Student Emily Saunders wins last ever Anne Tyrrell Student Design Award 2020

Second year BA (Hons) Fashion student Emily Saunders has won first prize in the last ever year of the award.

Second year BA (Hons) Fashion student, Emily Saunders, has won the last ever Anne Tyrrell Student Design Award.

The late Anne Tyrrell MBE was a passionate advocate of British fashion education, and had a career in the industry spanning over five decades. She left part of her estate to The Anne Tyrell Estate, which is awarded students currently studying fashion in Britain to help further their education and careers.

For the award, Emily had to submit 6-10 pages that reflected who she is as a designer, covering her creative process from initial concept, research and development (including technical drawings), through to the final outcome. Emily chose to submit an overview of her tailoring project titled ‘Concealed Identity’.

Emily’s collection

“The collection took inspiration from manipulating form and structure through the narrative of the Victorian crinoline, considering exaggeration of form, scale, space and movement” said Emily. “There are also heavy allusions to the Nun’s habit stemming from my primary research at the Norwich Castle study centre, where I studied their archives of corsetry and crinolines.”

The prize

Emily won a total of £4,500 in this award, but how does she plan to use her winnings?

“I would love the opportunity do a placement abroad, my dream placement being in the Iris van Herpen atelier, Amsterdam” said Emily. “An internship in an atelier environment would be really important for me as it would help develop my craftsmanship and give me a more thorough understanding of all stages of manufacture, which I believe is key to successful design​.”

You can view more of Emily’s work on Instagram @emily_rose_arts