The British Fashion Council (BFC) today announces the winners of the BFC Colleges Council Graduate Preview Day Awards.
The ‘Fashion Monitor Colleges Portfolio Award’ in association with the BFC goes to Univeristy of Salford; The ‘WGSN Digital Presentation Award’ in association with the BFC goes to London College of Fashion; The ‘BFC Fashion Illustration Award’ in association with Fashion Monitor goes to De Montfort University.
The 27 exhibiting colleges submitted portfolios to be judged by a panel of industry experts. The judging panel, headed by Chair of the Colleges Council Anne Tyrrell, also included Hannah White, Editor of Fashion Monitor; Lauretta Roberts, Digital Development Director of WGSN; Nick Chalkley, General Merchandise Manager of Harrods and Caroline Burstein, Creative Director of Browns.
“It has been incredibly exciting to see representatives from such influential and important companies such as Harrods, Browns, Vogue Italia, Nicole Farhi, Selfridges, Vogue UK, Warehouse, Marks and Spencer, Max Mara, Maria Luisa, Aquascutum, Love Magazine, Another Magazine and Debenhams attending the preview day. The work on display is second to none and really showcases the amazing talent the UK colleges have to offer” said Anne Tyrrell, Chair of the Colleges Council.
Caroline Rush, Chief Executive of the British Fashion Council, said
“Graduate Preview Day is such an important day for both the colleges and the industry. It gives the design teams of our British retailers and designers a chance to see the talent which is entering the industry later in the year”.
University of Salford, winner of the Fashion Monitor Colleges Portfolio Award, will win two one year subscriptions for their best students to Fashion Monitor, the industry’s leading provider of contacts, news and events. The judging panel felt their entry demonstrated the best overall presentation of the students’ work. Hannah White, Fashion Monitor Editor, commented,
“This is the first year Fashion Monitor is supporting Graduate Preview Day and this award; it is really exciting and encouraging to see students being given such great exposure to the industry. Salford’s portfolio really stood out to the panel, it was detailed, professional and creative”.
The WGSN Digital Presentation Award recognises the increasing relevance of integrating fashion and technology. Won by London College of Fashion, the judging panel agreed they demonstrated the best use of a digital medium to reach new audiences and present their collections.
The winner of the BFC Fashion Illustration Award in association with Fashion Monitor, De Montfort Univeristy, will also win two one year subscriptions which will allow the graduating students access to key industry contacts, something which is invaluable for breaking into the industry.
Those highly commended for the Fashion Monitor College Portfolio Award were Edinburgh College of Art and Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication.
The BFC Colleges Council Graduate Preview Day is organised by the British Fashion Council to foster relationships between graduates and industry. The annual event brings together industry insiders from media, recruitment, retail, design, manufacturing, sales, marketing and PR to preview the work of graduating students who will be entering the job market later in the year. This year the Graduate Preview Day was held at The Mayfair Hotel.
For further information about the Colleges Council please visit www.britishfashioncouncil.com/collegescouncil
Image: The Judging Panel - Lauretta Roberts (WGSN), Nick Chalkley (Harrods), Anne Tyrrell, Caroline Burstein (Browns) & Hannah White (Fashion Monitor)