Former Cordwainer Jimmy Choo presents UK’s Footwear Student of the Year awards
The winners of the prestigious UK-based Footwear Student of the Year awards were presented with their certificates by Jimmy Choo at an event in London last night, held to coincide with the V&A museum’s Pleasure & Pain footwear exhibition.
Three UK universities specialising in footwear – University of Northampton, De Montfort and University of the Arts London’s London College of Fashion (LCF) - submitted work from their top five students to be judged by a panel made up of Pentland Brands’ creative director Katie Greenyer, Guy West from Jeffery-West and designer Atalanta Weller.
The winner was announced as Ganna Domnich from LCF, whose collection was “inspired by artists and so commercially viable”, according to Ms Greenyer.
Second and third prize also went to LCF: Jack McMamara and Lauren Aileen Betourney. This year, commendations were also awarded to Sam Walker and Bethany Roberts from de Montfort.
Mr Choo was joined by fellow ex-Cordwainer, designer Rupert Sanderson, who gave the keynote speech.
He won a comparative award in his year, and travelled to Italy on a Cordwainers’ grant to tour factories and tanneries, subsequently finding work with Sergio Rossi and Bruno Magli, and launching his own label in 2001.
“When you leave college and win an award, you go out into the wilderness and you tend to forget where you started, you’re so consumed with making it work,” he told footwearbiz. “I suppose coming back is an elaborate way to say thank you.”
This is the second student awards organised by the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, following on from an event at the livery company’s London base last May, which was also attended by Jimmy Choo. As the biggest supplier of bursaries and scholarships to footwear students in Britain, they were invited by the curator to support Pleasure & Pain.
“They wanted us to support the exhibition because we represent heritage,” explained Cordwainers clerk John Miller. “Britain leads the world of footwear education and design, it’s in our psyche, and the V&A is the world’s leading museum for art and design, so it was logical to hold the footwear awards here, too.”
We look at the event in more detail in the next issue of World Footwear.
Image: The five winners are joined by (back row, left to right) Lance Shaw, master of the Cordwainers, Jimmy Choo and Katie Greenyer.
