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Success for NTU Fashion student at Graduate Fashion Week 2019

A fashion student at Nottingham Trent University scooped a top award at Graduate Fashion Week.

People holding an award
Michaella Knight won the Tu Sainsbury’s Scholarship
Michaella (centre left) at Graduate Fashion Week 2019

A fashion student at Nottingham Trent University scooped a top award at Graduate Fashion Week.

Fashion Knitwear Design undergraduate Michaella Knight won the Tu Sainsbury’s Scholarship for her vibrant knitted childrenswear collection.

The 22-year-old will now embark on a one year paid placement at Tu, where she will receive expert mentoring and develop her final year collection into a range that will be available to buy in Tu stores nationwide.

Michaella, from Northampton, said: “It’s an amazing opportunity and I really didn’t expect to win, as there were so many other amazing people that applied. I’m still in shock that I won, but I’m so happy!”

Her award was judged by Toni Salters-Warner, Womenswear Designer at Tu, Aimi Williams-Smith, Menswear and Childrenswear Design Manager at Tu, along with design duo Catherine Teatum and Rob Jones, and designer twins Tamara and Natasha from Tata Naka.

Children at fashion show

Many other NTU students were also shortlisted for top awards at Graduate Fashion Week.

Menswear collections by BA (Hons) Fashion Design students Savannah Smith and Kerstyn Xin Zhao were selected for the Gala Show, representing the strongest collections from across all participating universities, as decided by the Graduate Fashion Week judging panel.

BA (Hons) Fashion Design student Evie Ashwin’s adaptive menswear collection for disabled people - one of the collections selected to feature in NTU’s Graduate Fashion Week catwalk show - was celebrated for its inclusivity and positive challenging of the current high street prioritisation of able-bodied customers.

Elsewhere, BA (Hons) Fashion Design student Molly Cheeseman was a finalist in the Considered Design Award Powered by Farfetch, for her fashion product project Up_Keep, a brand aiming to promote garment longevity.

Professor Amanda Briggs-Goode, Head of Fashion, Textiles and Knitwear Design at Nottingham Trent University, said: “There are people at Graduate Fashion Week, from both global and UK-based companies, who are looking for graduates to give them opportunities.

“It’s really important for our students to be at Graduate Fashion Week, to experience the ambiance and atmosphere, and to have the opportunity to talk to future employers and learn more about the industry they want to go in.”

  • Notes for editors

    Press enquiries please contact Chris Birkle, Public Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 2310, or via email.

    Nottingham Trent University (NTU) was named University of the Year 2019 in the Guardian University Awards. The award was based on performance and improvement in the Guardian University Guide, retention of students from low-participation areas and attainment of BME students. NTU was also the Times Higher Education University of the Year 2017, and The Times and Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2018. These awards recognise NTU for its high levels of student satisfaction, its quality of teaching, its engagement with employers, and its overall student experience.

    The university has been rated Gold in the Government’s Teaching Excellence Framework – the highest ranking available.

    It is one of the largest UK universities. With nearly 32,000 students and more than 4,000 staff located across four campuses, the University contributes £900m to the UK economy every year. With an international student population of more than 3,000 from around 100 countries, the University prides itself on its global outlook.

    The university is passionate about creating opportunities and its extensive outreach programme is designed to enable NTU to be a vehicle for social mobility. NTU is among the UK’s top five recruiters of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. A total of 82% of its graduates go on to graduate entry employment or graduate entry education or training within six months of leaving. Student satisfaction is high: NTU achieved an 88% satisfaction score in the 2018 National Student Survey.

    NTU is also one of the UK’s most environmentally friendly universities, containing some of the sector’s most inspiring and efficient award-winning buildings.

    NTU is home to world-class research, and won The Queen’s Anniversary Prize in 2015 – the highest national honour for a UK university. It recognised the University’s pioneering projects to improve weapons and explosives detection in luggage; enable safer production of powdered infant formula; and combat food fraud.

Published on 12 June 2019
  • Category: Press office