Northumbria students show off work to fashion legend

Stylish designs by Northumbria’s Fashion students recently hit the catwalk in front of US Vogue editor Anna Wintour at the Northern Youth Fashion Show.

The show, produced by HARD Magazine in collaboration with Blackbox, was held in York recently in aid of the refugee crisis. It was an opportunity for students to showcase their talent and innovative clothing alongside the work of regional designers. Among those attending the fashion show was Anna Wintour, one of the most powerful women in fashion and the subject of Hollywood film The Devil Wears Prada. She was introduced at the event by Katherine Viner, the first female editor in chief of The Guardian.

Northumbria Fashion Design student Hannah Williamson was one of the 12 students to have designs featured in the Northern Youth Fashion Show.

She said “It is a great privilege to have my garment featured at the show. Myself and 11 other 2^nd Year Fashion Design students have been given this opportunity to further celebrate our hard work alongside several other northern universities and colleges. It is always highly satisfying to see your work beyond the sewing/ pattern cutting rooms. Even more so to know that Anna Wintour attended the event – an extremely well respected member of the fashion industry.”

The fashion show followed a recent live project the students worked on with retailer Urban Outfitters, whose Head of Womenswear Design, Lizzie Dawson, and Senior Designer, Bekki Gregory, are both Northumbria alumni.

Hannah added: “The garments that were chosen were initially the products of a recent live project we did with Urban Outfitters, another good experience. Our research and designs were focused around the brand and its aesthetic as well as thinking of fresh ideas.”

“From our designs we chose one to manufacture. These were then put together into a catwalk show at the end of the project,” she continued. “We were also lucky enough to have two members of the Urban Outfitters team from London come to the show and give us some feedback. Experiences like these, that Northumbria has enabled us to be a part of, are invaluable to students. They allow our work to have more life and purpose as well as keep us inspired to push ourselves even further.”

Northumbria offers a range of Fashion courses with graduates going on to work for a wide range of global brands such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, Givenchy and many more. Last year, Northumbria also celebrated 60 years of teaching fashion at the University.

To find out more about studying Fashion at Northumbria visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/fashion