London Fashion Week draws UCA finalist
A Fashion student from the University for the Creative Arts (UCA) at Rochester is showing her design work at London Fashion Week 2012.
Sarah Lee, who is in the third-year of a BA (Hons) Fashion Design degree, has made the final of an Illustration & Design competition set by FAD (Fashion Awareness Direct).
Her sketchbook and portfolio will be showcased ahead of FADs' LFW show at Vauxhall Fashion Scout on 21 February 2012.
Sarah, who is 22 and from Bexleyheath, said: "I'm really excited to be selected as a finalist for the FAD Gala Show – it really puts the work I have produced into perspective and shows that people outside UCA appreciate my work.
"It's an amazing to have my work shown at London Fashion Week, especially as I'm still a student. LFW is one of the most celebrated events for the fashion industry and being a part of it is a privilege."
Fashion charity FAD launched the Illustration competition to celebrate its tenth anniversary.
Maria Alvarez, FAD Executive Director, said: "For a decade FAD has showcased the talents of UK students on the catwalk in London. Every year we select students based on the sketchbooks and illustrations they submit in the initial stages.
"A lot of work and brilliance goes into creating these inspiring books and drawings but they are often overlooked for the final product, so we launched this competition to celebrate this side of design, and to highlight FAD's ethos of combining art and fashion."
Donna Ives, Associate Dean of Fashion at UCA, said: Sarah's drawings were really dynamic, demonstrating a strong individual style. She has a real flare for illustration, which is evident in her FAD work.
"Drawing is incredibly important in fashion and is a key skill for every designer. It's used as a tool to communicate designs, not only in illustrative format but also in technical format, and to explain how ideas can be developed into three-dimensional samples."
Sarah's collection is inspired by Russia and the contrast between the elegance of St Petersburg's and the bleakness of Moscow. Her designs display a heavy reliance on embroidered and textured fabrics as well as colour. Photoshop was used to bring actual fabrics into the illustrations.
Sarah added: "UCA has definitely helped with my drawing skills, not only on this course but on my Foundation course as well.
"I was originally taught to draw photo realistically, but UCA has taught me to be more expressive and loose with drawing.
"On the Fashion Design course we've had lectures and drawings lessons with internationally-renowned fashion illustrator Richard Gray who has worked with the world's best designers, such as Alexander McQueen, Givenchy and Vivienne Westwood – his stories were inspirational and his passion and enthusiasm for illustration was infectious and helped push me forward in my work."
UCA has a long history in producing talented fashion designers - graduates include Karen Millen, Zandra Rhodes and 2009 Graduate Fashion Week Gold Award winner Myrto Stamou.
For more information contact:
David Reilly, Press Officer, UCA
T: 01252 892939
E: dreilly@ucreative.ac.uk
