First Prize Winner

BA (hons) Fashion Design, Glasgow – Graduate

My aim is to start my own business and learn as much as I can, regards becoming a high fashion designer who will also work with natural materials such as real fur, leather and silks.

My goal is to be an ethical and responsible designer.

My collections are very creative, yet wearable and I love to play with panels, colours and step out of my comfort zone.

I get inspired by everything, from biological to emotional, from metallic to imaginative and I have never ending ideas.

 

 

Second Prize Winner

Eliza is a second year BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Textile student at  University of Huddersfield

‘Since I was a little girl I always wanted to become a fashion designer.’

‘For me fur is an ultimate luxury product. Love for fur comes from my culture, but beyond that I think it’s everyone desire to achieve luxury in life and for me fur represents the ultimate luxury item in fashion.’

 

 

Third Prize

Mwewa is a 2nd year BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Textiles student at University of Huddersfield.

‘I like the idea of working with fur because it has such beauty that represents each animal’s uniqueness and I want to celebrate that. Also because it has a sense of comfort due the variety of textures that come with the type of fabric.

My future aim is to have my own brand that involves me to be creative with everyday day pieces and combining textures. At the same time, being sustainable by reusing old garments that are not needed and transforming them into something new and different.’

First Prize Winner

 

Gabriela is a final year BA (Hons) Fashion student at University for the Creative Arts, Rochester.

 

As an artist and menswear designer with my work I am always aiming to touch current world issues to bring awareness about it to the modern world societies trapped in the bubble of a perfect world in the matrix of their social media. To send the message to the people who may not have thought about it or have heard of it but chose to ignore. Therefore, my capsule collection ‘Welcome to the desert of real’ for the BFTA competition’18 was build around constant war condition in Afghanistan.

The final design was created taking inspiration from both Afghan men daily clothes and uniforms of American soldiers. Even though, the climate in Afghanistan is really warm, winters may be bitterly cold and due to poverty and the lack of warm clothes people are suffering from cold wrapping themselves in layers of thin cloths. The final coat with the mixture of earth-toned colours, textured print looking fabric, soft furs, metal fastenings and elastic drawstring cords is meant to represent the clash of harsh world and softness of the will to have a peaceful life. It is hoped to be worn by a confident, thoughtful, intelligent, calm and rational man willing to make a difference, to make a change in this world.

Second Prize Winner

 

Tasmin is a final year BA (Hons) Fashion student at Manchester Metropolitan University.

 

From studying textiles since early education, I have taken an artistic approach to designing this collection; plié punk. In which delicate yet disciplined ballet meets with a dark, rebellious punk. People perceive ballet as extremely pretty and feminine, yet this collection takes inspiration from the fact that ballerinas endure pain and their talent requires strength and hard work. Photography book “Rock star chic” along with the exhibition by Anthony Crickmay and street style has heavily influenced the concept. This juxtaposition of themes has been developed through detailed sampling and fashion styling. The collection embraces a range of fabrics such as chiffon, crepe-back satin, rabbit and fox fur, leather and hardware. Feminine silhouettes are key with subtle hints of street punk, introduced through non-tradition garment hardware. Elements of ballet underline the collection, along with staple fashion items.

 

 

Third Prize Winner

Eliza is a first year BA (Hons) Fashion student at Huddersfield University

 

“Well, the first time I ever hear of this competition I was hesitating at first, as I wasn’t sure how my family, friends and university colleges will react and it’s all for a simple reason, which is not enough knowledge about fur and the fur industry. On the top of this I was also concerned as at the end of the day I am only a first year student and there will be students way better then me, way more experienced then me as they final year students or other individuals who are potentially doing their master. So I reached out to my tutor and some of my friends for advice, but I ended up following my own heart.

 

 I had a feeling inside me deep within and I just flow with it. My motivation and inspiration was to show people, even the whole world that this is not a bad thing. This is an amazing and exciting industry, where when you work with fur it’s like watching a butterfly to form. It’s not about animal cruelty, it’s the opposite. It’s about animal welfare. Back in my own history when Attila the Hun was conquering Europe, they were using fur and leather as secondary product from hunting so they can survive.

 

My main inspiration was Attila the Hun. I wanted to design high end outfits which inspired, influenced by my own history.

