The British Fashion Council and Max Mara are delighted to announce the winners of the inaugural Max Mara Womenswear Design Prize. Lindsay Marsh from Northumbria University was awarded first prize, Sian Lendrum from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication second prize, with the third prize being awarded to Catherine
Gerrard from The University of Brighton.
Mrs Maria Ludovica Maramotti commented, “The winning students were chosen because they clearly demonstrated the ability to develop their own individual creativity into an innovative yet concrete product. It is this ability that corresponds so well with the Max Mara philosophy and although all three winners showed exceptional creativity,
Lindsay in particular astounded the panel with the integrity of her approach.”
All three students will win a five-month fully paid apprenticeship, from July to November 2009 at the Max Mara head quarters in Reggio Emilia, Italy, which will undoubtedly prove to be an important first step on their career ladders. Each will also receive a cash prize for themselves and their colleges.
An initiative born out of the BFC’s Colleges Council open day, which aims to create employment opportunities for UK fashion graduates, the competition was designed to directly challenge emerging design talent to take on a design project that could lead to valuable work experience and a potential long-term contract. Open to all final year students whose colleges are members of the BFC’s Colleges Council, the first stage of the selection process took place in December 2008, this was followed by an in-depth interview carried out on the 22nd January, when Maria Ludovica Maramotti (Max Mara Board Director), Ian Griffiths (Max Mara Head of Design) and Laura Lusuardi (Max Mara Group Fashion Coordinator), were joined by BFC Colleges Council Chair Anne Tyrrell, Paula Reed, Style Director, Grazia and Hilary Alexander, Fashion Director, Daily Telegraph. In total there were 189 contestants from 22 colleges throughout the UK.
Anne Tyrrell, The British Fashion Council Colleges Chair commented, “We are so delighted to be working with a company with the calibre and history of Max Mara. Their commitment to nurturing design talent is incredible and we are thrilled to be able to give our fashion graduates the opportunity to compete for such a fantastic prize. The
interviews were very exciting and an important part of the project and we can truly say that we have seen some exceptional pieces of work.”
In conclusion Mrs Maria Ludovica Maramotti stated “Our contribution, not only to the winning students, but also to the winning colleges, aims to underline the importance of the strong tutorship that is required to reach this level of understanding. A level of understanding, which will be ever more critical in these difficult times, as we look to
creative teams to generate the ideas, which will re-animate our industry. Therefore we hope that this project will be useful not only for the students who have taken part, but also for their colleges and for the industry in general.”
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Notes to Editors:
The Max Mara Fashion Group was founded in 1951 by Achille Maramotti and is now run by the next generation. The company is one of the largest women's pret-a-porter (ready to wear) manufacturers in the world, with 2362 stores and 23 different brands sold in more than 90 countries in the world.
MAX MARA PRESS CONTACT:
Tanya Shaw, tanya@scpr-huntsworth.com, Tel: 020 7298 6530
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