Holly-Ann Tullett, who studies Fashion with Business Studies, won the award for her meticulously crafted dress design, much of which was hand-sewn and embroidered.
After Holly-Ann submitted her design to the panel in April, it was shortlisted for the award and chosen to be exhibited at the Bridal Show. Here, it was judged by a team from British Bridal Suppliers Association (BBSA) and she was announced as winner of ‘Student Designer of the Year’ in the Bridal Buyers Awards.
“Just to be shortlisted was so exciting for me so to win is incredible,” said Holly-Ann. “Having my work praised by the BBSA feels so rewarding and I am so grateful they provide students with a platform to engage with the bridal design industry.”
All entrants to the competition were given a simple brief: to redesign a dress silhouette in whichever way they wanted. The theme of the brief was ‘imagine’. Holly-Ann worked hard to locate certain materials to incorporate into her creation. She then took painstaking care over the sewing and embroidering of the dress.
“The brief stated attention to detail would score points so I sourced a specific type of vintage guipure lace applique, hand-sewed every piece onto the dress individually, hand-embroidered my own motifs and embellished the lace with crystals and beads by hand.”