Students win M&S jumper design competition
Molly Cormican and Katie Watson, final year students in Textile Design at the University of Leeds will soon see jumpers they designed sold in M&S, after winning a national competition.
Molly's menswear design and Katie's womenswear design
Molly and Katie's designs for wool menswear and womanswear jumpers were selected as the winners by knitwear designers at M&S. Their creations have now been developed and manufactured, and can be bought in the Marble Arch and Leeds Briggate stores.
This year, M&S teamed up with The University of Leeds to give students the opportunity to design a wool jumper that would be sold in store. The theme was ‘knitwear traditions of the British Isles’.
Molly took inspiration from traditional fishermen’s jumpers and current Autumn / Winter trends. Molly’s design took elements from the classic chunky knit with prominent cable and diamond patterns being a key feature. The wool is 100% lambswool and is produced by Hawick Knitwear in Scotland.
Katie’s inspiration came from looking at knitwear throughout British history. She based her design on 1960s fashion trends, with an emphasis on the drop stitch surrounded by a heavier knit. The wool used is 100% superfine lambswool and the colour palette includes white, pale pink and blackcurrant.
Molly said: “I have had a keen interest in fashion as long as I can remember so to have my design chosen to be sold in M&S is a dream come true. It will be amazing to see my design in-store. It was a fantastic experience to work alongside M&S and a great opportunity to help start my career in design.”
Katie said: “I think my design is elegant yet fun with a sense of youth. It was a fantastic initiative to be involved in and getting to work alongside a retailer like M&S provided a great insight into the industry. I was so delighted to hear that my design had been selected as a winner and I cannot wait to see it on the shelves in M&S during Wool Week.”
The Campaign for Wool’s Wool school project, is its fashion and education initiative that sees fashion, textiles and design students across the country team up with a retail partner and compete to design wool jumpers that will be sold in stores throughout Wool Week 2013.