Throughout early 2020, Hainsworth will visit the competing universities to judge the garments. © Hainsworth  

Yorkshire textile manufacturer AW Hainsworth is a proud supporter of emerging fashion talent, working closely with UK Universities and their students since launching into the fashion market in 2014. This year the premium woollen mill is set to launch a multi-university live brief, in which students at four Northern-based universities will compete to be named Hainsworth Young Designer of the Year.

Hainsworth has developed a number of successful live briefs over the years, as well as creating and presenting awards at the prestigious New Designers exhibition. This year sees the development of its biggest student project to date, with four different Universities working on one design brief set by Hainsworth. The brief, titled Respect the Past, Create the Future, tasks students with creating a fashion garment that celebrates innovation whilst respecting Hainsworth’s rich heritage.

Hainsworth cloth

“Hainsworth cloth is probably the most iconic in British history. Today gracing the catwalks of world renowned fashion houses and worn by celebrities such as Harry Styles and the late Karl Lagerfeld, their premium woollen cloth has its roots firmly in British history,” the company reports.

The famous thin red line at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 was due to the signature Hainsworth scarlet worn by the British Army, the same striking scarlet cloth that is still worn by the Royal Guards outside Buckingham Palace. The first khaki worn by the British Army from 1899 was developed exclusively by Hainsworth in conjunction with the University of Leeds, and it was Hainsworth that put the RAF in blue when they separated from the British Army in 1918.

Students must work to blend cutting edge techniques to construct a garment that pushes boundaries. © Hainsworth

Although a world away from today’s demands of high fashion, Hainsworth’s heritage is what has made its cloth the envy of woollen mills globally. Students must work to successfully blend cutting edge techniques to construct a garment that pushes boundaries whilst respecting Hainsworth’s deep rooted history and traditional woollen fabrics.

Award

Throughout early 2020, Hainsworth will visit the competing universities to judge the garments and one winner from each university will be selected, each receiving a cash prize of £250. The four finalists will then be invited to the Hainsworth mill to present their garments, and the winner will be presented with the Hainsworth Young Designer of the Year award, winning a prize of £1,000. 

Producing premium textiles on the same site in West Yorkshire since 1783, Hainsworth is extremely proud of its northern roots. With all four of the universities taking part based north of Manchester, it is hoped that the project will shine a spotlight on emerging fashion talent outside of London. The university courses involved are:

• BA (Hons) Fashion Design & Technology, Manchester Metropolitan University
• BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Marketing, Northumbria University
• BA (Hons) Fashion, Teesside University
• BA(Hons) Fashion Design with Textiles and BA(Hons) Fashion Design with Marketing and Production, University of Huddersfield 

www.hainsworth.co.uk