Falmouth introduces fashion designers of the future

Including rhinestone wetsuits, architectural swimwear and trousers made from fish skins, University College Falmouth's (UCF's) first ever graduate fashion show defied the premise that fashion happens only in the capital cities of the world as 800 people gathered to meet the designers of the future in the Fal Festival marquee on Events Square, Falmouth on Tuesday 1 June.

With access to state of the art facilities and enviable contacts with industry professionals across the globe the BA(Hons) Fashion Design students' unique and compelling designs proved that from concept to reality, fashion is no longer rooted to urban centres. As Jane Gottelier, Course Leader of BA(Hons) Fashion Design and BA(Hons) Performance Sportswear Design comments: "Fashion is now truly global with work designed on a beach in Cornwall being manufactured in Sri Lanka, before being sold in New York and our students are thriving on studying here."

Students from the unique BA(Hons) Performance Sportswear Design course also benefit from Cornwall's strong associations with sport and recreation. As one of very few specialised sportswear design courses in the world, they have access to the many leading sportswear companies based in the county giving them the best possible introduction to professional design practice.

Throughout the evening the students from both courses showcased their collections on the catwalk to an excited audience of many leading fashion figures including Vanessa Denza, founder of denza Licensing Limited, a global consultancy which represents a select number of designers across all areas of design and who helped launch the careers of several British designers such as Mary Quant, Jean Muir and Ossie Clark to name but a few; Academy Award winning costume designer, Janty Yates who designed for Ridley Scott's recently released Robin Hood film; and Avril Groom, fashion writer for the Financial Times. The show's finale saw the presentation of the awards generously sponsored by a number of local and international businesses indicative of the successful partnership between industry and the courses.

Jenny Welwert Gil, BA(Hons) Fashion Design won The Co-operative Award for the student who designed the most ethically aware collection. Pieces designed by Jenny included a dress made from her grandmother's wedding dress and trousers and jackets made from fair-trade salmon skin sourced from a small Amazonian village. She was presented with a cheque for £500 from Barry Crowle, Chair of Cornwall & Devon Committee Co-operative Group.

Simon Heap, Creative Director of Design for Sport whose core team has worked with Vivienne Westwood and Debenhams among others, presented second year BA(Hons) Performance Sportswear Design student, Annaleigh Hockaday from Plymouth with the Design for Sport Travel Bursary which will enable her to participate in an international study trip and an educational travel experience.

The Finisterre Award recognises excellence and true creative achievement in Performance Sportswear and Design and was presented by Tom Podkolinski and Ernie Capbert of Finisterre, the St Agnes based technical apparel manufacturers, to Performance Sportswear Design student, Stacey Penny. Her stunning rhinestone bejewelled wetsuit collection succeeds in filling a gap in the market in being made for women by women and was modelled at the show by Celine Gehret, top European surfer and Pure Blue team rider who emphatically stated: "I love it. I've never seen anything like it and I would wear it for surfing." Celine is now keen to commission one of Stacey's wetsuits for her own use.

Poupette Bulley BA(Hons) Fashion Design and Lily Rice BA(Hons) Sportswear Design each won a Fiskars Excellence in Cutting Award and received a set of six Fiskars scissors. Poupette's collection mixed leather, suede, jersey and satin whilst Lily's female football kit combined comfort, style and a sexy-edge. The awards were presented by Gary Wright from artist jewellers Wright & Teague in Mayfair,  whose collaborations include work with Oxfam, Swarovski, V&A, British Museum, Ruby & Millie cosmetics and numerous commissions for film and television.

Following the show, Gary commented: "The show was fantastic and the collections were up there with the great and good in the country. Well done Falmouth!"

Four students won the Sri Lanka Design Festival Awards for Swimwear and will see their swimwear designs made by Linea Aqua, a leading swimwear manufacturer before being showcased in a Fashion show during the Sri Lankan Design Festival in November 2010. The winners were second year Fashion Design students Chloe Reynolds, Ana-Maria Roman, Katie Bowman and third year student, Irene Pascoe from Truro whose architectural swimwear took the breath away with its glinting mirrors, high legs and embellished necklines inspired by the Chrysler Building in New York and the Art Deco era.

Eleanor Glen won the Sir Lanka Design Festival Award for Outstanding Achievement in Design for her collection of embellished leather, studs and delicate beads and will be heading to Sri Lanka to take up a three month internship with leading apparel manufacturer, MAS who supplies Marks & Spencer, Next, Diesel, and Marc Jacobs among others. Her collection will be produced and showcased during the Sri Lankan Design Festival in November 2010.

Neil Chadwick, owner of Cornish clothing company Seasalt and Fashion Show sponsor presented these prizes in the absence of Linda Speldwinde, Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Design, Colombo who had been unable to fly from Sri Lanka.

