Winners of FDC Young Designers Awards 09

Fashion Designers’ & Craft Makers’ Network just held its annual, innovative 2009 Young Designer Awards and Gala Showcase. The Awards are established by knitwear designer Joanna Marcella with the aim to help raise profile of young designers from multicultural backgrounds aged between 13 – 25 years. The brief this year was to produce an Avant-Garde outfit based on the theme ‘Homage to a Fashion Leader’.

The judge panel from the worlds of media and fashion included Des Cooke from Barnardo’s, Akosua Annobil Founder of Fire Media UK, Esther Lee Fashion Editor of SHE Caribbean Magazine, Juanita Grey and Christie Dinham CEO of Fashion Girls Production & The International Designer Show (New York), Neil Smith Lecturer at Central St Martins College of Art and Design, and Sue Foulston First year tutor across all the fashion pathways at Central St Martins College of Art and Design.

The awards was split into three categories, The Young Designer Award ages 13 -16 years, 17 - 20 years and the Avant-Garde Award aged 21 – 25 years. The Young Designer Award category ages 13-16 years went to Gbemisola Okunlola aged 15 years. First place ages 17-20 years went to Kanyinsola Onalaja aged 17 years, who also took home the FDC 2009 Young Designer of the Year.

First place of the Avant-Garde Award went to Saffron Knight aged 23 years. Juanita Grey and Christie Dinham of Fashion Girls Production presented the special International Designer Award 2009 to Saffron Knight, who won an opportunity to début her collection in Caribbean Fashion Week in Jamaica in June 2010.

This design award is the only national award in the UK that has given several young fashion designers, who are still studying for their fashion degrees, an opportunity to showcase in New York Fashion Week and Caribbean Fashion Week.