PHYSICS MEETS FASHION HAT TRICK

London College of Fashion student Juniper Lai was awarded the top prize at the 2015 FAD Competition final which took place at Fashion Scout on Tuesday 24th February.

2015 FAD Competition Winner Juniper Lai

Her kooky approach to the physics brief saw Juniper triumph over sixteen other finalists, representing universities nationwide, to take home the £1000 top prize.

Juniper’s menswear collection translated the Physics Meets Fashion’ brief into an eye-catching mini collection of oversized, layered silhouettes and fabrics created with up to the minute 3D sintering technology.

Crisp white shirts were teamed with laser cut, dip dye shorts in a sophisticated palette of colbalt and monochrome. Flanked by models sporting her futuristic sombreros, a delighted Juniper took to the catwalk to celebrate her victory. Following on from last year's clean sweep, this is the second time a menswear designer has taken the top prize at the FAD final.

Left to right: Juniper Lai, Yeeun Park

Commenting on the winning collection, FAD judge Professor Clare Johnston, Head of Textiles at The Royal College of Art said:
“The exploration of fashion and physics stimulated Juniper’s dynamic ideas and brave experimentation across material and form. Fabric and structure were thoroughly explored to work together with the narrative and concept of the collection. Some very original and exciting results.”

Two runner-up prizes of £500 went to womenswear finalists, Yeeun Park Park from Nottingham Trent University and Francesca Phipps from De Montfort University. Yeeun’s playful entry combined candy coloured fabrics such as wool, neoprene and bonded polyester with loop cord embellishment.

Francesca of De Montfort University used an intricate dying technique on linen to recreate colour spectrums seen in soundwaves. She teamed this with creative pattern cutting skills, moving the garment structure around the body to produce her edgy streetwear collection.

Runner up Francesca Phipps

Commenting on the extraordinary collections created by finalists this year, FAD judge Gemma Metheringham, Chief Creative Officer of Karen Millen said: “I’ve been really impressed with the standard of work overall and the thought which has gone into the brief as well as the execution of the actual pieces.“

The 2015 brief, Physics Meets Fashion, asked the young designers to create a cutting edge mini collection of two outfits, menswear or womenswear, which explores the commonalities of physics and design.

Runner-up Yeeun Park collects her prize from the jury

Shortlisted from over 100 student entries nationwide across 40 universities, the 2015 FAD winners and finalists represent the freshest talent set to graduate from UK universities this summer. Their entries were judged by a panel of industry experts including Geraldine Cox, Physics Artist in Residence at Imperial College; Professor Clare Johnston, Head of Textiles at the RCA and Tamsin Blanchard, Fashion Features Director at the Telegraph Magazine.

Previous FAD competition finalists include acclaimed womenswear designer David Koma; 2014 RCA Graduate and ‘One To Watch’ Emma Hardstaff as well as 2010 Graduate Fashion Week Winner Rebecca Thomson, currently working with Bruce Oldfield. Now in its 14th year the FAD Competition continues to challenge fashion students to think outside the commercial box; encouraging them to look to art, culture and wider social trends for inspiration.

The next FAD Competition will launch in June 2015 at Graduate Fashion Week.

Keep up to date with all the coverage from the 2015 FAD Competition on the FAD Blog and twitter page @fadcharity #PhysicsMeetsFashion.