The FDC Young Designer Awards 2007
07-11-2007
The innovative annual FDC Young Designer Awards took place Saturday 27th October 2007 at the Park Crescent Conference Centre International Students House, 229 Great Portland Street Westminster W1W 5PN. These exciting awards have been established by knitwear designer Joanna Marcella in an aim to help raise profile of exceptionally gifted young designers from multicultural backgrounds aged 9 – 25 years old.
Split into two categories, the Young Designer Award was open for entrants from the ages of 9 – 20 and the Avant-Garde Award was open to entrants aged 21 – 25. Fashion Enter has long supported the event and was delighted to be again invited to sit on the panel of judges to help select two winners from each category and to also select a winning designer's collection which will then be showcased at the Enter Boutiques in Croydon and Barking. The winner also receives a year’s free membership to Fashion Enter Ltd which is £150 plus VAT.
On the panel of judges for this year’s awards were: Christie Dinham of Tyler Media (USA), Jennifer Williams-Baffoe of Willbaforce Ltd, Des Cooke of Barnardo’s, Lauretta Roberts of Drapers Record and George Shire, a Senior Lecturer at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design. It has to be said this year’s entrants were certainly out to impress the judges and the standards were unbelievably high. In turn this made judging extremely challenging. Nevertheless we had a job to do and after much deliberation winners were finally selected from each category.
Young Designer Award (under 20 category) First place went to Yuliya Krpo, aged only 14; she not only gave excellent presentation to the panel of judges but also wowed us with her garment which was of exceptional standard for someone of her age. Her project was well researched from start to finish and she demonstrated great commitment to the project. This first place award was well and truly deserved.
Second place went to Oanh Tran aged 16 whose inspiration came from artist Jason Pollock and fashion designer Ann Sui. Her reason for choosing Pollack as a source of inspiration was for his freedom of creativity and use of paint. This influence was visible within her work and was carried through to the final design stage. She treated the fabric of her garment as a canvas by splashing paint and created a very commercial two piece and styled with butterfly wings which were to represent freedom. This was a great piece of work both close up and on the catwalk.
Avant-Garde Awards (21 – 25 category) First place went to Khulekani Mswelli aged 23 whose idea was influenced by the fantasy works of Salvador Dali and John Galliano. His idea was to create a surreal fashion piece which he did with great execution; his thinking behind this wonderful quirky piece was to also encapsulate the things that women would want; security and shoes. This was a truly wonderful piece that captured the audience at the catwalk.
Second place went to Herani Ethiopia aged 23 who created a striking final piece which not only looked fantastic on the catwalk, but was made with high technical skill. Entitled ‘Black Rose’, her inspiration was drawn from artist Andy Warhol for his strong colour graphic images and fashion designer Issy Miyki for his structural shapes. This was yet another remarkable piece that captured the audience. I was the representative of Fashion Enter for the judging and whilst I agreed with the panel for the two winners I was s personally impressed by Maureen Kipwola aged 25 that she was also awarded a concession at our boutiques plus a free membership. A bit of a shock for Jenny our Director but I know she will support me on this! Maureen’s final piece was beautifully made, classic and elegant and as I have been Retail Manager for almost two years I know what will sell commercially. I have no doubt that these ladies collection will be best sellers.
Congratulations to you Maureen and wish her the best of luck with the birth of her first child. I look forward to working with the three designers over the next 12 months.
Hayleigh Amos – Retail Manager
Due to family commitments I was unable to attend this event at the last minute. However, I have known Joanna for over four years now and we will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS support her. Some people just work from the heart and soul and Joanna is an outstanding individual. Hayleigh updated me immediately on the success of the event and our hearty congratulations to the winners – all three of them!
Jenny Holloway Director Fashion-Enter & FashionCapital
