University of Westminster fashion talents set to shine at London Fashion Week

Sept. 12, 2012 - PRLog -- Claire Barrow, Mary Benson, Hannah Duckworth and Adam Jamieson are among the brightest stars who will be showing their collections this year.

Claire Barrow, who graduated in June 2012 and already boasts Jessie J and Rihanna as clients, will present her collection at London Fashion Week in a highly anticipated debut. She is one of only two upcoming designers selected by Lulu Kennedy and a panel of industry experts including Sarah Mower and Francesca Burns to be part of Fashion East, a prestigious non-profit initiative which aims to promote new talents every season. Previous designers launched by Fashion East include Gareth Pugh, Roksanda Ilincic and Meadham Kirchhoff.

University of Westminster student Mary Benson will show her new collection for VVVintage, the online sustainable fashion house, with a live installation at Somerset House. Her capsule collection, which includes a range of luxury sportswear embellished with vinyl through luxury sportswear created using second-hand materials, has already been worn by a number of fashion icons including Rita Ora and it is featured in the September issue of Vogue magazine. 10% of the profit from VVVintage initiative, which aims to promote sustainability, will be donated to Oxfam.

Recent University of Westminster graduates, Hannah Duckworth and Adam Jamieson, will also be taking part in London Fashion Week by presenting a selection of their designs at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Graduate Showcase.

Andrew Groves, Course Director of the University of Westminster's Fashion Design BA Honours, said: “It is a tribute to the great talent and creativity of our students that they have been recognised for their unique talent by the fashion industry.

“Being chosen to take part in London Fashion Week is a fantastic opportunity for our students to showcase their collections in front of the most renowned industry names. I believe they have the potential to become the future stars of London Fashion Week and follow in the footsteps of Christopher Bailey who was also a student at the University of Westminster.”  

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Notes to Editors:
The University of Westminster boasts a vibrant learning environment attracting more than 20,000 students from over 150 nations and we continue to invest in our future with new developments, research projects and new ideas. We offer highly attractive practice-based courses which are independently rated as excellent, many with international recognition. Our distinguished 170-year history has meant we lead the way in many areas of research, particularly politics, media, music, art and design, architecture and biomedical sciences, and our position in the city of London allows us to continue to build on our close connections with leading figures and organisations in these areas as well as in the worlds of business, information technology, politics and law. Our commitment to educating graduates for the needs of professional life attracts high quality students from within the UK and around the globe. Internationalism, employability and sustainability are key elements in the University of Westminster’s vision for the future and we strive to ensure the very highest standards are met and maintained.