My focus group was the middle aged, professional and successful women, who can do what ever she wants, whenever she wants. She is sexy, successful and rich with an outstanding , unique but very feminine taste. 

 

 

 

 

Special Recognition Award

Mollie is a final year BA (Hons) Fashion student at University of Lincoln.

 

First Prize Winner Glen Warren Mafham

 

BA HONS- GRADUATE FROM LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY

CURRENTLY- Junior Menswear Designer After Graduation, EXPLORING THE ETHOS OF THE FASHION INDSUTRY.

CONTEXT: THE LIME CORDIAL

‘My collection focus was based around the word Nocturne, its a vivid trend exploring darkness that each one of us perceives, I wanted to explore with menswear and give it its own diversity the context of Nocturne is NIGHT the vivid tones showing through, nocturne encompasses the acceptance of all forms dark, such as sleep, death and bitterness.  The overall themes of nocturne consists of altered states of the mind, blurring boundaries and experiencing Darker form, holding a context of FUR in fashion, fur a subject that no longer holds a TABOO definition, in acceptance I enjoy what Fur symbolises, the wealth and glamour and also the TABOO HISTORY IT ONCE HELD, as a designer I like to use high defined fabrics and give an impact to an audience and feel it should stand to a TREMBELLA.

My intention with this collection was to take menswear to a new level to take men’s everyday key pieces and turn them into something unwordable  (THE UNKNOWN) I have taken everyday menswear pieces and given them a personal highlight of my Design Mark. The Collection compasses an Image icon focusing on oneself through different outlets to deal with and embrace in life showing the embracement of His Life as a Tale to Be Told. A city embraces a GENT- and makes waves for a dark-dapper man Defined ENGLISH URBANMANS STYLING. This MAN loves nothing more than exploring life after dark. LUXE and URBAN takes With HUES of SKIWEAR and Oversized apparel, playing with subtle colour balance and muted Black and Daring PRINT.

‘I GIVE YOU GENTLEMEN THE NEW MUSE’

Style attitude to the slopes.  Glamour meets grunge “GLUNGE” in a big and bold lineup constructed by bright trims and textures attitude, high shine fabrics including an encrusting of crystals. Passed through a vivid TARTAN with Wordage to Exploit URBAN GENT.

 

 

 

Gabriella Collins – Second Prize Winner

Gabriella is a final year BA (Hons) Fashion student at Plymouth College of Art.

Gabriella designed a fur plate mix jacket of Rex Rabbit, Racoon and Fox fur and a patchwork dress with Raccoon and Sheep fur pieces, with leather stitch work.

‘A mistake made as a child comes with guilt, then the desperation to repair what has been destroyed. As adults, we tend to destroy what we may have repaired with intention, but sometimes unintentionally.

My designs aim to reveal something but equally remain unresolved. By the use of patchwork and different methods of stitching, my designs display small fragments of an overall image, each part revealing multifaceted elements of a story. My inspiration for this stemmed from trying to bring myself into the raw and evolving mind-set of a child; seeing things for the first time and having or not having to make a judgement on them and piece them all together. I feel that today, we are all looking for answers, looking to make a decision on what is right and what is wrong; but what if the answer is both? What if it is none.

With the discovery of old photographs of my Danish ancestors from the 19th Century, opened up the ability to explore my connection to Denmark as well as my disconnection. As a child, I was brought up in England, but visited my family in Denmark regularly. I felt a part of both but felt I did not fully belong to either. When looking at these images; refined and composed portraits, my immediate reaction was to keep them safe and remain as though untouched.

However, with this instinctive desire to keep the old photographs in perfect condition, also opened up my desire to make something of them; to bring something of myself into them. I started to scan them in, tear the copies up and then stitch them all back together with crochet and different stitching techniques. They were no longer perfect, yet though they were displaced they did not look imperfect. I saw that alike with fur and leather, though we may want to keep something in the most perfect condition or use only it’s traditional methods, that imperfection and our connection to what is around us, often displays more raw emotion and true understanding than the preservation that keeps us from standing still.’

 

 

 

Eleanor Cowlard – Third Prize Winner

Eleanor designed Skiwear with a patchworked hexagon design, using a combination of fox furs, and waterproof fabrics for ultimate the ski performance.