Fashion Design Students Blend Culture with Couture

For one group of students in the United Kingdom, a three week trip across the continent resulted in significant inspiration. Fashion design students are known for being among the brightest, most innovative forces in the fashion world. The students highlighted by the Gazette Herald (story below) are just a few examples of the insight gained into culture as it is translated into the world of fashion design.

(Gazette Herald) Passports were as important as pins for fashion students who scoured India and Italy looking for inspiration for their designs.

The fruits of their travels were revealed at a glamorous fashion show at York Racecourse on Thursday.

Anneka Rogers, 21, of Malton, was one of the York College foundation degree students who took part in an academic exchange to India – a first for the college.

The students stayed for three weeks, said Helen Ventress, head of art, design and craft at the college. She said: “They went out to source fabrics, trims and beads. They went to markets and specialist craft areas, visited manufacturers and small factories and dusty street stalls.”

Anneka said she was knocked out by the culture shock and has called her final collection, Indescribable India. “You can hardly describe what it’s like,” she said. “You just can’t take everything in.”

Anneka took the peacock, the national bird of India, as an inspiration. She bought ready-made embroidered peacocks at a street market and incorporated them into her garments back in York. In one dress, featuring a deep purple skirt with an upper body displaying a feather print, a large peacock is stitched across the front.

It was the Duomo in Florence that struck a chord with 21-year-old Alix Shaw fromNorton.

“We went….

Read more: Ryedale fashion students’ travels translate into design statements

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