Hainsworth were delighted to partner with LCF BA (Hons) Bespoke Tailoring, for another year. Aligned with our core values of craftsmanship and innovation, we have had a great experience collaborating with the visionary Bespoke Tailoring students of LCF, and we are so proud of the exceptional work they have created.
“The London College of Fashion, is delighted to continue our collaboration with AW Hainsworth. Providing our BA Bespoke Tailoring students with the opportunity to design and execute a fully bespoke jacquard weave in partnership with the Hainsworth team is a unique and valuable experience. Seeing their ideas come to life at the mill, from fibre to finished product has been rewarding for all involved. As course leader I am grateful for the investment and exchange of knowledge and expertise throughout this creative process.”
Daniel Poulson, BA (Hons) Bespoke Tailoring Course Leader, London College of Fashion
In October 2023, we assigned the final year BA (Hons) Bespoke Tailoring students at London College of Fashion (LCF) a project to create a unique jacquard cloth design. The winning students would have their designs woven at the Hainsworth Mill in Yorkshire, for the students to then transform their cloth into expertly tailored garments.
Keep reading to learn about our collaboration and discover how the students crafted these stunning garments…
In October 2023, we visited the students at their campus in Stratford, London to set them a live brief. We asked them to design their very own 100% Merino Wool jacquard cloth from a colour palette of 5 yarns. The colour palette for this year’s project was; Natural (Wool White), Navy Blue, Camel, Jet Black, Deep Teal and Chocolate.
After receiving their brief, the participating students began crafting their custom cloth designs. The Hainsworth Team then attended LCF’s Fabric Fair in late October. During our visit, we met with every student involved in the project to provide feedback and offer technical assistance. Following up on this, we returned to the campus in December to attend each participating student’s final concept presentations.
Choosing only three winners from such a talented pool of students was a challenge! All the students did an excellent job, but in the end we chose our winners because they did a remarkable job of demonstrating originality, quality and craftsmanship, while embracing a sustainability-focused approach. In addition to this, the students also considered how they would reduce fabric waste whilst crafting a expertly-tailored design suitable for their commercial clients.
Our three Winners were Anna Zhou, Anastasia Inozemtseva, and Matilda Jonathan.
“The 2024 LCF Bespoke Jacquard Project was another huge success. The students were once again very engaged, professional, and clearly ambitious for a career in tailoring. I enjoyed discussing their creative concepts for their final collections, enabling them to find ways to develop artwork appropriate for jacquard patterning, which expressed and embodied their final collections.
Andrea Noble, Design and Product Development Manager
All the students that took part had strong theme with great potential. The most driven and determined students were able to bring to the table what we needed by the deadline, and instilled in us the confidence that they could deliver the full and final collection to an excellent standard.
The photoshoot here at spring valley mills demonstrated what excellence can be achieved when 2 strong teams work in a symbiotic collaboration.”
Anna Zhou
“Anna had a clear vision to develop a harmonious collection drawing upon botanical details, of woodland ferns and trees. The scale and placement of the botanicals, created a ‘zen’ like, yet wonderfully dramatic collection of jackets, coats and trousers. It is always interesting to push the boundaries of the jacquard capability!”
Anastasia Inozemtseva
“Anastasia, had an established client in mind, a professional approach and strong artwork. Her concepts, her artwork and her garments were beautifully executed, and I am thrilled with the outcomes focused on the tempest seas and calm forests.”
Matilda Jonathan
“Tilda took an innovative approach, experimentation with mark making and photo scanning to create a variety of artworks. Together we selected the best options which worked excellently in combination. The collection was cleverly considered in layers and combined ‘placement design’ and ‘overall pattern’, using scale and symbolism to explore her concept.”
Anna, Anastasia and Matilda travelled to Leeds to visit us at the Hainsworth Mill earlier this year, to see their designs being woven on our Jacquard looms. They were accompanied by LCF staff members Daniel Poulson (Course Leader), Maria Thelin and Rachel Singer.
Once they received their fabric, the students used their custom cloth designs to create a beautiful array of garments, which were then presented at their salon show in July 2024.
The Hainsworth team were delighted to join the entire BA (Hons) Bespoke Tailoring course for their graduate showcase which took place at Protein Studios in Shoreditch, London on 11 July 2024. We would like to extend a huge congratulations to Anna, Anastasia and Matilda, and all the talented students who presented their incredible work.
Image Credits