Cornwall teenagers set to shine at National Saturday Club exhibition

Teenagers in Cornwall are preparing for their final exhibition and showcase as part of Falmouth University’s partnership with National Saturday Clubs. The exhibition will open on Saturday 27 May at Falmouth’s Fashion & Textiles Institute, before moving to London’s Somerset House on 15 July.  

The National Saturday Clubs held at Falmouth’s Penryn Campus offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the most exciting parts of the creative industries. Run by industry experts and practitioners from the fields of fashion, business, art, design, filmmaking, TV and communications, the free Saturday sessions give Club members access to some of the UK’s most creative minds and demonstrate how skills developed at the weekly classes can be applied in the real world. 

As part of the National Saturday Club’s network, Falmouth’s Saturday Clubs target young people from communities across Cornwall, to stimulate interest in the creative industries, demystify routes into further and higher education and provide new opportunities and avenues for creative expression and learning.

Earlier this spring, members of Falmouth's Fashion & Business Club took part in a one-off exclusive virtual masterclass with Alexander McQueen Studios, a world-renowned fashion label founded by the late Lee Alexander McQueen.  

Alexander McQueen became known for using the runway as a medium to express powerful statements and evoke an instant emotion within the audience. The label also became known for its imaginative designs that often verged into the controversial.

Teenage members at the Masterclass were joined by members of the McQueen label’s creative team for the special extended Masterclass, where members were set a virtual brief. Their designs will be on display at this weekend’s exhibition.

The sessions provide a perfect creative space to inspire students not only to consider pursuing creative subjects to study in the future, but also in providing lifelong applicable creative skills to boost their future careers.

In another exclusive collaboration, members of Falmouth’s University’s Film & Media and Art & Design (National Saturday Club) members were be joined for an in-person Masterclass run by Jim Le Fevre, a BAFTA and BAA (British Animation Awards) award winning animation director. 

Phillip Scurrah, Club Leader for National Saturday Club’s Fashion & Business Club located at Falmouth University’s Fashion & Textiles Institute (supported by Cornwall Business School) says the clubs make an incredible impact on the students. He said: “This year our Fashion & Business Club theme was ‘Evolution’, and we were thrilled to have an incredible opportunity to learn from the iconic design team at Alexander McQueen studio.

"Both the Masterclass opportunities and weekly sessions provide a perfect creative space to inspire students not only to consider pursuing creative subjects to study in the future, but also in providing lifelong applicable creative skills to boost their future careers...” 

It was challenging but exciting to work with an international fashion label like McQueen – and it gave us loads of ideas for our final exhibition.

Club member Lilo (13) is from Camborne. She said: “The Fashion & Business Club gives us lots of freedom to express ourselves, it's super creative and a lot more enjoyable than the school environment. Our tutor makes it fun and inspires us to be more creative. It was challenging but exciting to work with an international fashion label like McQueen – and it gave us loads of ideas for our final exhibition. I love coming to Club and want to join again in October.”  

In an impact report on outcomes for the Fashion & Business Club in 2022, data showed that more than 70% of the Club’s members were from a background that is underrepresented in higher education, and half of the members’ parents had not attended university. Upon leaving the Club, 100% of members had found the sessions inspiring, 100% had learnt something new and 94% said the Masterclasses had challenged them to be more creative.  

The Club’s activities coincide with Falmouth University’s ‘Creativity in Everything’ campaign, which aims to expand the boundaries of creativity, champion creativity for good and solve real-world problems with a fusion of creativity, innovation and technology. 

Find out more about Falmouth University's National Saturday Clubs