The show was a true Cornish collaboration with models from all over Cornwall, make up from Truro College pupils, hair styling by Tony & Guy in Falmouth and support from RELAYS (Regional Educational Legacy in Arts and Youth Sport); Seasalt; the Co-operative Group; neoprene product manufacturer Techneopro in Lostwithiel; Pure Blue Water in Falmouth and industry names such as Susie Coulthard, Lucy Richards and Nikki Palmer.

"We have been to a lot of awards and fashion shows working with Toni & Guy and we have worked with top names like Giles Deacon and Gareth Pugh but we felt the standard of clothes here was amazing," says Soraya and Ross Jackson-Hicks, owners of Toni & Guy, Falmouth.

A video of the Falmouth Fashion Show will also be shown at Graduate Fashion Week at Earls Court in London from 6 to 11 June 2010. This event showcases the very best BA(Hons) graduate fashion talent in the UK and aims to promote and nurture the talents of today's creative innovators so that tomorrow's creative industries can continue to play a major role in the economy of the UK and the rest of the world.

For further information about BA(Hons) Fashion Design and BA(Hons) Performance Sportswear Design at University College Falmouth, visit www.falmouth.ac.uk/fashiondesign, email admissions@falmouth.ac.uk or telephone Admissions on 01326 213852.

University College Falmouth is the only independent Higher Education institution in Cornwall with the powers to award degrees in its own name. It has two campuses in Cornwall - at Woodlane in Falmouth and Tremough in Penryn (which it owns, and jointly manages with the University of Exeter) - and a third campus at Totnes in Devon, following its merger with Dartington College of Arts in 2008.

This merger created a new institution focusing on the expansion of Falmouth's expertise in Art, Design and Media and Dartington's expertise in Choreography, Music, Theatre, Art and Writing. The Devon-based courses will relocate to a new, high-specification Performance Centre at Tremough in 2010, paving the way for a new specialist Arts University in Cornwall by 2013/2014 that will be unique to the South West.

The University College is a founding partner in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC), a unique initiative to promote regional economic regeneration through Higher Education, funded mainly by the European Union (Objective One and Convergence), the South West Regional Development Agency, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England, with support from Cornwall Council.

Ends

For further information about University College Falmouth, please contact Jilly Easterby Dip CIPR MCIPR, Head of Public Affairs, Telephone: 01326 213792, or email:  jilly.easterby@falmouth.ac.uk 

Notes to Editors

About RELAYS

The regional RELAYS project (Regional Educational Legacy in Arts and Youth Sport) is a £3.1M programme that will deliver an ambitious, flexible schedule of linked cultural and sporting events. The project is grounded in education and aims to inspire a generation of young people and diverse communities throughout South West England.  RELAYS is run by HERDA-SW in conjunction with its partners Lyme Regis Development Trust, The Works and Watershed.  The project is funded by Legacy Trust UK and the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

www.universitiessouthwest.ac.uk/relays.aspx 

About Seasalt

Seasalt was the first fashion brand to have clothing certified by The Soil Association in 2005. Seasalt is now the largest producer of Soil Association certified organic clothing in the UK, and more than 55% of the Seasalt range is organic. There are now 12 Seasalt shops in Cornwall, Devon and Guernsey. Seasalt currently employs around 130 people in the south west. The Seasalt range is also sold in over 300 independent retailers across the UK and Europe.

http://www.seasaltcornwall.co.uk/ 

About The Co-operative Group

The Co-operative Group stands apart from other major retailers in the UK as a business which is owned, not by a small group of shareholders, but by more than five million consumers. With core interests in food, financial services, travel, pharmacy, funerals and farms, it has an annual turnover of £14 billion, employs 123,000 staff and operates over 5,000 retail trading outlets handling more than 20 million weekly transactions.

Following the acquisition of the Somerfield supermarket chain in March 2009, The Co-operative Food is the fifth largest food retailer. The Co-operative Financial Services is one of the largest and most diversified financial mutual businesses, operating The Co-operative Bank, The Co-operative Insurance and Britannia.

The Co-operative is the UK's number one provider of funeral services, the third largest retail pharmacy chain, a leading travel retailer, supplying the travel needs of more than three million people annually, and is the UK's largest farmer.

Among its other businesses are The Co-operative Motor Group, The Co-operative Electrical Shop and The Co-operative Legal Services.

http://www.co-operative.coop/ 

About Pure Blue Water

Perfectly balanced natural spring water from Cornwall. A carbon neutral company donating profits to keep our seas and coastlines fit for life.

http://www.purebluewater.com/ 

About Techneopro

A contact manufacturer specialising in neoprene products and a wetsuit repairs facility.

http://www.techneopro.co.uk/ 

About Toni and Guy Falmouth

Located in the hub of this seaside town, Toni and Guy Falmouth has built up a great reputation over the past five years. Their specialist trained stylists pride themselves on their creative flair and individual style. All stylists are trained in the London academy to the highest standards, so if you're looking for a brand new summer look or wanting to indulge in a touch of hair pampering, feel free to pop in for a guide to the perfect style.

www.toniandguy.com/salon/information/173

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