Countdown is underway to crown World's Next Top Design Talent

14 Aug '10

6 min read

The nine finalists have now been revealed for Bradford-based Society of Dyers and Colourists' (SDC) annual International Design Competition and will go head to head in London and compete to be named the globe's next top creative talent.

Following more than 500 entrants from 100 colleges representing ten countries, nine finalists were picked following a series of regional heats held over the last six months and winners from the United Kingdom, Australia/New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Pakistan, Singapore and South Africa will be jetting to London to represent their countries at the final event which will be held on 5th October 2010 at the historical Clothworkers' Hall.

The final will take place as part of Textiles-UK, a major new one day event organised by the SDC with support from The Clothworkers' Company and The Dyers' Company which this year will be looking at the vital role of the wool industry in the UK, including the impact on the British economy.

The competition, which is sponsored by Clariant, was open to undergraduates registered on fashion/textile design courses and asked students to submit an entry which demonstrates the creative, imaginative and original use of colour in either fashion or textiles. This year, the students were asked to demonstrate socially responsible thinking in their approach to their original design or in the written statement which accompanies the submission and explains the designer's inspiration or theme behind their piece.

Finalists include UK winner Kelly Taylor, aged 23 from Barwick-in-Elmet, a third year textile design student at De Montfort University in Leicester whose winning piece entitled 'Chain mail and floral filigrees' was inspired by the ornate embroidered material worn beneath ancient oriental armour. Representing Australia/New Zealand is fashion design student Anna Langdon, 22, who is currently completing her second year at prestigious fashion college, The Fashion Studio at the Sydney Institute. Anna's winning piece, 'Hunter, Gatherer, Worldly Traveller', comments on the need for social understanding and acceptance of cultural diversity in order to promote socially responsible attitudes in local and global communities.

From Ireland, finalist Sinead Geraghty, 30, a recent graduate from the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, impressed judges with her submission 'Natural Honest' which includes various fabrics constructed entirely from hand dyed natural fibres. A trip to Nepal inspired Sinead to produce materials made from local fibres and resources commonly used in textile production in developing countries. Representing Hong Kong with her work 'Deforming Forest', 23 year old Kwok Wai Liu, a second year student at the Hong Kong Design Institute, was influenced by rainforest ecology and environmental concerns around the effects of global warming resulting in a dynamic fusion of animal prints and vibrant 'tropical' colours.

The fifth finalist, Mariam Mobeen Shah, who studies at the Iqra University Islamabad in Pakistan, beat more than 20 regional finalists from across the country to be crowned Pakistan's representative. She will also be joined by Laduma Ngxokolo who won the South African heat with his work 'The Colourful World of the Xhosa Tribe'. The 24 year old, who is studying a BTech in Textile Design & Technology at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, was inspired by the people of the Xhosa Tribe of South Africa who have a very rich cultural heritage and have played an important part in the development of South Africa with the most famous member of the Xhosa being Nelson Mandela.

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