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Fashion Knitwear Design alumna named Young Designer of the Year at Midlands Fashion Awards

2018 graduate Charlotte Bull caught the eyes of the judges for her striking and sustainable knitwear collection

    Charlotte's collection at the #NTUCATWALK show
    Charlotte's collection on the #NTUCATWALK this summer

    A recent graduate from our BA (Hons) Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles course has been crowned Young Designer of the Year at the 2018 Midlands Fashion Awards. Charlotte Bull scooped one of the top awards at the annual event, which takes place in front of a panel of industry experts and members of the public at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall. The Midlands Fashion Awards exist as a platform for designers, stylists and photographers from the region to showcase their work on a large public scale.

    Charlotte’s collection, entitled Aesculapian, was created during her final year on the course at NTU. It takes the techniques of binding and stitching, coupled with a bright colour palette, to create a series of garments which challenge structure and knitwear construction. There are also references to contemporary Chinese shapes, and the collection was additionally created sustainably by knitting the pieces to shape, sponsored by Usha Yarns Ltd, a recycled yarn company.

    Prior to being named winner, Charlotte was interviewed, and her collection and portfolio assessed by the judges. This year’s judges including Andrew Riley, editor in chief of Style Birmingham, Jenny Eason, founder of the Midlands Fashion Awards, and Louisa Hackney, fashion stylist at Harvey Nicholls.

    Charlotte with her garments at the Midlands Fashion Awards
    Charlotte with her garments at the Midlands Fashion Awards

    As winner of the Young Designer of the Year award, Charlotte received a trophy, and will get £1000 worth of fabric, promotional support and mentoring opportunities from Midlands Fashion Awards partner Fashion Capital, in addition to the opportunity to work alongside the awards’ official media sponsor, Style Birmingham Magazine, on a fashion shoot at their studio.

    We caught up with Charlotte to discuss her award win. She told us:  "It was both a shock and honour to be chosen as Young Designer of the Year at the Midlands Fashion Awards, and to receive recognition for my graduate collection. It was also great to meet and see the high standards from other designers from across the region. Not knowing what to expect myself, I got to meet other industry creatives, and I would definitely recommend that future students enter this competition.”

    She added: “I always knew that I wanted to attend NTU, and loved my time studying there. I learnt the technicality and beauty of knitwear within my first two-years. This prepared me for my placement year, which I was honoured to spend at Tommy Hilfiger Europe, in Amsterdam, and Brixon Overseas Ltd, in Hong Kong. I’m very excited for the next step in my creative career and eager to get back to designing; I am soon to be starting my position at Kent Knitters, back in Hong Kong. They design knitwear and sportswear for brands across the globe.”

    Published on 14 November 2018
    • Subject area: Art and design
    • Category: Current students; NTU Arts; School of Art & Design