Graduate Fashion Week Announces George Gold Award

                         Eileen-Pang Liv., modelled by Amber le Bon, Photo: JOHN WRIGHT

As the biggest-prize in British Fashion Education, Graduate Fashion Week Gold Award has become one of the most anticipated and coveted on the fashion calendar. Graduate Fashion Week is delighted to announce that the panel of judges for this year’s award will be Amanda Wakeley, Patrick Grant, creative director Norton & Sons and E.Tautz, Lucy Yeomans, editor-Harpers Bazaar and Fiona Lambert, design director, George.

Date: June 5-8, 2011

Venue: Earls Court 2, London

Amanda Wakeley launched her signature label in 1990 and over the last two decades has developed an international reputation for designing stylish, supremely luxurious, womenswear and accessories. Amanda was awarded an OBE for her services to the fashion industry on 16th February 2010. She is also the winner of several awards including-three British Fashion-Awards for Glamour.

Over the years, Amanda Wakeley has dressed-stars such as; Scarlett Johansson, Demi Moore, Kate Beckinsdale, Dita Von Teese, Charlize Theron, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mischa Barton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Helen Mirren and Kate Winslet. Amanda Wakeley has also had the honour to dress-many members of Royal families, most notably the late Princess of Wales and Queen Rania of Jordan.

Amanda Wakeley

"I am really excited about being involved in the judging of this year's Gold Award at Graduate Fashion Week. Seeing new designer's at the start of their career is so inspirational-and I'm sure we'll spot some of the stars of tomorrow. British Universities are renowned for their creativity and inspirational training of the world's fashion industry and I can't wait to see what this year's generation-has in store for us."

Celebrated-menswear designer Patrick Grant has been the creative director of men’s luxury ready to wear brand E. Tautz since 2009 when he revived this classic British brand. Patrick is the current British Fashion Council’s Menswear Designer of the Year and the only menswear designer to make the shortlist for the BFC/Vogue Fashion-Fund (2009 and 2010).

Patrick Grant

“Britain’s fashion schools-attract the best young talent and their record of producing exceptional designers is unmatched. I am excited to see the very best of this year’s graduating-class."

The judges-will review ten shortlisted collections made from 19 catwalk shows and put the students through a gruelling interview process, before selecting the winner of the £20,000 prize money. They will also select a Menswear and Womenswear award-winner. 

To ensure that absolutely-none of the event’s exceptional catwalk talent is missed, an elite industry panel of preliminary judges is in place to join the audience at every university show to highlight what they consider to be the hottest collection from each show. The judges include GFW Trustee Professor Wendy Dagworthy, Sandra Hill, Paul Smith Head of Womenswear, Mark Eley (Eley Kishimoto) and Head of design, Sadie Robson from-George at Asda. 

Luxury Brand Fendi launches New fashion line on Seoul floating island

Brushing off controversy over its use of fur, luxury brand Fendi launched its fall and winter fashion line-on a large man made island in Seoul to highlight its--creativity.
Models showing Fendi's new collection, including-the Italian fashion house's signature fur items, strutted down the catwalk as hundreds of celebrities, guests and journalists watched what was only Fendi's second ever show in Asia.
"We don't do shows just-to do shows. We don't do shows to repeat what we showed in Milan," said Fendi CEO Michael Burke of the Thursday event.
"If we're going to do a fashion show, it has to be something noble, innovative, creative and sometimes risky. We like-that. There's no creativity without risk."


But Fendi's journey to-the launch on the world's largest artificial "floating island," itself unveiled less than a month ago, was far from easy.
The Seoul government, which is in charge of the island in the Han River, demanded that fur be excluded from-the show in response to protests from anti-fur activists about this use of a public venue.
Fendi countered that, with-only weeks to go, it was too late to change the plans for a show that usually takes months of planning and a substantial budget.
Eventually Fendi introduced a greater variety of items, including bags, shoes and other accessories, in an attempt to diminish the focus on fur.
It also said it would provide scholarships for young South Korean designers and sponsor design contests-for college students, with an internship provided to the winners.
"Being able to do this show on the floating island ranks up there as one of the very best and unique and authentic events we've done," Burke said, adding that the show wasn't only about fur.
"Of course, a fashion house like Fendi also does fur, so of course there are going to be some fur pieces.. Some people had said it would be a fur show, which-was obviously not as you can see," he added.
But animal rights activists were unconvinced, with about a hundred protesters gathering in front of the island.
Chanting anti-fur slogans as models and guests walked into the venue, they also soaked fur items with red paint and displayed a banner with "Fendi" written on it, along-with lurid sprays of red paint and a paint-soaked stuffed animal.
"We're furious that Fendi has brought fur into this country and makes people buy them when people abroad have turned away from fur," said activist Park So-yeon.
"We're earnestly hoping that as a global luxury brand, Fendi will develop varied items besides fur."
Fendi is a unit of the French luxury conglomerate LVMH. Its previous-Asian show was in 2007, at China's Great Wall.

Royal College of Arts Graduate Fashion Show 2011

Cross dressing, neon rubber and fur feature at the College's annual showcase of fashion's newest design-talents.

Philipp Schueller Photo: GETTY

Impatient foot-tapping usually sounds out the summer - a season that fatigues those in the industry for its lack of sartorial fodder until the September shows. But something always momentarily-halts those bored taps in the interim: the graduate fashion collections. After Central Saint Martins kicked things off earlier this week, it was-the turn of 36 young designers at the Royal College of Art to stir the fashion-crowd.