Today, Coach, the leading New York design house, and the British Fashion Council (BFC) announce Lloyd James Husband as the 2017 recipient of the Coach Fashion Design Competition.
The 2017 honour was awarded to Husband for his research on Coach’s aesthetic and presentation of footwear and accessory designs. Recipients receive a £3,000 cash prize to help fund the creation of their student collection. Husband is a current student at the University of Westminster.
For the 2017 competition, Coach asked participants to interpret the “spirit of cool” in American luxury. Students from top UK fashion universities presented portfolios and mood boards portraying their commercial interpretation. Each submission was comprised of eight men’s or women’s looks, channelling the student’s point of view and individual design aesthetic.
Stuart Vevers, Coach Executive Creative Director, said, “Coach is about freedom, openness and acceptance, being true to one’s self to make dreams possible. Supporting young talent is a mission we embrace, and I am excited to partner with the BFC to provide a platform for the designers of tomorrow.”
Andrew Groves, BA Fashion Deisgn Course Director, said: ‘It's fantastic news that Lloyd has won the BFC Coach design competition. The prize money from Coach will be enormously helpful for him to realise his runway collection On his year out last year, Lloyd worked at Alexander McQueen, Hugo Boss, and Puma. All of these internships helped Lloyd refine his approach to design and understand his personal aesthetic and how to interpret it for the signature style of other designer brands.”
The candidates’ work was judged by a committee of industry experts from both the design and commercial side of fashion. The judging panel included Eva Sneve, Accessories Design Consultant & Director, Coach, Clare Corrigan, Accessories Design Consultant, Coach, Judith Rosser-Davies, Head of Government Relations & Education, British Fashion Council, and Sophie Matthews, Head of Media & Retail Partnerships, British Fashion Council.
Caroline Rush CBE, Chief Executive BFC said, “Education is at the heart the British Fashion Council’s mission. I would like to thank Stuart Vevers and his team for their support. It is wonderful to see iconic brands such as Coach investing in the development of future talent.”