TFRC/VF Competition winner

The TFRC/VF Future Fashion Textiles Competition winner has now been chosen after a full day of judging with the TFRC mentors.

The winner is Renee Lacroix, from the MA Fashion & Environment course, at LCF. Renee created a beautiful reversible and multi-functional trench coat that can be worn in 10 different ways, using a series of zips. Her concept was part of the 'Simplicity Regained' theme, and was utterly wearable and managed to solve a difficult design challenge beautifully. She had also devised a series of fashion shots and mood boards, with good research and well presented ideas.

Renee will be awarded £1500 in prize money and her and her winning entry will be flown to the VF Global Summit in March 2012 in the US.

The judges were very impressed by the overall standard of entrants with the nine Mentored Entrants showing the value of mentoring, with several highly evolved design concepts not far behind the winner.

We will be following Renee as she takes her work to the Summit early next year. Well done Renee and all the other entrants!

Image: Reene Lacroix, I Want to be a Coal Miner collection (2011/12)

Final VF Competition Mentoring

The second Mentor Sessions took place for the TFRC/VF Student Competition and this time we were hooked up to the US with representatives from the VF Corp offering advice on the design concepts. This is a unique opportunity for the students and graduates to gain insights into how a global apparel company operates and the new ideas and concepts that VF believe their customers are ready for.

The concepts are being further refined by the entrants for the Competition deadline of July 4th. The entrants will not only be competing against other UAL students, but there are also students from Manchester University and Boras in Sweden.

Image: From left: Catherine Frere-Smith (Chelsea textiles BA), Mel Bowles (Mentor)

VF Competition Mentoring

The Mentoring Sessions for the VF/TFRC Future Fashion Textiles Competition have begun and the ten chosen students were given a full tutorial session with mentors Melanie Bowles (digital textiles), Caroline Till (creative direction and trends), Jenny Tillotson (well being/senses), Di Mainstone (human/garment interaction) and Adam Thorpe (social design).

Project concepts ranged from developing a textile/garment that relieves stress by assisting people in developing deeper breathing; a concept for creating a garment and supporting system that allows the consumer to make decisions about the fabric and shape based on a range of sustainability options; and a project that maps the plastic waste generated by three consumers in a month and creates an installation of delicate upcycled objects all made by hand.

The next Session with the Mentors will be at the end of June, with the students and graduates preparing for the Competition deadline which is July 4th.

Mentoring Awards announced for TFRC/VF Student Competition

The students who have been awarded a place on the Mentoring Scheme for the TFRC/VF Future Fashion Textile Competition have been chosen.

Rita Grave (LCF) and Catherine Frere-Smith (BA Textiles, Chelsea) will be mentored by Caroline Till, under the theme of Simplicity Regained.

Alexia Mathieu & Ingrid Hulskamp (a partnership entry, MA Textile Futures CSM) and Tanya Harris (BA Textiles, Chelsea) will be mentored by Jenny Tillotson under the theme of Health & Wellness.

Haruka Miyamoto (BA Textiles, Chelsea) and Lisa Walker & Holly Presdee (another partnership enrty, graduates of BA Textiles Chelsea) will be mentored by Melanie Bowles under the theme of Responsible Living.

Renee Lacroix and Cari Marsden (both from MA Digital Fashion, LCF) will be mentored by Di Mainstone under the theme of Networked Lives.

Douglas Atkinson and Roisin Mcatamney (also both from MA Digital Fashion, LCF) will be mentored by Adam Thorpe under the theme of Trust Rebalanced.

The first mentoring session for the participants will be in May with a final one in June, before the competition entries are due in early July.

Fabric Sample Day for VF Competition

The Applications for the VF Future Fashion Textiles Competition Mentoring Awards have come in and we are just in the process of going through them. The winners will be announed on 14th April so watch this space!

VF Corporation have sent us some of their fabrics which will be available to all students and graduates who are applying to the competition, either for the Mentoring Award or putting an application in for the deadline in July.

We are organising a Fabric Sample Day where you will be able to come and collect some samples of the fabric for your design developments. We have some 100% indigo dyed denim from Cone Denim, one of the oldest denim mills in the US, some high performance fabrics from D30, a UK company and a range of other fabrics that are still coming in. It will be at Chelsea College of Art & Design on Wednesday 4th May 12-1:30pm, in the Card Room.

Please RSVP if you would like to attend this: ted@chelsea.arts.ac.uk