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Success for NTU Fashion students at Graduate Fashion Week 2019

Fashion Knitwear Design student Michaella Knight scooped the Tu Sainsbury’s Scholarship, whilst many other NTU students were shortlisted for top awards

    Michaella with the Tu judges and GFW Global Ambassador Caryn Franklin MBE
    Michaella with the Tu judges and Graduate Fashion Week Global Ambassador, Caryn Franklin MBE

    2019 has been another successful year for NTU Fashion, Knitwear and Accessory Design, and Fashion Management, Marketing and Communication students at Graduate Fashion Week, an annual event taking over London’s Old Truman Brewery. As the world’s largest showcase of undergraduate fashion talent, over its 28 year history the charity has helped more than 100,000 undergraduate students to get the best start possible as they embark on their careers in the fashion industry.

    This year Graduate Fashion Week was attended by hundreds of industry professionals, VIPS and influencers, all on the lookout for the next wave of talent.

    BA (Hons) Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles student Michaella Knight won the prestigious Tu Sainsbury’s Scholarship, one of the most competitive awards at the event, for her vibrant knitted childrenswear collection. This year the 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.

    Michaella's portfolio
    Michaella's portfolio

    Michaella will embark on a one year paid placement at Tu, where she will receive expert mentoring. She will also get the chance to travel to India for a month, to experience the garment production process. The placement will culminate in the development of her final year collection into a commercial range that will be available in Tu stores nationwide.

    Michaella told us: “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!”

    Savannah Smith, BA (Hons) Fashion Design 2019
    Savannah Smith, BA (Hons) Fashion Design 2019

    Meanwhile, menswear collections by BA (Hons) Fashion Design students Savannah Smith and Kerstyn Xin Zhao were selected for the Graduate Fashion Week Gala Show, representing the strongest collections from across all participating universities, as decided by the Graduate Fashion Week judging panel. Savannah’s collection even caught the eye of Influencer Megan Ellaby, who featured the collection in her social media coverage.

    Savannah told us: "It was really exciting to be selected for Graduate Fashion Week, so to make it into the gala show was an honour! I’ve really enjoyed being able to showcase my collection and portfolio during the gala show, and I was able to meet new industry contacts and received helpful feedback from them."

    Evie Ashwin, BA (Hons) Fashion Design 2019
    Evie Ashwin, BA (Hons) Fashion Design 2019

    BA (Hons) Fashion Design student Evie Ashwin’s adaptive menswear collection, 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 a number of students were shortlisted for prestigious awards, demonstrating their strength of skill and talent. 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.  BA (Hons) Fashion Accessory Design student Nicholas Lewis was also shortlisted for the YKK Accessories Award.

    Students being interviewed on the NTU stand at Graduate Fashion Week
    NTU students being interviewed by the press

    Professor Amanda Briggs-Goode, Head of Fashion, Textiles and Knitwear Design at NTU, commented: “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 industry."

    She added: "There are people from both global and UK-based companies, looking for graduates and looking to give them opportunities.”

    Published on 6 June 2019
    • Subject area: Art and design
    • Category: Current students; School of Art & Design