was awarded to Sebastian Collinge (Manchester Metropolitan University). Judges included Jonathan Heaf, Suzannah Ramsdale, Jan Miller and Grant Morris.
Winner Sebastian Collinge said, “I was on placement in Amsterdam at Calvin Klein, when the idea for the business arose. I came back in September, being able to work on it in Amsterdam, and the business idea went from there. Looking at the sustainable stand point, re-educating the consumer, how to look after their clothing, and products they can buy to help prolong the life of their favourite pieces. I would say it’s born in Amsterdam and raised in Manchester.”
The Superdry Outerwear Award was given to Helena Green (Liverpool John Moores University). Judged by Siri Mac Donald, Todd Lynn and Jamie Wei Huang.
Winner Helen Green said, “Feeling really overwhelmed! I can’t explain it any other way.”
The Stand Award was awarded to Edinburgh College of Art who’s concept was sustainability, using recycled plastics and ensuring the whole stand was reusable. For example, the plants on the stand, will be rehomed in the Royal Edinburgh Hospital Community Gardens. Judged by Julianne Lavery, Rob Armour, and Sophie Quiling.
Edinburgh College of Art said, “We feel fantastic and we’re thrilled to have won.”
YKK Accessories Award was given to Essi Pekhuri from Nottingham Trent University. Judged by Kei Kagami, Jas Sehembi, Tomasz Donocik, Oliver Ruuger
Essi Pekhuri said, “I feel amazing, I’m stunned. Such an honour!”
Tessuti Sports & Leisurewear Award was given to Georgia Lyne from Nottingham Trent University for her collection inspired by youth culture combined with the old teenage gang of old teddy boys mashed up with the road men of London today. Judged by Ghulam Nabil Khadki and Claire Pierpoint.
Georgia Lyne said, “I’m really shocked. I wasn’t even going to come as I was running so late. I had to run here!”
GAP Inc. Best Catwalk Show Award was awarded to Edinburgh College of Art. Judged by Kim Giangiuli, Dennic Lo, Volker Kettensis, Tony Glenville, Anna Clarke and Mary Kate Campbell.
Mal Birkinshaw of Edinburgh College of Art said, “It’s incredible being involved in Graduate Fashion Week as it really helps raise the profile of our students. Sometimes it can feel like we’re out of the fashion hub being based in Scotland so coming down here is everything and getting our students noticed and having our show recognised in this way is incredible!”
New Fashion Media Award was awarded to Rebecca Howland from Birmingham City University for her work which focused on sexualisation within the media. Judged by Scarlett Conlon, Chimere Cisse, Victoria Magrath, Lune Kuipers and Patrick Morgan.
Rebecca Howland said, “I’m so shocked, I’m shaking!”
ABOUT GRADUATE FASHION WEEK
Graduate Fashion Week is a charitable organisation which supports the largest showcase of BA fashion in the world with over 60+ of the most influential and inspiring UK and international universities and colleges on show. A fantastic opportunity to see the freshest talent in fashion illustration, photography, design and communications.
The annual event, held every June attracts 30,000 guests, features 25 catwalk shows and exhibition stands, alongside a packed schedule of talks and workshops from leading names in the fashion and retail industry. It represents the future of creative design talent and showcases the work of 1000’s of the very best fashion graduates. Each year the event attracts wide array of top industry professionals and recruiters from UK and abroad who use this opportunity to spot as well as offer exciting graduate employment and placements opportunities.
Our annual event ends with star studded and highly prestigious, exclusive Gala Awards Show, announcing our catwalk award winners as well as celebrating the success of every graduate of that year.
An unrivalled platform for the promotion of new talent, Graduate Fashion Week bridges the gap between graduation and employment and is responsible for launching the careers of some of the most successful designers of our time including Christopher Bailey MBE, who was the winner of the first ever Gold Award, Stella McCartney, Giles Deacon, Matthew Williamson and Julien Macdonald.
A charity organisation founded in 1991 by Jeff Banks CBE, Vanessa Denza MBE and John Walford to unify both the UK and international universities and create a stronghold for the creative industries. Graduate Fashion Week celebrates 27 years of being one of the world’s most important sources of the new talent for the global designer industry. A crucial part of the dynamic fashion industry, fuelling innovation in all parts of the fashion business.
