Swarovski Foundation unveils scholarship winners

Swarovski Foundation and Central Saint Martins have unveiled the Swarovski Foundation scholarship recipients for 2014-15, which provides a bursary to two final year BA degree students, one from fashion and one from jewellery design.

Fashion student Martin Cornelius Hanly, whose work explores dignity and social status, and jewellery design student Kota Okuda, whose wearable designs juxtapose British and American ethnic culture, were selected for the scholarships, which will support them financially during their final year after impressing a selection panel which included Nadja Swarovski, Willie Walters, course leader, BA Fashion, and Caroline Broadhead, course leader, BA Jewellery Design.

Commenting on his scholarship win, Hanly said: “Receiving the Swarovski Foundation Scholarship will allow me to push my ideas further to create a collection which is both conceptually stimulating and aesthetically refined.”

He plans to use the bursary for his womenswear collection inspired by the “colour palette and composition of John Constable's melancholic landscapes” and the utility-based clothing of working class miners to create a “poetic representation” of these themes.

Hanly added: “The embroidery techniques that I am using unite traditional methods and materials with contemporary ideas of class divides and the nouveau riche. I am using feathers, crystals and beading to create my own materials and fabrics which can only be truly appreciated under closer inspection.”

Anne Smith, Dean of Central Saint Martins, commented: “We are very grateful to the Swarovski Foundation for its support of creative excellence in fashion and jewellery at Central Saint Martins. The Swarovski Foundation Scholarships acknowledge individual talent and potential, giving the Scholars confidence and importantly, freedom from financial pressure as they develop their collection in their final year.”

Swarovski launched the Scholarship programme at Central Saint Martins in 2011 to build on existing support programmes for emerging design talent at the college. The scholarships have been brought under the Swarovski Foundation for 2014 as part of its mission to promote design and innovation within the creative arts.