Some of Derbyshire’s best young design talent was recognised, when over 80 children from 5 local Derbyshire Primary schools visited the David Nieper fashion house in Alfreton, for the final judging of the 2016 Fashion for Free! school’s design competition.
In the ‘Most Creative Entry’ category, Erin Campion, from Mundy Church of England school won 1st prize for her topsy-turvy doll design. Constance Curran from Leys Junior school was awarded with 2nd prize for her fairy wings and skirt outfit and Jensen Brody from Woodbridge school was given 3rd place for his pirate costume.
In the ‘Well Made’ category, Aliana Rosochacki from Christ the King school was given 1st place for her mermaid bag, Jasmin Saltmarsh also from Christ the King school was awarded 2nd place for her Pinocchio outfit and Daisy Cook from Mundy Church of England school was in 3rd place with her dog coat.
The overall best school award went to Leys Junior School and the best class entry went to Copthorne’s Year 1 class for their Cinderella patchwork quilt.
The Fashion for Free competition has been established to help encourage children to use their imaginations and learn how to create and make things. The competition is open to 5-11 year olds, who were challenged to design and make a textiles creation.
This year’s theme was ‘Once Upon a Time…..Fairytale and Fantasy’ and inspired the children to get creative with some outstanding results. Many pieces were inspired by classic fairytales including Cinderella and Aladdin, and others had a modern twist with influences from Disney’s Maleficient and Tinkerbell.
The event is called Fashion for Free! as the children were not allowed to spend any money on their design, but were required to find something from around the home or school, and give it a new lease of life using only old and recycled items.
As part of the day’s activities the children were given an interactive tour of the fashion house. They visited the sewing rooms and design studio, where they were able to watch designers and dressmakers at work, and they learned about how clothes are made from start to finish.
The children also had the opportunity to join in fun, craft and sewing activities during the day including button and bow making as well as practicing their cross stich, before the presentation of prizes.
Christopher Nieper, Managing Director commented:
“This fantastic display of young talent shows that children are the future! We need to do all we can to encourage and nurture the creativity we have seen today. Congratulations both to our winners and all of the children that took part today.
It’s our pleasure to encourage creativity in schools and give talented young people an opportunity to use their initiative and creativity.”
