Coming up with creative designs which beat universities from across the UK in corporate clothing design is more than just a passing fashion at Bedford College and the common denominator is Elisa Bratton.
In 2017, 2018, and 2019 the HND Fashion & Textiles team took the top prizes at the national Professional Clothing International Awards (PCIA) spotlight. Now three students have been short-listed again in 2020. Originally only two per college were allowed into the final stages, but so outstanding is the work of Bedford College that the organisers allowed three through.
To add to the celebrations in 2019, students took part in the University of Northamptonshire’s Fashion Show – exhibiting work, which according to one outside examiner equalled the university standard.
The Programme and Pathway Leader behind this success is Elisa Bratton who has worked at the college for five years and has experience at other colleges and industry. It was her inspiration and hard work that has ensured her students at Bedford College won The Best University plaque in 2017 at the PCIA.
Elisa commented: “These awards are a testimony to the continuous hard work and dedication of our students, they inspire me with their creativity and application.”
Students benefit from university level training that is closer to home which combines creativity with practicality. If you are thinking of signing up for a degree course this autumn look first at www.bedford.ac.uk
Head of Department for Art & Design, Alan Parsons added: “The success of our students is rooted in the passion and dedication of our lecturers. It underlines the value of our approach to vocational education where skills and craftspersonship are valued equally alongside the notions of creativity and academic achievement that are often the prime focus for universities.
“At Bedford College, our curriculum model is a contemporary embodiment of the workshops in the Technical Institutes, where students’ creativity and knowledge is underpinned with a self-sufficiency borne through practical skills and the result, as you can see, is a designer who can most effectively meet a client’s brief with a creative solution for future design problems.
“This year, the work of our BA students has been outstanding. An external examiner judging our work was singing our students praises. We are putting Bedford on the map now in the fashion world and our students have portfolios which are ‘employer ready’ which means when they come to find work they are ahead of the game.”
Students who took part in the show at the University of Northamptonshire were:
Megan Wallis, Poppie Robertson, Sophia Phillips and Holly Varney-Lonsdale.
