Fashion students come through live industry brief with flying colours

The fashion designers of tomorrow from the University of Northampton have been put through their paces working on a live industry brief for industry professionals.

Leading global brand Schwarzkopf and award-winning Midlands hair salon chain Hensmans teamed up to challenge second year Fashion, Textiles and Footwear & Accessory students to put together a series of fashion collections.

The students worked together in small teams to research, design and produce their collections and portfolios which the presented to an expert panel comprising Schwarzkopf and Hensmans professionals, on Friday 26 April.

The standard was so high that the judging panel was split when it came to selecting the winning team, but eventually plumped for the collection from Out of Control, whose collection was based on the concept of technology, CCTV, surveillance and being constantly monitored in the 21st century.

The winning team, Out of Control, with the judges

The Out of Control team was comprised of Fashion students Karolina Pasalska-Najdek and Nazia Naeem, Footwear & Accessories undergraduates Anna Sara Melegh and Faizal Mohammed Jahan, plus Textiles for Fashion student Rebekah Theobald-Brown.

Jane Mills, Senior Lecturer in Fashion, said: “The students did an incredible job presenting their design concepts to clients Hensmans and Schwarzkopf.

“Team working is about having a strong vision and is a necessity in fashion, while working to an industry brief within a given timeframe is a powerful learning curve for our students and plays a major role in encouraging confidence, innovation and enterprise.”