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UEL students to sign off in style with Graduate Fashion Week show

Friday 25 May 2007

Final year Fashion Design students at the University of East London (UEL) are set to sign off in style with a catwalk show at this year’s Graduate Fashion Week, to be held at Battersea Park Arena at 6.30pm on Monday 4 June.

Fourteen students, including several local residents, will exhibit their final collections at the high-profile event, which showcases the very best of student fashion design from around the UK.

Lucy Jones, Subject Director for Fashion and Textiles at UEL's School of Architecture and the Visual Arts, said: "It is a great honour, challenge and opportunity for our students to show their collections at Graduate Fashion Week. This year's group are extremely talented, creative and hard-working; I have no doubt they will do us all proud and go on to achieve considerable success in their careers in fashion."

Graduate Fashion Week attracts photographers, talent scouts, journalists and buyers from all over the world. This year’s event will begin on Sunday 3 June and climax in a gala show of the most outstanding collections on Wednesday 6 June.

UEL has excellent links in the fashion industry and is renowned as a leading university for Fashion and Textiles. In addition to the catwalk show, UEL will have an exhibition stand at Graduate Fashion Week, displaying portfolios of final year work by students on BA (Hons) degrees in Fashion Design and Fashion Design with Marketing.

For further information, contact Nadia Shah on 0208 223 2517 or n.shah@uel.ac.uk, or visit www.uel.ac.uk/ava.

UEL students preparing for Graduate Fashion Week include:

Emma Rigby (23), of Shadwell, is graduating from her BA (Hons) degree in Fashion Design with Marketing. Emma said: “My final collection is made up of seven outfits, all made from organic materials and coloured with natural dyestuffs, including turmeric and camomile. I began researching the work at the start of the year, experimenting with form and function and manipulating fabric into interesting and wearable shapes.

“The degree’s been fantastic; it’s given me so many fantastic opportunities, especially my placement year at People Tree, a fair-trade fashion company in Liverpool Street. I’m now planning to travel for a year before hopefully starting up an ethical marketing consultancy with one of my fellow students.”

Maz de Bono (35), of Wanstead, is in the final year of her BA (Hons) degree in Fashion Design with Marketing. Maz said: “The degree’s been excellent; I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I used to work as a hairdresser, but gave it up to follow my childhood dream.

“Coming to UEL has been the best decision I ever made; I met my partner here, and now have a nine-month-old baby, who inspired my final collection. The designs focus on flesh tones and involve a wide variety of textures, including furs and ruffles.”

Katie Whiting (21), of Greenwich, is a final year student on UEL’s BA (Hons) degree in Fashion Design. Katie’s final collection will involve crystal elements, after she won a prestigious sponsorship deal from Swarovski, the world’s leading brand for precision-cut crystal.

Katie said: "I'm so excited about this opportunity - it was such an amazing surprise to be selected by Swarovski! I fell in love with crystals when I was doing work experience with Julian Macdonald, so it's wonderful to have the chance to work with them for my most important collection.

"Being sponsored by such a prestigious company will definitely inspire me to produce my best ever designs and hopefully help me to gain a place on the Royal College of Art's popular MA in Fashion."

Louise Warren (23), of Winchmore Hill, is about to graduate from her BA (Hons) degree in Fashion Design with Marketing. Louise said: “My final collection is based on the concept of cults, exploring contrasts between the fear and guilt of their victims and the power and control of their leaders. There’s an underlying sinister feel to the work, with the use of muted colours, sharp, armour-like edges and witchcraft-inspired prints.

“The degree’s been great – I can’t believe how far I’ve come in what seems like such a short time. The tutors have been really helpful and supportive, and I’m now convinced about building a career in fashion. I’ve already got an interview lined up for a buying position at Urban Outfitters, so things are looking good.”

Ends/.

For details and pictures contact Patrick Wilson: 020 8223 2061 or 07951 797 975

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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