Lulelemon picks two winners for Texprint awards

Cherica Haye and Florence Angelica Colson both win a three-month paid internship at the brand’s headquarters in Vancouver, Canada and a prize of £1,000.

Deanne selected Cherica and Florence from among the 24 Texprint finalists. The Texprint designers are all UK art and design school-trained and work across several disciplines including print, weave, knit, stitch and mixed media. Cherica and Florence showed their award-winning work at the Texprint stand, 17-19 September at Indigo, Première Vision. 

Weaver Cherica Haye – who studied at Central St Martins and then the RCA - has created a range of fabrics that mix the sensibilities of traditional menswear suiting with performance fabrics using dobby and industrial jacquard looms. Cherica says she envisaged the collection being used for apparel, describing them as androgynous, but they would equally be suited to car and aeroplane upholstery as many have a wipe-down finish.

This collection focuses on geometric weaves, and she blends fabric structure and a variety of yarns and heat-press finishes achieving sophisticated, dark and bold patterns. Her materials include a polyurethane/cotton/viscose mix with a leather-like feel, wool, silk as well as yarns with metallic and plastic looks which she blends in the cloth for a bespoke, hand-woven look.

Deanne praised Cherica’s timeless designs: “Cherica’s weaves were dark and rich and I could immediately imagine them looking amazing in Lululemon's quest to make athletic apparel gorgeous. I believe what she showed was modern and timeless 'woven' together. When I look at her work the first word that comes to mind is gorgeous and that is exactly what I want someone to say when they see a Lululemon garment.”

Florence is a Leeds College of Art graduate specialising in printed textiles and surface pattern design. Inspired by Victorian ornaments, Florence looked at the details of wood and stone carvings. Combining bold background colours with monotone line drawings, Florence adds a modern twist to classic imagery. 

Using traditional processes such as gouache which she mixes herself to hand-draw and paint her designs, her designs are extremely intricate, focusing on the details in ornamentation. Using digital manipulation to arrange her detailed drawings, Florence’s collection combines traditional and cutting-edge pattern production techniques. Printing onto luxury silks such as silk crepe de chine and silk wool twills, Florence’s work is perfectly suited for fashion garments.

Deanne applauded Florence’s colour scheme: “Florence’s dedication to black and white in new ways is beautiful. Besides being a sucker for black and white together I believe that done right black and white is highly commercial and is the foundation of a well rounded out wardrobe. All of Florence's designs have playful energy and at the same time could be taken very seriously. Black and white is very important to Lululemon so this will be a very fun collaboration.”

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