The charity Texprint has announced the winners of its prestigious awards that recognise emerging textile design talent in the fields of fashion, interiors, colour and pattern at this week’s Première Vision Designs, which took place in Paris.

The four winners have been chosen from 24 graduates of the Texprint 2016 extensive professional mentoring programme. In addition, a special award was presented by The Woolmark Company, which celebrates the use of Merino wool. This year’s The Woolmark Company Texprint Award went to Jacob Monk. The awards were presented by Martin Leuthold, Artistic Director of Jakob Schlaepfer.

“It is an honour to give these prizes. I have been in the industry for 50 years and I still enjoy it. And it is great to see the future in the Texprint designers. If you have creativity you can survive – you don’t have to be a big star: you have to be your own star. You give your heart to your ideas, and then you have the pleasure to give it away,” said Martin Leuthold.

Selection process

Texprint has a rigorous selection process. Peter Ring-Lefevre presides over a panel of expert judges providing professional textile expertise. For three weeks in June, the panel interviews some 240 applicants all recently graduated from BA and MA textiles and textiles-related courses throughout the UK. They are filtered to the 24 designers selected to become the Texprint 2016 alumni.

Since July, the Texprint 2016 alumni have been working on their collections in order to bring new work to Première Vision Designs in Paris.

Winners

The Texprint Colour Award, sponsored by Mode Information, went to Chloe Frost, who completed an MA at the Royal College of Art in Woven Textiles. The Texprint Pattern Award, sponsored by Liberty Fabrics, was presented to Megan Clarke, who graduated with a BA from Loughborough University having studied Textiles: Innovation and Design, specialising in print.

The Texprint Fashion Award winner is Grace Lomas, who has just completed a BA at Central Saint Martins in Fashion Design with Knitwear. Finally, the Texprint Interiors Award, sponsored by The Clothworkers’ Foundation, went to Isla Middleton, who studied at Falmouth University gaining a BA in Textile Design.

Judges

Judging for the Texprint Awards took place at the London showcase in July at Chelsea College of Art where Pip Jenkins, Head of Design, John Smedley; Fi Douglas of Bluebellgray; Nadia Albertini, a couture embroiderer, and Andrew Croll, senior design recruiter for Nike, carefully assessed the designers’ work and portfolios. They were unanimously impressed with the creativity, innovative ideas and high quality displayed.

Commenting on the designers’ displays, Nadia Albertini said: “It’s really a pleasure to see such beautiful work. The UK’s education system is remarkable.”

“I feel really passionate about supporting the next generation of designers,” commented Fi Douglas, of Bluebellgray. “Design is an ever-evolving thing and to keep the world a wonderful, inspiring and exciting place we need to make sure the new designers coming through have the support and encouragement to reach their potential and allow their creativity to flourish.”

The Woolmark Company Texprint Award

The Woolmark Company Texprint Award was judged at Première Vision by Ms Aline Galimberti, Chief Designer at Dormeuil, together with Jonathan Christopher of Jonathan Christopher Homme, the 2015-16 European menswear finalist for the International Woolmark Prize. The Woolmark Company Texprint Award went to Jacob Monk, who completed a BA at Central St Martins in Textile Design.

Those eligible for The Woolmark Company Texprint Award must incorporate a minimum of 60% Merino wool into their textiles and demonstrate a good understanding of its qualities and potential application in fabric. The Woolmark Company has supported this special prize for six years.

Considering this year’s Texprint alumni, Jonathan Christopher commented: “Jacob is using so many different techniques in the wool, and then he uses the outcomes again in print. It is very considered and he is not afraid to experiment and push boundaries. It is very subtle. Then he gives you a sense, a sketch, of how he envisages the collection being applied to menswear. It doesn’t stay an idea – it’s a complete story. This is what I do with my menswear, so I can appreciate what he is doing.”

www.texprint.org.uk