Nobuyuki Matsui, BA (Hons) Fashion Design Technology Menswear & Moe Takahashi, BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles
Last week the annual FAD (Fashion Awareness Direct) competition took place at the Freemasons Hall. Described by Vogue.com as an “undeniable springboard” the FAD Competition in collaboration with Fashion Scout brings some of the UK’s best undergraduate talent to London Fashion Week.
Taking home the ‘Orly Tenzer Textile prize’ were London College of Fashion design duo Nobuyuki Matsui – BA (Hons) Fashion Design and Technology Menswear and Moe Takahashi – BA (Hons) Fashion Textiles. The competition focused on the five senses and students were asked to design two outfits which exemplified the multisensory theme. Nobuyuki and Moe’s stand out collection explored how loss of sight impacts on a person’s other senses, especially touch. Genteel, layered silhouettes featured broderie style laser cutting and intricate embroideries inspired by Braille. The pair summed up their overall experience of being a part of the 2014 FAD Competition as, “amazing – we really enjoyed it.”
The award is particularly poignant as it was founded by the family of Orly, a young designer who graduated from London College of Fashion to become a successful designer in New York. Her dreams of building her career in the fashion industry were cut short when she died of cancer aged 29. By sponsoring this prize Orly’s friends and family hope to support other young people to pursue their fashion dreams.
Paul McNicoll, Dean of the School of Design and Technology says:
‘At London College of Fashion, we care about the reality of being a successful designer and collaboration is definitely key for us. The results speak for themselves… Menswear design and Fashion Textiles design working together; just look, the results are undeniably beautiful. Congratulations Nobuyuki and Moe!’