Amy Vanderwal with mentor Oliver Spencer in London
A young Blackpool fashion designer has got her career off to a flying start, thanks to inspiration from the resort’s punk festival.
Amy Vanderwal, 23, is next week launching her first collection of menswear for superstore Sainsbury’s.
Designs by Amy Vanderwal of Blackpool for Sainsbury’s
The former Montgomery High and Blackpool Sixth Form student was spotted in her graduation show in London and snapped up by the superstore to come up with a range of clothing for the men’s department.
Amy said for her final graduation collection at Nottingham Trent University she used he style and attitude of the punks at the Rebellion festival at the Winter Gardens.
She said: “I showed my collection at London’s Graduate Fashion Week to industry professionals and went on to win the ‘TU Clothing Menswear Scholarship Award’ out of hundreds of hopeful graduates.
“Winning this scholarship meant that I got a year-long scholarship designing my own fashion-forward collection for TU clothing at Sainsbury’s, all under my own name, whilst being mentored by British menswear designer, Oliver Spencer.
“Oliver is a high end menswear designer with his own shop in London and it was so valuable for me to get his perspective and advice as well as from Sainsbury’s.”
She said she was heavily inspired by 80’s punk and traveller culture with mismatched fabrics and clashing patterns and colour having seen the Rebellion festival many times while working at Topshop near the Winter Gardens.
[“Source-blackpoolgazette”]