A high-flying Fashion Design student from De Montfort University Leicester DMU) has landed a bumper bursary from a national guild.
Third year Catriona Pringle is one of just eight students from across the country to be awarded a £2,500 bursary by The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters to help her create her final year collection.
The 22-year-old, from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, said: “It’s a lot of money! It really helps towards my final collection.
“I had to send a written proposal of what I wanted to do with the money both to improve myself and to advance in the industry.
“Then I had an hour-long interview where I had to show my work to a panel of four judges from the company who have all worked in the industry so it was a bit intimidating, but they were just wanting to see the thought process behind my work and to make sure that I knew my stuff.”
The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters is a medieval trade guild dating back to the 16th century which aims to support the knitting and hosiery industry and has its reference library in Oadby, Leicestershire.
The bursary is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students from across the country and also aims to get students working with local companies and in 2013 fellow DMU Fashion Design student Naomi Lobley won the award.
Catriona said: “I told the panel I really wanted to work with Stoll, a company in Leicester who do digital knit. The bursary will now help to push and develop my knit a bit more.”
Catriona’s final collection will be made up of six outfits, with a mix of woven and knitted designs. She said: “Right now, the designs are based on the work of my grandma, who had a sewing school in the 1960s and 1970s.
“I am taking techniques, unfinished designs and silhouettes and looking at them and then modernising them. It is kind of inspired by our ‘family archive’ as some of the textiles are based on things my mum has done, too.”
But the bursary is not the first big break Catriona has had while studying at DMU. Last summer, she spent eight weeks living and working in New York for clothing giant Gap in their men’s sweaters section as part of a dream work experience placement.
“That was amazing,” Catriona said. “From the beginning of June to August last year I was living and working there. I was the only student from DMU there but there were a few more from the UK and the rest were from across America.
“I learned a lot! All of us also got to do a mini project and then pitch it to a panel including some big names from inside the company which again was quite daunting but helped me for this time around.”
As for the help she has been given by DMU, Catriona said: “The tutors on the course have been really supportive, plus there are lots of competitions to enter and I think that is the best way to learn.
“It is also quite nice to see other environments as you are quite isolated with your own work, but the tutors push you in lots of different directions and give you lots of opportunities. All I want to do is be a designer.”
Posted on Monday 16 March 2015