TexSelect 2018 hat-trick for WSA Knitwear and Print Students

Beth Porter

Every year the organisation TexSelect selects 24 of the best textile graduates from around the UK. The selected students are given the opportunity to showcase their work to leading industry professionals at the Preview Show in London (July) and then at PV Designs in Paris (September). TexSelect interview over 200 students via a panel of industry specialists to find the 24 graduates to represent UK talent and future textiles. This year three WSA students made the cut – Jessye Boulton (Knitwear), Cassie MacDonald (Printed Textiles) and Beth Porter (Printed Textiles).

Jessye Boulton

As part of the experience there are numerous awards judged by industry with the winners announced in Paris. This year Jessye Boulton was shortlisted for the TexSelect Fashion Prize and Cassie MacDonald was shortlisted for the TexSelect Pattern Prize sponsored by Liberty London.

Cassie MacDonald

You can read more about the London Preview here
Congratulations and good luck!

Spinexpo, Paris 2018

Woven and Knitted textile design students all report having a truly inspirational and engaging experience at Spinexpo, Paris. Presenting their work, networking and supporting the Spinexpo team were just few things the students experienced. Here’s an edited selection of what the student’s thought.

Contributions from Amy Halley, Emily Johnson, Amy Osgood, Amber Davis and Aimee Dye

    

Spinexpo Paris, known for featuring cutting edge technologies and having the highest technical expertise, was a great way for us to exhibit our work professionally, understand how a show of this scale works and to see how designers work with spinners to showcase yarns and their versatility. It was also an extremely valuable experience to speak to different companies including yarn producers and garment manufacturers. For example, from Wanziman Hong Kong Limited we learnt about an interesting new technology which imitates woven patterns into knitted fabric to create a unique material which has qualities of both knit and weave.

Yarn suppliers also exhibited new technologies, combinations of fibres and innovations including eco-friendly products, tape yarns, metallic textures, woollen yarns and paper qualities; the sheer volume of possibilities was eye opening.

   

Each stand was exciting and enticing, each seller had many potential buyers viewing their sample racks. It is perhaps easiest to envisage the buyers as children visiting a sweet shop for the first time; completely animated and engrossed in the products.

The Spinexpo team were extremely kind and encouraging to us. They made us feel a part of the family and become involved in every aspect of the show. A most wonderful experience, which has been invaluable.

Work-In-Progress Fashion Show 2018

A selection of mid-year designs created by Year 3 Fashion Design and Knitwear for Fashion Design students.

   

Hannah Franks                                   Abigail Skrentny

   

Anna Bateman                                      Madi Weight

Knitwear student, Hannah Brabon awarded prize from The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters

Final year knitwear student, Hannah Brabon was recently awarded the HATRA Bursary of £2500 by The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters. 
After being interviewed by a panel of judges; presenting work and answering technical questions, she was selected as one of 14 winners in the country. As well as the bursary Hannah is being mentored by Peter White who visited recently to see how her work is progressing and give business and interview/portfolio advice.
Hannah’s graduate collection focusses on the detrimental impacts that the textiles industry has on the environment looking specifically at images of water polluted by dye and ink waste, as well as how this effects the surrounding communities. Her colour palette has developed from own photographs of landscapes ranging from acid washed denim to dark indigo tones of blue, as well as hints of pinks, lavender purple and mint green. The textural qualities of natural forms such as water and mountains inspired the sense of pattern, line and shape throughout the fabrics.

Hannah Brabon Portfolio page

Hannah aim to create a luxury sportswear inspired women’s knitwear collection of outfits that are innovative and forward thinking, using denim fabrics and yarns in combination with other sustainable and high quality materials in order to create a highly technical, luxury fabrics. She hopes to promote the concept of slow fashion and aims to have a low impact on the environment.

To continue the idea of clothing with a long life, Hannah initially focused on using pre-loved denim and transforming it into something new and innovative. “I am interested in the history of denim and am inspired by how denim has been a part of the lives of so many people; from a vast array of sub-cultures and classes in societies throughout the centuries. From ancient Japanese Boro textiles to present day casual wear, I am fascinated by the stories behind the clothing that people wear.”

