The prestigious Christopher Bailey Gold Award, named after the first winner of the award in 1992, Christopher Bailey, was awarded to Rebecca Wilson of Arts University Bournemouth, her menswear, womenswear and childrenswear collection.
The Christopher Bailey Gold Award had an esteemed panel of judges, including Diane Von Furstenberg, GFW Global Ambassador Christopher Raeburn, Kevin Carrigan, Senior Vice President and Creative Director of Ralph Lauren, Gillian Wilkins, Fashion Director, Elle, Gena Smith, SVP, Head of Global Creative Recruitment, LVMH, Mandi Lennard, Fashion PR and Founder, Mandi's Basement, Nathan Jenden, Chief Design Officer& VP Creative at DVF, Duvo Olowu, Senior Fashion Director at LOVE Magazine and Tim Blanks, Editor-At-Large, Business of Fashion.
“I feel ecstatic, can’t believe it, what an incredible award to win. My collection is inspired by Victorian working class clothing and Victorian family portraits looking at the beauty in the wear and tear of garments."
Rebecca Wilson
With a prize of £10,000 for Rebecca and a £2,000 award to her university, Rebecca follows in the footsteps of Halina North, of Edinburgh College of Art, who received the award last year, and shortly after winning completed a placement at Marks and Spencer's.
"Fantastic! I was really impressed, an incredibly forceful collection."
Diane Von Furstenberg
The judges based their decision on a multidisciplinary selection of factors, focusing on a collection that demonstrated an exceptional ability in it's creative process, design, cut and craftsmanship, as well as the colours and fabrics used. Both innovation, creativity and concept development were noted, as the judges selected from the top 25 collections.
Watch this space as we start to catch up with our award winners to find out what inspired them, where they plan to go next and get the lowdown on their experience at GFW18!