Over 3,000 design graduates from across the UK came together last week at the New Designers 2024 showcase to present their final year projects. Spanning textiles, fashion, costume, jewellery and other creative specialities, the show offered a platform for new graduate designers to connect with employers, buyers, and industry professionals.

The New Designers 2024 showcase took place over two weeks from 26 June to 6 July 2024 at the Business Design Centre in London. More than 200 universities were in attendance, with several UKFT Education Partners exhibiting at the event:

Week 1: Bath Spa University, Buckinghamshire New University, De Montfort University, Heriot Watt University, JCA – London Fashion Academy, Nottingham Trent University, University of Bolton and Winchester School of Art.

Week 2: Northumbria University, University of Huddersfield, University of Leeds and University of Westminster.

Image: New Designers 2024.

Image: De Montfort University at New Designers 2024.

In addition to a varied programme of talks featuring industry experts from Laura Ashley, Tu Clothing and more, New Designers 2024 celebrated design excellence through a series of awards. UKFT Education Partner Manchester School of Art saw several of its students awarded at the event including Sam Holmes, winner of the Dinny Hall New Jewellery Designer of the Year Award; and Isla Paine, receiving the Chorus Arts Prize for Craft and Material Exploration.

Judges commented on Sam’s project, a jewellery design created on a workbench: “A portable workbench where Sam can be on the move almost anywhere and be inspired by the world. A fine craftsman who has the potential to create 21st century jewellery in a new and innovative way.”

Rosie Broadfoot, graduate from UKFT Education Partner Nottingham Trent University, received the Disney Home Storyteller Award for designing a pyjama and homeware collection using various techniques such as digital jacquard and knitting. She will get access to a mentorship programme with a creative leader at Disney over a 6-month period.

Image: Rosie Broadfoot’s project (Nottingham Trent University).

Image: Sam Holmes’ project (Manchester School of Art).

The New Designers 2024 showcase highlighted the breadth of UK design graduates’ creativity and skills as they prepare to enter industry. A fine example of the variety of design projects presented at the show, UKFT Education Partner Winchester School of Arts – University of Southampton displayed a diverse selection of projects by BA Textile Design graduates.

Themes such as urban spaces, the automobile industry, personal nostalgia, Victorian fashion and more were reinterpreted through woven, knitted and printed textiles. Graduate Ella Walker-Wiltshire won the 2024 Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters Award for her jacquard knitwear concept developed using the Shima Seiki knitting machine, while graduate Jo Campbell-Johnson used deadstock from UKFT member Stephen Walters for her woven textile project.

Image: Winchester School of Arts at New Designers 2024.

Image: Jo Campbell-Johnson, graduate from Winchester School of Arts.

About UKFT Education Partners

UKFT’s Education Partners membership facilitates greater connectivity between education and industry to support an infrastructure that is responsive to current and future industry requirements; to supply a critical pipeline of skilled new entrants into employment; and to unlock important research, funding and innovation opportunities.

Find out more about how UKFT works with universities, colleges and training providers:

UKFT EDUCATION PARTNERS