Graduate Fashion Week announces restructur​e

Graduate Fashion Week, which showcases the very best talent from the UK’s premier fashion and design universities, is undergoing a restructure this year in order to streamline the Gala Awards ceremony and help drive recruitment.

The four day event will place greater attention and emphasis on each of the different award categories to enable recruiters, media and other attendees at the event see all the entries and also hear from individual judges why each winning concept was selected in its category.

Graduate

Fashion Week to streamline Gala Awards

In previous years all awards were announced at one lengthy show at the end of the week, this year the schedule will see each day of the event focusing on three or four awards with presentations taking place in a central area.

This will allow for a streamlined Gala Awards ceremony with fewer awards announced on the final evening. The final Gala day will feature one ‘Best of Graduate Fashion Week’ show that will be followed by a more concise Gala Awards show, featuring only the nominees and winners of the George Gold Award, the Women’s, Men’s, Knitwear, Textiles and International Awards.

Rob Templeman, chairman, Graduate Fashion Week, said: “We believe the new Gala Awards format will enable all of our successful students to have a chance to showcase their winning entries. The new format Gala day will ensure that everyone gets a chance to see how creative and exciting the students’ work is, and will be a much more intimate experience.”

The event, which will once again be sponsored by George at Asda, will also a number of new initiatives including a Cinema Space, Job Zone, Pop-up Shop and an interactive photographic studio.

Fiona Lambert, brand director at George, added: “We are delighted to be involved in Graduate Fashion Week again - the event just keeps getting bigger and better!

“We anticipate 2013 will be a difficult time for our graduates, with the job market situation not improving. That’s why we’re determined to ensure GFW gives them the best launch pad for the future.”

GFW takes place from June 2-5 at Earls Court 2 and will feature more Universities than ever before with 42 of the UK’s fashion education establishments participating, including new additions to the roster, Limerick School of Art and Design, Norwich University College of Art and University of Northampton.

Image: Graduate Fashion Week 2012