NTU introduces a brand new Graduation gown
Published: 15/04/2024
If you’re graduating this year, you’ll become one of the very first people to wear one of NTU’s brand-new ceremonial gowns and hoods.
Current NTU fashion students were invited to take part in a competition to create a distinctive new look – with a brief to reflect the University's brand with unique details and components. Our existing Graduation gowns have been in place since 1990 and consist of 24 academic dress designs in the University's previous brand colours.
The winning design came from Georgia Stevenson, who is completing her MA in Fashion and Creative Pattern Cutting. Working closely with NTU’s gown supplier Graduation Attire, Georgia spent many months bringing her concept to life. She also won £500 in the process.
Georgia’s hood design took inspiration from the angles of the Arkwright building – something she noticed was a key feature in many Graduation photos. Another new feature is NTU’s coat of arms, which is now presented in our signature pink colour.
The new gowns have impressive sustainability credentials – each one is made using 30 post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. The hood is created from cuts and folds to a single rectangle, resulting in minimal fabric waste during production.
Comfort is also a key feature, with the new gown showcasing a more angular design without a neckband or button hole. So it’s gender-neutral, won’t slip back or impact on what you choose to wear underneath.
When I heard about the competition I thought it was an amazing opportunity, as I have not heard of many universities redesigning their academic dress before.
I knew I wanted to design something completely unique and very different. After speaking to previous NTU students on my MA course and seeing their Graduation photos, I realised that the Arkwright building was a major backdrop behind everyone’s photos, which inspired me.
I was also inspired by NTU’s strong sustainability values. The University really drives and inspires us all to work in more sustainable ways and this was something I wanted the new academic dress to reflect. I have achieved this by creating the hood from a rectangle piece of fabric leading to a very minimal waste design.
It has been great to win the competition and work alongside the fantastic team at Graduation Attire to develop the chosen design into an outcome ready for production. They invited me down to their office in Bedford where we spent the day problem-solving and finalising details on the hood and I learned so much more about academic dress itself. I want to say a huge thank you to NTU and Graduation Attire for this amazing opportunity.
Georgia Stevenson
I’m very pleased we’ve been able to utilise our students’ considerable talents in updating our academic dress. Georgia’s redesign is innovative, unique and sustainability-focused, reflecting our goals as a University of the future. I’m looking forward to seeing our new gowns in situ at the ceremonies in July.
Vice-Chancellor, Edward Peck
If you’re graduating in July 2024, Gowning is open now.
Take a look at the new gown designs below.