Katie Jones wins Selfridges bursary

Selfridges has named knitwear designer Katie Jones as the recipient of its 2016 Bright New Things bursary.

Jones impressed Selfridges with her “eye-poppingly unique aesthetic” as well as her “fundamental sustainable values” to win the 30,000 pounds bursary, which also includes a year of mentorship to assist the designer in building her sustainable business.

A Central Saint Martins graduate, Jones is known for utilising designer surplus, factory seconds and textile waste to create colourful and artisanal knitwear. Each garment is consciously crafted in the brand’s London studio and takes between 10 and 100 hours to make.

It is her future business model considering the materials, production and customer interaction of her product life cycle that a Selfridges panel believes will use resources intelligently, build inter-generational communities and create wider engagement with craft and making, which it hopes to assist with the bursary.

This is the first Selfridges Bright New Things special bursary, and all designers linked to the scheme, which this year featured labels committed to sustainable business, were invited to apply.

Image: Selfridges/Katie Jones