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Talented UEL fashion designer called up for Newcastle Fashion Week

Thursday 14 March 2013

Francesca Air

Upcoming fashion designer and former University of East London student, Francesca Air has been asked to showcase nine of her designs at this year’s NE1’s Newcastle Fashion Week. The event which enters its third year with a seven day fashion bonanza will celebrate Newcastle’s cutting edge fashion scene.

Her latest collection will be seen on the Fashion Front Row Catwalk at the venue As You Like It, in May, alongside other emerging designers.

Younger sister of the celebrity and model Donna Air, Francesca is a huge fan of the beautiful prints and voluminous silhouettes of Christian Lacroix and also cites Burberry as one of her favourite designers.

Since graduating in 2012, the Fashion Design and Marketing student has been busy designing, styling and working on her new collection. 

She will be building on her graduate collection that she started at UEL, a collection which was so successful at Graduate Fashion Week that she caught the eye of fashion house Jaeger, who offered her a full time job.

Reflecting on the collection, Francesca said: “My new collection, 'negative space', shows my signature flair of ultra-feminine style with classic cuts and tailoring. Inspiration is taken from aerial shots from space and from aerial mapping of earthly contours.”

“The Colour palette is totally different this time. I have gone for a sea of bright blues and Absynthe greens, mulberry and hyacinth purples with splashes of lime and lilac. I am challenging myself to confidently use strong colours as I usually go for more ‘muted’ tones.”

You can see Francesca’s designs from Saturday 11 – Friday 17 May 2013 at Newcastle Fashion Week.

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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