Fashion knitwear student Amy Carter has won the 2017 FAD Competition, organised by creative charity Fashion Awareness Direct, which took place at the Freemasons Hall in Covent Garden last month, and was presented by fashion retail mogul Jane Shepherdson CBE.

Amy, of the School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, was recognised for her sporty collection of relaxed, interchangeable separates, which were inspired by the mechanical sounds of knitwear machinery and incorporated the signature vibrant colours of awards collaborator Missoni.

“It was amazing to win. Just to see my work on the catwalk at London Fashion Week is like winning, so winning overall is just amazing,” said Amy.

FAD Competition

Now in its 16th year, the event was hosted by Fashion Scout as part of its official schedule for London Fashion Week, and featured designs by 20 undergraduate fashion designers from 16 different UK universities. It is the only national undergraduate showcase to take place on the London Fashion Week catwalk.

The year 2017 saw a collaboration between FAD and knitwear brand Missoni which challenged contestants to “take the Missoni approach”, drawing inspiration from European artists and 'letting colour take shape'.

Complete knitwear collection

Amy joined the jury on stage to be presented with £1,000 by FAD jury member Liz Griffiths, head of creative textile and design research at Missoni. Talking about why the jury selected Amy as the winner, Liz Griffiths commented: “Amy's collection was complete knitwear collection. It was beautifully finished, she had a fantastic sense of colour and she had mixed stitches and different approaches to knitted fabrics together.”

“It was very different, the way she mixed and put them together, but they worked. Amy's work was innovative, even though it was also very commercial and sellable, and we liked that. And also the sense of colour was not normal, it was a little bit different, and Angela Missoni loved it too.”

Past FAD Competition finalists have gone on to achieve successful careers in the fashion industry, and include noted designer David Koma as well as design professionals at Hussein Chalayan, Burberry, Aquascutum, ASOS and All Saints.

www.ntu.ac.uk