LCF Graduate Tailors win Carnaby X London College of Fashion: Kingly Street Tailors scholarship

Shaftesbury, owners of destination Carnaby in the heart of London’s West End, have collaborated with London College of Fashion, UAL (LCF) to offer two recent graduate tailors the opportunity of a lifetime.

‘Carnaby X London College of Fashion: Kingly Street Tailors’ are providing a free studio space for Leisha Parlour and Takudzwa Chigaduro, two entrepreneurial LCF graduate tailors with emerging businesses. In addition, LCF will provide a programme of mentoring and business support through its Knowledge Exchange programme. The studio space, located in 26 Kingly Street, Carnaby is the existing home to three floors of established tailors who have historically made suits for rock ‘n’ roll royalty, film stars, TV personalities and the most well-dressed men and women in the world.

The judging panel included LCF alumnus and entrepreneur Harold Tillman CBE, Mark Powell celebrity Soho tailor, Kathryn Sargent, Savile Row's first female master tailor, Tom Horne owner of L’Estrange and Samantha Bain-Mollison, Retail Director at Shaftesbury. Two winning tailors were selected and will take up residency this summer in their new home at 26 Kingly Street, in the heart of London’s Carnaby.

Shaftesbury launched this initiative in partnership with LCF in 2019 to help young talent in the British tailoring industry. Joshua Millard, winner of the 2019 competition, has gone from strength to strength and has now opened his first standalone store at 1 Marlborough Court just off Carnaby Street. The second winner, Sarah Hollebon, will continue to run her business of “tailoring with a social mission” from a studio in 26 Kingly Street.

2021 Winners

Leisha was born and raised in London and graduated with a degree in tailoring from LCF in 2020. She takes pride in showcasing her hometown’s vibrant and industrious lifestyle through her work, and combines this with the individuality of her clients.

Leisha’s design philosophy incorporates sustainability and experimental craftsmanship to carve a modern space in the future of bespoke tailoring. Along with use of collaboration and emotive design, Leisha up-cycles second-use textiles in a refreshing style striving for longevity and circularity in her approach to tailoring.

Takudzwa, known as Tak, is a 23-year-old tailor and fashion designer living and working in London. She was born in Zimbabwe and moved to the UK when she was 11. Tak completed her degree in Bespoke Tailoring at LCF in 2019 and has been working on a range of fashion industry roles since.

Her goal is to launch her own brand, TAK, which will be a unique womenswear brand influenced by androgyny and traditional workwear. It will be an inclusive and empowering tool for self-expression and will provide a made to order bespoke service.

After selecting this year’s winners, fashion entrepreneur Harold Tillman, himself an LCF tailoring graduate, has said:

As Business & Enterprise Advisor to LCF, this project is very close to my heart. Creating your own business is always a very bold move, even more so in the current times. Projects like this are more important than ever in helping to nurture young creative talent.

Samantha Bain-Mollison, Retail Director at Shaftesbury has said:

After a successful two years we are proud to continue to support and nurture future talent in tailoring, a craftsmanship industry that is at the heart of Carnaby’s heritage. We are excited to work again with London College of Fashion, UAL - world renowned for developing exciting designers and skilled master tailors.

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