We are excited to announce that leading lifestyle clothing retailer FatFace are sponsoring the charity for the very first time, running a competition that will see four winning students’ designs sold across FatFace stores nationwide.
“We are thrilled to support the next generation of British design talent through our new partnership with Graduate Fashion Week. Home-grown talent has been integral to growing FatFace in the last 30 years, from a tiny outfit selling t-shirts out the back of a campervan to a global multi-channel retailer, and we look forward to welcoming the winning designer into the FatFace family.”
Emma Shaw Design Director at FatFace and Graduate Fashion Week Judge.
Founded in 1988, FatFace started with the two founders printing and selling T-shirts out of the back of a campervan to fund their skiing adventures in the French Alps. As true industry pioneers, the brand understands the importance of innovation. Therefore, to support the next generation and to celebrate the brand's 30th Anniversary, alongside this unique partnership with Graduate Fashion Week, FatFace has chosen to run an exclusive competition across UK universities, based around T-shirt design.
The competition is open to all BA students from participating Graduate Fashion Week member universities, who were asked to submit a board of research and a final design for a crew neck tee, with colour palettes and print technique details.
“I think increasingly a lot of big brands look to GFW for true, raw, creativity so I’m really looking forward to seeing all the design work. I am hoping to inspire the graduates and let them know that building your own business is possible. If you keep finding good ideas and keep focused, hard work pays off!”
Christopher Raeburn, British Fashion Designer.
Collaborating with four prominent industry figures, the entries will be reviewed on Friday 16th March by British designers Holly Fulton, Christopher Raeburn, Henry Holland and journalist Hilary Alexander OBE, who will each select their own personal winning design. The judges will be looking for students that have interpreted the latest fashion trends into original graphics, or that have developed a design reflecting the heritage of FatFace.
The four winning students will each receive a prize of £500, with an additional £250 going to the winning universities. The finalists will be invited to the Best of GFW catwalk show on Wednesday 6th June 2018, where the T-shirts will be seen on the catwalk.
Their designs will also be produced and sold in FatFace stores nationwide and endorsed by the designer that selected their design. £1.00 from each T-shirt sold will be donated to the Graduate Fashion Foundation to support new talent.
“We are extremely excited to have FatFace join Graduate Fashion Week this year and to be supporting the foundation through the exciting t-shirt competition and sales. We cannot wait to see the winning designers and to support our graduates through this exciting phase of their new careers,”
Martyn Roberts, Creative & Managing Director of Graduate Fashion Week.
Words by Alix Flannery