Ones to Watch – Nottingham Trent University

To start our round-ups of this years’ university graduates, we feature students from Nottingham Trent University’s highly-regarded Fashion Knitwear Design undergraduate 2018 cohort. Here are six graduates who caught our eye..

Cat Brierley

Wavering linear knits in draped and boldly gathered silhouettes paired with tan utilitarian hosiery brought a refreshing and wearable elegance to sport-like knits in Cat’s collection Luxus Sicut Futuo. Irregular stripes are off-set and juxtaposed with wavering and textured patterns. Cat, who has worked with the East London based lively design duo Cats Brothers was awarded this years IFFTI Award of Excellence.

Instagram: @catcnits

Eve Williams

A refreshing palette of summer lilac, pale sky blue and fresh pink grounded by a luxurious and classic navy was shown in soft ribbed knits. Gently angular silhouttes were casually tied and boldly buttoned in a chic but relaxed way, resulting in pieces that would sit effortlessly alongside a Stella McCartney or Pringle resort collection. John Lewis competition winner Eve, was sponsored by leading Chinese cashmere mill Consinee.

Instagram: @evedoubleu

Harriet Meakin

Shima Seiki competition finalist Harriet Meakin presented her collection Aestheticise, a mix of gradient stripes, grids and solid jersey in poster paint colours softened with fresh aqua and clean white. Square-cut panelling constructed in simple, modern, asymmetric silhouettes with fine accent trims gave a pleasingly-proportioned collection of eye-catching and highly wearable pieces. Harriet, who gained experience at creative knitwear studio Sophie Steller, was sponsored by top design-led Chinese yarn mill UPW for her final collection.

Instagram: @harriet_elizabeth_knit

Helen Kaye

Helen Kaye’s varied and refined knitting skills were showcased beautifully in her menswear collection, Adorned. Purist white summer-weight knits in textured vertical stripes formed the fabric foundation, abruptly but interestingly broken up with statemental geometrics and motifs, the collection plays between notions of purity and decadence. With experience at knit swatching studios Zinc Design and Acorn Conceptual Textiles, Helen works with high quality Italian spun fibres from Lineapiu and Manifattura Sesia, who both sponsored her final collection.

Instagram: @theeknitkid

Jacaranda Brain

Other-worldly and unnerving – Jacaranda Brain mesmerised with her intensely engineered pieces in clinical white with strongly placed dip-dyed accents. Exoskeletal knits formed with pocketed, frilled, tucked and open-work stitches emphasised the body, contrasting sharply with highly-sculptural pieces that morphed the silhouette and form. Having gained varied experience at traditional knitting mill G H Hurt & Son, and body-conscious RTW designer Julien Macdonald, Jacaranda used her sponsorship from UPW in a visionary way, and earlier this month, she was awarded the Visionary Knitwear Award at this years Graduate Fashion Week in London. (As featured in our article ‘East Midlands Students Scoop Visionary Knitwear Award’)

Instagram: @jacarandabetsyknits

Verity Miller

With experience at MCQ Alexander McQueen and 3.1 Phillip Lim, Verity Miller presented a beautifully balanced mix of texture, shape and colour in her collection, The Illustrated Ensemble. Wide rib knits were distorted with channel gathers and ties, with fine stripe frill trims and slashed seams breaking up her softly feminine yet utilitarian separates in a confident palette of coral orange, palest blue and black. Verity was sponsored by luxury fancy-yarn Chinese mill, Topline.

https://www4.ntu.ac.uk/art/