Northern Irish student wins Cordwainers award
12/06/2017
The event was opened by the Master of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, Jeremy Blanford, who expressed a desire to work even more closely with the UK footwear industry. He said Cordwainers is committed to increasing the number of bursaries and scholarships it provides for students. He also read extracts of a letter from last year’s winner, Caroline Klemp, in which she explained the enormous impact the award has had on her career a year on.
He was followed onto the stage by Mr Kirkwood, who offered the large number of aspiring designers in attendance some insight into his experiences in the industry. Among the snippets of advice he offered were to find a niche for their brand, make sure they work with a partner rather than go it alone, and put their “absolute passion” into their business every day.
It then fell to Katie Greenyer, creative director of Pentland Brands and chair of this year’s judging panel, to unveil the winners for 2017. She said that the judging panel, which also included footwear designers Atalanta Weller and Guy West, was extremely impressed with the entries from all 15 students.
There were special commendations for two students from De Montfort University, Yoon-Yi Lee and Joanna Eden.
Third place went to Eva Hau of the University of the Arts London’s London College of Fashion (LCF), who received praise from Ms Greenyer for a collection that took mental health as its theme.
Xiao Xiao Wang, also a student at LCF, took second place for a collection of men’s shoes that featured heavy embroidery.
The overall winner was Rachel Hamill of De Montfort University. Ms Greenyer described her entry, which was based on the different’ rooms of a doll’s house, as “super cool”. She said the amount of detail included in the designs was astounding.
Speaking to World Leather, Ms Hamill, originally from County Armagh in Northern Ireland, expressed her disbelief at having won the competition. She said the award was even more special as it was presented by Nicholas Kirkwood, who she described as her idol. She then quickly rushed off to phone her mother back home to deliver the good news.
World Footwear would like to congratulate all the students who took part in the 2017 competition, especially overall winner Rachel Hamill.
Image shows Ms Hamill with her award. Also pictured are Master of the Worshipful Company of Cordwainers, Jeremy Blanford, and designer Nicholas Kirkwood.
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