Heriot-Watt University’s School of
Textiles & Design will present its end of year Exhibition and Graduate
Fashion Show, Hidden Stories, at Edinburgh Infirmary Street
Those displaying at the Dovecot include Deborah Morgan, who is among six
of the School’s Graduates nominated from a total of eight for the Scottish
Graduate of the Year Award, sponsored by Marks & Spencer, at the Scottish Fashion Awards
2012 this June.
Among others showing are Post Graduate student Sam Fenn-Johnstone,
winner of the Harlequin New
Designers Award 2011, woven Textile Design student Stephanie Ruddie who
recently completed a work placement with Bute
Fabrics, and final year student Amber Hunter who is currently sponsored by Hermès. One
Masters student in the mix is Rhona Ferguson, recently awarded a £2500 bursary
by the Framework Knitters
livery company for her project on pressure garments for the treatment of burn
scars. The bursary supports the costs of
the project and presentation of her findings at the International Society for
Burn Injuries conference in September 2012. In addition to the cash prize she
has also been awarded 2 industrial mentors (Professor Julian Ellis OBE and Hon
David Sanderson).
Featuring
visual, aural and archival references to the School’s history and current local
and global presence, the week’s programme of events includes the annual
favourite Graduate Fashion Show on Thursday 7th. Exhibits will
be a mix of graduating textile students and Creative Residencies, supported by Creative
Scotland.
The School’s end of year show has previously seen designs
from alumni including William Chambers, Judy R Clark, Obscure Couture and Samantha McEwen
of Isolated Heroes. All of
whom are also amongst the nominees for the 2012 Scottish Fashion Awards. Honorary
Graduates of the School include Jasper Conran, Colin McDowell, Bruce Oldfield, Mary Portas, Mary Quant, Zandra Rhodes and Dame Vivienne Westwood. Rhodes
said, "Heriot-Watt’s
School of Textiles & Design is fabulous. Students: follow your dreams and
never give up." Westwood added,
"The best facilities in the country."
Supported by WeSC, WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy, and artistic
members from multi-award winning Edinburgh
Eley
stated, "Thanks to our sponsors’ I’ll be working closely with Fashion
Lecturer Mark Timmins & Textile Design Lecturer Mark Parker to ensure their
Graduates get an excellent platform. I think design education is vital to the
future of our industry and creating an environment and installations to
showcase the School’s graduate fashion talent and its Hidden Stories is an
exciting challenge for 2012."
Eley, who recently became a Trustee of
Graduate Fashion Week alongside Fashion Director Hilary Alexander,
is one half of the ELEY KISHIMOTO
partnership forged in the early 90’s with Wakako Kishimoto. The two quickly
gained a reputation for incisive and intelligent print design with their
craftmanship gracing the world's catwalks via work with Louis Vuitton, Marc
Jacobs, Alexander McQueen, Alber Elbaz and Jil Sander, to name but a few before
producing their own line in the mid 90’s.
Professor
Alison Harley, Head of School, commented, "I am thrilled that the School
has produced so many nominees for 2012's Scottish Fashion Awards, which is a
credit to our staff. Having collaborated with Mark Eley previously, I knew his
ethos and creativity would help us further to formulate an inspiring and
educational platform for this exhibition, and a vital platform for our graduates."
Heriot-Watt University‘s School of Textiles & Design was
established in 1883 to lead the textile industry in training and education.
Their portfolio continues to evolve and reflect current and future developments
in textiles, fashion and design. Today the School has a reputation as one of the world’s leading education and research
institutions with specialist resources that are among the best in the world.
EDITOR'S NOTES
For more
information on the School visit www.tex.hw.ac.uk
The Hidden Stories exhibition
takes place at Dovecot Studios, 10 Infirmary Street , Edinburgh
EH1 1LT
The Graduate
Fashion Show is on Thursday 7th June at 8pm, priced £15 seated and
£10 standing.
Tickets are
available from www.hubtickets.co.uk
Heriot-Watt
offers a Summer School programme at High Mill in Galashiels for those who are
interested in learning more about textiles and fashion.
The available
courses are:
- Introduction
to Printed Textile Design
- Introduction
to Fashion Construction
- Introduction
to Machine Knitted Fabrics
- Introduction
to Weave
Week One: 17th-20th
July
Week Two:
24th - 27th July
For
information and booking
Tel: 01896
892285
E-Mail: shortcourses@hw.ac.uk
FOR PRESS ENQUIRIES, INTERVIEWS, IMAGES OR MORE
INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Hunt/ Leanne McGill at Genuine on 0141 243
2621. Email: chris@genuinepr.com/leanne@genuinepr.com