Hannah Brabon swatches

Hannah has used many knitting techniques on a wide range of machinery; these include domestic, Dubied and Shima Seiki knitting machines across a variety of gauges, exploring intarsia, e-wrapping, weaving in, pleating and ribbing. She has also embraced hand dyeing and machine embroidery, in order to add a further depth and dimension to the fabrics. Developing on from the idea of water and preserving the landscape, she uses heat pressing techniques with plastics, resulting in a waterproofed effect.The use of heat pressing techniques with plastics, resulting in a waterproofed effect, encapsulate the idea of water and preserving the landscape.

Hannah Brobon

 

WSA Knitwear for Fashion Student Prize Winners at the Campaign for Wool Competition

Two Knitwear students, Zoe Lyne and Jessye Boulton won prize’s at the Campaign for Wool Student Hand Knit Competiton held at Artworkers Guild Hall in London during Wool Week.

The students responded to a competition brief created by Marie Wallin. Students were asked to design a series of fashion garments hand-knitted in 100% wool, or wool-rich, [more than 51% real wool] that displayed sculptural form using cabling and 3D knitting techniques in a palette which celebrated the colours of a British Autumn. Students were encouraged to incorporate other handcraft techniques such as crochet, macramé, tatting and felting. The brief asked for an exploration of scale as a means to create drama and complexity.

Sixteen final entries were judged during Wool Week by Marie Wallin, Bridgette Kelly of The Campaign for Wool Ltd, Wendy Barker ofKingston University and Polly Leonard, Founder and Editor of Selvedge Magazine who awarded a special prize to her overall preferred entry.

The second prize of £300 was awarded to Jessye Boulton from Winchester School of Art, another first-year undergraduate student. “Jessye’s design was a wonderful blend of multi-coloured yarns knitted into a collection bullion knots, creating a dramatic and eye-catching, almost carpet-like in its structure and very impressive as a garment.”

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Using the colours of Autumn as her starting point Jessye created a highly textured garment using Spring stitch to mimic the natural complexity of the forest floor and to celebrate the quality of the pure wool yarns she used.  Jessye secured yarn sponsorship from Cornish Organic Wool and LoveKnitting.com which enabled her to create a dense and luscious final piece.

A special award of a 3-year subscription to Selvedge Magazine was given to Zoe Lyne of Winchester School of Art. Polly Leonard, the editor of Selvedge Magazine was instantly drawn to this “dramatic design of a mass of crochet tubes worked into a very imaginative wearable neckpiece or collar.”

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Zoe was inspired by the notion of an organic shape engulfing the wearer for her design.  Imagining knitwear as an extension of the body Zoe constructed the garment to obscure the face with a series of sculptural tube-like forms that form the collar.

The garment was hand-knitted in natural undyed British and Merino wool specifically to subtly draw attention to the natural irregularities in the yarn. Constructing the sculptural collar in Dartmoor lambswool, supplied by Lily Warne Wool, was a nod to Zoe’s Devon heritage.

Congratulations to Jessye and Zoe!

Design Admin Assistant Roles at Boden – Womenswear Wovens and Knitwear and Jersey

Boden is a London-based clothing company, founded in 1991 by Johnnie Boden. The company’s headquarters are in NW London.

We are looking for a brilliant Admin Assistant to provide strong administrative support to our designers in our womenswear wovens team and in our womenswear knit and jersey team.

If you have an understanding of how the fashion industry works and would enjoy working in a creative environment then this is the ideal opportunity to gain experience in a fun and dynamic team.

As well as being really well organised you’ll be confident, have strong attention to detail, be unfazed by sample management, supplier correspondence and lots of meetings….oh, and you’ll probably eat spreadsheets for breakfast!

You will ideally have a fashion degree and possibly a relevant internship under your belt.

If this sounds like you we’d love to hear from you so please apply with a CV and a few examples of your work.

Salary £19,000 per annum plus excellent benefits

Location of vacancy North West London

Position type Full Time

Closing date July 20, 2016

For Wovens more details here

For Knitwear more details here