Second year BA (Hons) Fashion students were given an exciting opportunity to engage with menswear brand Farah to see their work on display in the brand’s Leeds store.
The students were set a brief by the Farah Marketing and Design team to produce a fashion illustration/design taking inspiration from Farah’s heritage and ‘The Lost Weekend’, a High Summer mood board inspired by 80s Ibiza club style, to be used as a t-shirt print. The students were asked to produce ten t-shirt customisation ideas, considering possible window display ideas, and to submit two final designs.
The final submission were then reviewed by Farah’s Marketing and Design team, and eleven students work was selected and produced as t-shirt prints, window vinyl and graphics for display in the Leeds store. Reece Clayton was selected as the overall winner and will see his work on display in the window of the store.
Reece subdued the 80s colour palate to create ‘sun-bleached’ imagery, using a terrazzo tile pattern to create his designs. He also designed a version of the Farah logo based on the old 1980’s Space Ibiza logo to tie it with the original clubbing reference.
Reece told us:
“I’m really excited to have my work put up in the Farah store as I’ve never had work displayed publicly like this so for my name to go up on the front of the store is somethings that is super cool, and not something I really would have expected. I also think it’s a great opportunity to get my name out and get some exposure for my work which is always great going forward in the future.”
Chris O' Brien, Design Manager, Farah said:
“Working with the University was a pleasure, it was very exciting to come in and brief the students and tell them a little bit about our brand. Many of the students in the room did not know Farah's long and varied history and we felt they were immediately engaged by the project.
The overall standard of work was very good, with a great level of diversity, with the students putting their own mark on the brief. Reece stood out because we felt that he captured the essence of the brand and the concept the most. His work fitted perfectly with Farah's concept of "The Lost Weekend" yet still felt individual and personal to Reece. For us a brand it is exciting to see young designers pushing their creative limits and we were delighted that we were asked to support this project.”
