Executives from Ted Baker were wowed at a catwalk show organised and featuring clothing designed and created by a group of talented fashion design students.
Second year Nottingham Trent University students, from the institution's School of Art and Design, worked with Ted Baker to create menswear collections, which could span from day through to night, for the concept 'Ted's Travels'. As a step forward from their first year studies, which teach research, pattern cutting and garment construction, second year students were challenged to apply their knowledge to a commercial, industry focused project incorporating professional practice.
They were challenged with the task of creating a collection of six to seven outfits for an Autumn/Winter range which reflected the brand’s ethos and a metaphorical journey on the Orient Express, drawing on inspiration from its original journey which ran from Paris to Istanbul.
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Ted Baker fashion show
Each student had to make three garments: one jersey, one trouser, and one outerwear piece (a jacket or coat). As part of their learning outcomes they were also expected to create a look book, presentation and portfolio, including market research, illustration of line-up, and promotion.
As part of the process they arranged a catwalk show for Ted Baker executives, store personnel and fellow students to showcase their work. A group of the students formed a committee to organise the event, which took place on the 14 March.
Elisha Diamond, who was on the organising panel, said: "We wanted the show to help to raise money towards our final year shows next year. We put a lot of work into it and [we] managed to get the creative director of menswear from Ted Baker, as well as their head of menswear and head of shirts to come along.
"We carried on the concept of a journey on the Orient Express and had suitcases and different props which linked it back to travel. We also did all the tickets and branding based on travel and had a guy at the front stamping all the tickets. We also made little tags for the seats like travel tags which said thank you for joining us and we hope you have a nice journey. It was a lot of work but the show was worth it."
After viewing all of the collections, the Ted Baker executives at the show selected a winning team who received a Ted Baker goody bag and a work placement as part of the Ted Baker design team. The winning team was made up of Yvonne Shu Anna Edgerton, Leisa Hughes, Lili Liu, Eleanor Northway, and Stephen Neul.
The Ted Baker team said they were particularly impressed with the professional staging of the show and the strong impact the collections made on the catwalk. They added they were inspired by the quality of work coming through Nottingham Trent University, which they described as "very encouraging" for the future of the fashion industry.