For young graduates entering the world of fashion, the path to success can be daunting. This is where the Graduate Fashion Foundation (GFF) comes in, acting as a guiding light that bridges the gap between education and employment.
The flagship event organised by the GFF is Graduate Fashion Week(GFW), the largest showcase of BA fashion in the world. Held annually, GFW attracts thousands of influential guests(and recruiters!) who flock to witness the extraordinary talent emerging from 26 different fashion disciplines.
The 2023 week-long event takes place at the coveted Truman Brewery, Brick Lane. The event features a packed schedule of catwalk shows, university exhibitions, talks, masterclasses, and workshops led by renowned names in the fashion and retail industry.
Over the years, the Graduate Fashion Foundation has supported some truly impressive alumni such as Christopher Bailey MBE, Stella McCartney, and Julien MacDonald.
As the only boutique art school in attendance, CSVPA takes immense pride in its annual participation at GFW. However,2023 has undoubtedly been one of our most outstanding ones yet. We are thrilled to announce that 7 of our talented students have been nominated for a remarkable 13 awards. These awards hold great significance as they are judged by industry professionals and ambassadors, lending further weight to the achievements of our students. Considering the impressive competition from 68 institutions and an estimated 3000 students involved, CSVPA is delighted to witness our students receiving well-deserved recognition and acclaim for their exceptional work.
The CSVPA nominees and their award nominations are as follows :
- Cultural Heritage Award – Fabia Longjohn & Maria Lili Zavala Lemus
- Considered Fashion Award – Charlotte Lamb
- The Face Excellence – Tem Blakeway
- Fashion Communication Portfolio Award – Tem Blakeway
- Fashion Illustration – Lydia Gao
- Fashion Innovation – Sophie Wheeler
- Fashion Styling and Creative Direction – Tem Blakeway & Maria Lili Zavala Lemus
- New Business Award – Hannah Blunt
- Zandra Rhodes Textile Award – Sophie Wheeler
- Fashion Marketing Award – Hannah Blunt
- Sustainable Trailblazer – Charlotte Lamb & Sophie Wheeler
- Fashion Photography Award – Tem Blakeway
- Fashion Portfolio Award – Charlotte Lamb
CSVPA is already familiar with winning some of the categories at GFW. In 2022, after winning the prestigious Fashion Concept Award at Graduate Fashion Week, CSVPA BA Hons Fashion alumni Taneshe Oliver-Lodge was even featured in Harper’s Bazaar magazine following her win.
Taneshe explained to Harper’s Bazaar what winning the Fashion Concept Award means to her as a young designer :
“To have won the fashion concept award acknowledges the depth of research and execution of my final collection. It also gave me a boost of confidence in my abilities as a designer to have been recognised by industry experts. I think winning the award was not only a testament to my hard work but also to my tutor, technical and pattern cutting tutor.”
See Taneshe’s award-winning collection in our 2022 GFW review video:
To see more behind the scenes of Graduate Fashion Week, follow the official @gfw_official account on Instagram and stay posted to hear the award announcements!
