Catford teen Cleopatra Thompson had the opportunity to present her designs on the London Fashion Week catwalk on On 19th September and came away a winner.
Organised by Hackney based charity FAD (Fashion Awareness Direct), and sponsored by Natwest and George at Asda, the 2016 Fashion Futures Final was hosted by Fashion Scout at the Freemasons’ Hall in Covent Garden on Monday 19th September.
21 teenage finalists were the youngest designers to showcase at London Fashion Week and were shortlisted from over 100 teenagers who took part in FAD workshops earlier this year. They presented garments inspired by the artistic heritage of the Indian Subcontinent, fused with London street-style.
The Textiles Award was presented to Cleopatra Thompson, 17, who had printed her own fabric in order to create her architecturally inspired jumpsuit.
“I’m feeling really, really good, I’m so surprised to have won an award!” said Cleopatra on the night. “The show was amazing; it was so cool seeing all of our garments on the models!”
May Martin, textiles tutor and former presenter of the BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee said: “I just love the jumpsuit. The shaping at the waist and the detailing was really good, but the fabric was exquisite. The way she had painted it herself and decorated it was exceptional, we loved that.”
The overall winner on the night was 18-year-old Georgie Hudd, from Holy Trinity School, Crawley. The four runner-up awards were announced by FAD Founder & CEO, Maria Alvarez and fellow jury members Lorraine McNee, Head of Design at George at Asda, Phil Northey from the Skills and Opportunities Fund at Natwest and Delores Oblitey, designer and former Fashion Futures finalist.
The show was followed by an exhibition of the finalist’s work at Startisans. Many past FAD teens attended on the night along with industry supporters from George at Asda, All Saints. Karen Millen and Next.
To be selected for the Fashion Futures Final, the teenagers undertook ten weeks of practical workshops with FAD before presenting their finished toiles and portfolios to a panel of industry experts. The selected finalists, chosen from over 100 entrants, then spent five days with FAD mentors at The University of East London creating their garments for the London catwalk.
Now in its fifteenth year, the Fashion Futures project sponsored by George at Asda and Natwest provides hands-on training and industry experience to 16-19-year-olds, targeting disadvantaged young people with free places and mentoring support.
May Martin siad: “These opportunities are life changing. People that adopt and grow with sewing skills gain confidence within themselves, meet likeminded people and extend their knowledge. This is a really stimulating and challenging environment to be in, but Fashion Futures builds people’s confidence,”
Leave a Reply