The announcement was made at a prestigious awards event held at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. The competition judges were internationally acclaimed designer Dame Zandra Rhodes, knitwear designer Laduma Ngxokolo from South Africa (a previous winner of the competition) and Duncan Neil from Turnbull Prints.

Aoife was chosen over the other finalists representing Hong Kong, India, UK, Singapore, Thailand, Bangladesh, China, Portugal, New Zealand and South Africa. All entries had to show evidence of using colour as an integral component of the design process as well as incorporating this year’s theme of Buy Less, Choose Well.

Inspirations and designs

“It is a huge honour to win such a prestigious internationally recognised award. It has given me motivation and confidence in my work and it has made me feel the long hours spent in studio are truly worthwhile,” commented Aoife.

“I have recognised that today there is an appreciation of craft made items. People want to buy products that do not feel or look mass-produced but that have a feeling of authenticity – a connection to humanity. My collection is deeply focused on raw materials and geological matter found in nature. Foraging and exploring a variety of bird’s eggs, pebbles, sea glass and driftwood is where it all began. Mineralized rocks inspired use of this metallic within my work. My colour palette reflects my natural subject matter. Screen-printing and hand dyeing is an intrinsic part of my design work.”

High degree of professionalism

The judges commented: “Aoife's concept and product had an extremely high degree of professionalism throughout. The use of colour is subtle, beautiful and classic, to enable it to sit in a home for many years. The use of processes is extremely well considered for product, and fabric choices were ideal for interior products at the high end of the market.”

This year’s result signifies a third year in a row that one of the NCAD students has won the grand final. Previous winners were Rachel White in 2013 and Orla McCarthy in 2014.

Aoife goes home with the £1,000 cash prize and the Veronica Bell trophy. The trophy is in honour of the late Dr Veronica Bell, (an SDC past-president) to acknowledge excellence in the field of colour and design.

Supporter of young designers

“The SDC is a committed supporter of young designers. We work with universities across the world to ensure that the next generation of students has a clear understanding of colour. The work of the finalists is always of an exceptional standard and on behalf of the SDC, I would like to congratulate all the students on such inspiring designs,” said Dr Graham Clayton, Chief Executive of the SDC.

Founded in 1884, SDC is the leading independent, educational charity dedicated to advancing the science and technology of colour. The organisation’s mission is to educate the changing world in the science of colour.

www.sdc.org.uk