News / 05 Mar 2024
Fashion Design student wins work placement with bespoke tailoring brand Morgan & Fenwick
BA (Hons) Fashion Design
BA (Hons) Fashion Design student Sam Brown has won a four-week work placement at Morgan & Fenwick Bespoke British Tailoring in a tailoring competition.
Samantha Fenwick, Leeds Arts University BA (Hons) Fashion Design alumni and Director and co-owner of Morgan & Fenwick Bespoke British Tailoring, had what she said was "probably the toughest year" to select an overall winner for the annual competition.
Our BA (Hons) Fashion Design degree course is known for its second-year tailoring module. The module and Morgan & Fenwick competition is loved by students and the internship is highly sought after.
Second-year students were each asked to send in styled photos of their final tailoring module garments, along with a short-written piece about the concept of their design, what they liked about the tailoring module and what they hoped to learn at Morgan & Fenwick if they were selected as a winner.
Samantha came to Leeds Arts University to interview the three shortlisted finalists, Sam Brown, Millie Crinnion and Reed Washington. Sam’s work initially grabbed Samantha’s attention because of the unique design and clever use of contrasting fabric and linings.
“The cut out details in particular were very well thought out and executed and after meeting Sam in person, talking to them more about their work, it became very clear that they had a real passion for high quality, well made garments. Overall the styling and concept of the work was elevated and the quality of the finish for such a novice sewer was fantastic.”
Samantha Fenwick, Director and co-owner of Morgan & Fenwick.
The garment Sam created for the brief is a seventies-inspired double-breasted overcoat emphasising the movement of the human form. It features flared sleeves with functional mismatched-button cuffs, a long draped-dress-inspired silhouette, cutouts depicting abstract forms dancing across the garment that leave a glimpse of the patterned lining below.
“I am thrilled to have been chosen as the Morgan and Fenwick tailoring brief winner and very excited to begin my work placement. My goal in the fashion industry is to build my gender-neutral clothing brand, and tailoring skills are a crucial stepping stone for this. The skills that tailoring teaches can be applied to many facets of the fashion industry besides menswear. In my case, I want to utilise the skills I will learn to create adaptable detailing on garments where one piece can be easily adjusted to flatter various body types regardless of gender."
Sam Brown, BA (Hons) Fashion Design student
Whilst working with Morgan & Fenwick Sam will get the chance to have their garment remade using M&F fabrics and have their garments shot with a professional photographer.