The Upstart Festival is a series of free creative careers events hosted by the V&A and UKFT, supported by the Adobe Foundation. Tailored for young creatives aged 16–26, the festival offers an opportunity to explore the fashion industry through hands-on workshops, talks, displays, and networking to meet likeminded creatives.
As part of the festival, the Graduate Fashion Foundation has curated a selection of award winning alumni from Graduate Fashion Week 2026. Attendees will have the opportunity to discover the next generation of design talent, refine their sketching techniques, and illustrate modelled garments in their own style. Join us to expand your creative practice, connect with inspiring fashion and textile leaders, and gain key skills to shape your career journey.
The Designers Include:
Rebecca Ogunribido
Cambridge School of Visual & Performing Arts
This emerging designer takes inspiration from her Yoruba heritage and its rich spiritual traditions to redefine contemporary fashion. Selected for the Graduate Fashion Week 2026 International Top 20 cohort, her catwalk debut celebrated Yoruba identity, spirituality, and symbolism through sculptural garments. Rooted in ancestral storytelling, her work bridges culture and modern fashion design, making her a visionary creative who honours heritage while pushing the boundaries of self-expression.
Abbie Jarvis
University of Lancashire
Fashion has always been Abbie’s language of expression. Beginning her fabric journey long before learning the traditional ‘rules’ in her formal education, she built a distinct aesthetic driven by clashing unexpected fabrics. Driven by a desire to disrupt today’s beige fashion landscape, Abbie is launching her own label: a go-to maximalist brand for women who want to be seen and heard: her designs are vibrant, exciting, and sophisticated.
Fashion has always been Abbie’s language of expression. Developing her feel for textiles long before formal education taught her the ‘rules’, she established a signature aesthetic driven by clashing unexpected fabrics and contrasting textures. Inspired by a desire to disrupt today’s beige landscape, Abbie is launching her own label for women who want to be seen and heard: a go-to maximalist brand delivering vibrant, exciting, and sophisticated design.
Tabitha Windle-Hartshorn
University of Derby
Did You Take Your Meds, Babe? explores the restriction, chaos, and sensory overwhelm of neurodivergence through a distinct visual language of texture, structure, and exaggerated form. Grounded in personal experiences of ADHD, Autism, and Rejection Sensitivity Disorder (RSD), the collection translates internal overstimulation and complex thought patterns into tangible, modern garments. Rather than offering a literal interpretation, the pieces capture the feelings of masking, self-doubt, and the continuous search for ease within a world not built for neurodivergent minds.
Textile innovation drives this narrative, utilising heavy wool coatings, mohair, lambskin, and stretch knits to create sensory contrasts. Drawing inspiration from drag, ballroom culture, and avant-garde pioneers including: Leigh Bowery, Comme des Garçons, and Yohji Yamamoto. The collection merges theatricality with sculptural distortion and also features stripe motifs that shift between order and disruption. The work balances structure with chaos, standing as a compelling celebration of identity.
The Fashion Illustrators:
Şeniz Jones
Şeniz Jones is a Fashion Illustrator and Designer whose practice involves visual storytelling through gestural lines and expressive mark-making. Her distinctive approach studies the behavior of light, using subtle illumination to capture the details and essence of both the designer’s creations and their muse.
Alexandra Grahame
Alexandra Grahame, a London-based artist and designer, works exclusively with various forms of graphite; she elevates a simple medium into atmospheric, cinematic worlds and elusive mirages of light.
Raafaye Ali
London-based illustrator and visual designer, Raafaye Ali, brings expertise across advertising, branding, and creative direction. His practice is deeply rooted in culture, identity, and social issues. He was also honoured with the World Illustration Award in 2025.
Saturday, 14 November 2026, 10.30 – 16.00
Find us at the Career Fair for advice on developing your career in fashion, and conversations with people working across the industry.
V&A South Kensington
Cromwell Road
London, SW7 2RL
Find out more here.
