Enter now: Golden Shears Awards for creative and technical talent in tailoring
27/08/2024
Held every two years, the Golden Shears competition brings together the very best fashion students and apprentice tailors from across the country to showcase their creative and technical excellence.
The competition’s finale, consisting of a live catwalk at Merchant Taylors’ Hall – the spiritual home of tailoring – is the only event of its kind dedicated to promoting the best young creative and technical talent in tailoring.
Entry criteria
- Entrants either must be on programmed UK Company Training, or enrolled on a Further or Higher Education Course in the UK of which tailoring or apparel making is a part.
- No entrant with more than a total of seven years of Further or Higher Education and Industrial Training will be eligible.
- There is no age limit for entering the competition.
- Each competitor will enter a coordinating outfit of at least two garments, one for the top half of the body and the other for the bottom half.
- No entry may have been entered in any previous competition.
- Garments may be for womenswear or menswear.
- All entries must conform to strict sizes: Womenswear size 10 – Menswear size 38.
- All work must be carried out by the entrant but may be done under the direction of Tutors/Trainers.
Judges
There are technical and style judges – all industry experts in their field. Marks are awarded for technical skill – design, cutting, tailoring, and style.
The Golden Shears Final
Held at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, finalists attend a live catwalk show where their garments are exhibited on professional models.
Prizes
The winners receive a cash prize as well as the award: Golden Shears winner – £3,000 | Silver Shears – £2,500 | Rising Star – £2,000
The Winners
Past Golden Shears finalists have become head cutters on Savile Row, designers in couture ateliers, lecturers at leading universities, and business owners in their own rights.
To enter the 2025 competition
All applications must be submitted (emailed or received by post) no later than midnight Wednesday 30 October 2024.
All entries including completed garments, illustrated design work and working patterns, to be received at the Merchant Taylors’ Hall, by Post, Courier, or by hand: between 6 January and 8 January 2025 ONLY.