Supermodel praise for winning student

FASHION students walked away with three major awards at London Graduate Fashion Week (June 8-12), leaving celebrities and industry insiders “blown away”.

Claudia Schiffer described degree student Nabil El Nayal’s stunning collection as “wonderfully dramatic”.

River Island CEO Richard Bradbury said the students had added a “steely commercialism” to their amazing imaginations, making their collections more saleable than ever.

Nabil, already picked out as a star of the future, won Best Womenswear, making him the top young designer for women in the UK from 49 universities and colleges.

Innovation

Fellow Manchester School of Art colleagues Tim Rhys Evans, 26, from North Wales, and Thomas Rothery, 22, from Yorkshire, won the Creative Cutting Award and the Innovation Award respectively.

The top prize, the £20,000 River Island Gold Award was won by Jessica Au, a student at Ravensbourne College.

22-year-old Nabil who won the Royal Society of Art Student Award earlier this year, impressed everyone with his collection in black and white which included a voluminous knife-pleated chiffon skirt, skinny black PVC panelled trousers and a white, high-necked ruffled blouse.

“We thought this was a wonderfully dramatic collection with a well thought-out theme,” said Claudia Schiffer, one of the main judges. “I have been blown away by the overall standard this year.”

Agyness Deyn

Other judges included model Agyness Deyn, designers Henry Holland and Gareth Pugh, and British Fashion Council chairman Harold Tillman.

More than 1,000 students from 49 colleges across Britain showcased their work, culminating in last night’s gala finale at Earls Court. Guests included Pixie Geldof and Ant and Dec.