Students from a north east art and design college were given the chance to show off their most creative designs at an international trade show in Paris this week.
Located in the fashion capital of the world, Premiere Vision Designs is the leading show for creative textiles and surface designs, where new fashion and textile talents are sought, and students from Cleveland College of Art and Design (CCAD) showcased their work produced as part of their course.
Four second year students from the textiles and surface design degree helped to design, set up and man the college’s stand as an enhancement to their studies, which featured designs on sale from the students attending the show as well as work from other selected students from the course.
21-year-old Adele Catchpole from Acklam in Middlesbrough was excited about her first visit. As well as helping to create a display of student work, Adele showed potential buyers samples as well as selling designs, including her own.
She said: “I really enjoyed seeing the work of other designers, the vibe of the trade show and how it all works. I exhibited some work from my first year which is based on a concept of ‘floral underwater’. I froze flowers into blocks of ice and illustrated them with bubble and water detail and translated this through to fabric samples. My second year work is based on hallucinations and dreams and is very vibrant, using digital collage techniques as well as traditional embroidery.”
Fellow fashion and textiles student Jess Breckill, 20, from Darlington, made her second visit to the show. She said: “I was excited for this visit as I actually worked on the stand, and enjoyed selling the students’ designs and handling customers. I took six designs based on the concept of deforestation, so my designs included images of monkey skulls and showed the effects of deforestation. I contrasted this with bright colours and fruit, which some people may not realise at first as they only notice the ‘nice’ picture.”
20-year-old Ruth Envy, a surface design student from Gateshead worked for the first time on the CCAD stand, where she met fellow designers and created new contacts. She said: “I couldn’t wait to work at Premiere Vision in Paris and had a great time exhibiting my designs, which were based on hidden beauty and the potential in the overlooked and ordinary, such as plastic bags stuck in trees! The show helped me to get my name out there as a designer and create interest in my work.”
Some students studying for a BTEC diploma in fashion and textiles at the college’s campus in Middlesbrough were also invited to join the experience. As part of the course, the students worked on a linked project with the college’s University-level campus in Hartlepool and submitted a series of designs, with a chance to have their work taken to the show. Three students won and saw their own designs digitally printed on fabric to be exhibited at the exhibition.
With a project theme of abstract geometrics, the students were tasked with creating a series of patterns using computers to combine digital and traditional art.
Emma Hayes, 17, from Bishopsgarth in Stockton, said: “After looking at different geometric designs, I noticed that I had produced many different prints, so I thought it was a good idea to combine all prints into one design. After being told that my design had been chosen I was very thrilled. I felt proud of myself because of the amount of work I had put in and I was very excited to see my work printed up for the show.”
16-year-old Elizabeth Rose from Hartlepool added: “When I found out that my designs had been chosen, I was very shocked and excited. To have my work printed in the show is overwhelming! My designs were a series of various shaped triangles which either fit together or overlapped each other, and I chose a blend of vibrant and pastel colours as from my research I found out that this would be trending in 2016. The influence for my design was actually from Marimekko Ruutukaava who is a wallpaper designer, and Sonia Delauney who is a French artist.”
Diane Watson, CCAD fashion and textiles course leader, said: “The collaboration with the textiles degree course is a great opportunity for our students, and working on a live brief gives them an excellent understanding of the textiles industry.”
Claire Baker, CCAD programme leader for textiles, said: “The students are always very excited to take their work to the show and see how their designs positively stand up next to those of the professionals, it is of paramount importance for them to see firsthand how the industry works and it is an excellent learning experience .”
For more information on opportunities at CCAD contact (01642) 288888 or visit www.ccad.ac.uk.