BA Fashion Design and Development students collaborate with FARAH on live industry project
- Written byS Cheevers
- Published date 10 August 2026
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Second-year students on BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Development recently partnered with global fashion brand FARAH to develop a unisex capsule collection that reimagined the brand for a contemporary audience while celebrating its rich heritage.
The FARAH x Fashion Design and Development Industry Project challenged students to take a holistic approach to the brand, exploring areas including brand narrative, consumer insight, supply chain, product lifecycle and product development.
Alongside designing their collections, students were encouraged to demonstrate sustainable, inclusive and diverse approaches to fashion design, manufacturing and customer experience.
Each student submitted a comprehensive development portfolio, including research and experimentation, a visual brand report with the rationale behind their collection, technical packs for two final garments, and one fully realised look.
Lilia Yip, Senior Lecturer on BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Development, said:
“Students were given the rare opportunity to work directly with the FARAH team, who offered valuable insights into how the brand operates from creative direction, designer, sourcing and product development perspectives.
Students learnt about the rich brand history of FARAH and gained physical access to the FARAH clothing archive, with a chance to handle garments and learn about their provenance from the FARAH team.”
First prize: Ruby Morais-Trigg
Congratulations to Ruby Morais-Trigg, who was awarded first prize for her collection.
Reflecting on the project, Ruby said:
"I was really excited to work with FARAH for the final project of the term. It was inspiring to draw from a brand with such a deep history. We had the opportunity to explore archive pieces, which really helped generate design ideas for our collections.
My final collection was based on Black youth culture and my dad growing up in the 1970s, a significant era for Farah. For this reason, the target audience was a more mature consumer which Farah are yet to explore. Catering to a new Farah consumer was an exciting challenge. I wanted to subtly reference the brand's iconic fabric techniques, like pin tucks, which feature heavily throughout my designs, while also bringing in my own ideas through bold prints, colour, and layering.
My final garment featured a false double jacket with a geometric pin-tuck fabric on the outer blazer section. I created the fabric myself because I wanted the design to feel high quality and durable. The look also included bold printed high-waisted jeans with the iconic Farah front pockets and pleats.
The print on the trousers is really personal to me, as it's a photo of my dad, uncle, and nan standing outside their house in Wolverhampton in 1976. Bringing that image into the collection helped connect the garment back to the story and inspiration behind the project.
Overall, it has been great to work with Farah. It was also exciting to complete an industry brief and work with a real company, making the project feel even more meaningful.”
Joint second prize
Congratulations to Alvin Yang and Duru Gunal, who were jointly awarded second place.
Duru Gunal said:
"The starting point for my collection was the shared sense of individuality between my father and FARAH. My father has always expressed his personality through subtle details, and I realised this reflected FARAH’s heritage of individuality.
I wanted to translate that into garments that people would genuinely want to wear, pieces that appear understated at first glance but reveal thoughtful construction, texture and functional details over time.
Sustainability also played an important role in my process, as I incorporated donated deadstock fabric into my final garments, demonstrating how existing materials can be reimagined into contemporary, high-quality pieces.
Working with the FARAH team challenged me to balance the brand’s heritage with my own perspective, making the collaboration both creatively inspiring and deeply personal. The project also showed me how creative ideas can be developed and refined to meet industry standards."
Alvin Yang said:
“My collection juxtaposed Farah’s military wear heritage with a warming touch of home. Through styling, sketching and material experimentations, my design process aimed to explore a wide range of possibilities.
It was a pleasure working with Farah since they were open to many different ideas and encouraged us to expand our research data. The archive day was enriching as I gained a better understanding of the brand’s design identity.
To address sustainability, I used 100% cotton drill in my final garment, which is not only durable but is also able to be recycled or downcycled into building materials. Natural fibre reduces the involvement with the fossil fuel industry and microplastic concerns.
I also developed a user manual for garment aftercare and proposed a repair-shop concept to encourage longer product lifecycles."
The FARAH team supporting the project included Christopher O'Brien (Creative Director), Ann-Marie Crandley (Head of Sourcing), Elliot Sach (Product Developer and Designer), Reece Clayton (Designer), Mia Zackrisson (Marketing Director) and Maisie Cook (Marketing Manager).
The collaboration gave students first-hand experience of responding to a professional industry brief while working closely with experts across design, sourcing, marketing and product development.
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