Texprint - fundamental for nurturing and supporting UK talent

For some 30 years, TEXPRINT the well-established UK charity has provided support, and helps promote innovative textile design talent who are graduates of  UK design colleges, universities and designschools.

Texprint Awards 2015 winners with guest of honour Rosita Missoni (centre),  

at Premiere Vision Design, Paris, Septemner 2015

© Lucia Carpio 2015

And every year Texprint selects a new group of promising young talent and leads them to take part in Premiere Vision Design (formerly known as Indigo) - one of the key shows of the prestigious Premiere Vision Paris international trade event, where they can showcase their creative work.

Martin Leuthold, Artistic Director of renowned Swiss company Jakob Schlaepfer, with winners Megan Clarke, Grace Lomas, Chloe Frost, Jacob Monk and Isla Middleton.
© Lucia Carpio 2016

Taking part in Texprint is a valuable experience that allows the designers to sell their creations as well as meet and integrate with international potential customers, some of whom may be on the look-out for new recruits for their businesses. A panel of judges who are industry's leaders, movers and shakers, are also invited to judge and select the winners for the Fashion Prize, the Interiors Prize, the Colour Prize and the Pattern Prize each year.  The winners for 2016 were announced at Premiere Vision Designs this September.  For a report on the award ceremony, click here.  For the list of the 24 finalist for 2016, click here. 

The annual awards ceremony is a celebratory event, without doubt, and to know that the talented winners will springboard onto an incredible journey developing their respective successful careers within the international textile, fashion and interior design industries is immensely heart-warming for all in the industry.  You can read about many of the Texprint alumni in special features on the charity's website.  Click Here.

Texprint alumni Jane Zhang (with daughter Evelyn ) 
co-owns design studio 
Fairbairn & Wolf Studio,
exhibiting at the Premiere Vision Designs 
in Paris,  September 2016.
© Lucia Carpio 2016

Spotted at this year's September 2016 Premiere Vision Design fair in Paris was  Jane Zhang, a Texprint 2014 alumni who brought along perhaps the industry's youngest designer in the making - her baby daughter Evelyn.  Jane's company Fairbairn & Wolf Studio which was set up just more than a year ago was doing brisk business at PV Designs.

A year ago, at the 2015 September Premiere Vision Design show in Paris, Jane along with two other designers also from Texprint 2014 were showing at Premiere Vision Designs for the first time, having just launched their new company Fairbairn Wolf & Skinner - their own London-based printed textiles studio.  The other two designers are Tali Furman from Israel and James Skinner from Britain as seen below standing among their large array of impressive designs at the show.  While Furman is still co-runing the business, Skinner has now left the company to pursue his own design aspirations in interiors, the company is now known as Fairbairn & Wolf Studio.  Jane said her business has expanded and has to hire more designers to handle the increased work load.

Tali Furman , James Skinner and Jane Zhang at Premiere Vision Designs September 2015.
© Lucia Carpio 2016

A number of winners from previous Texprint events have also established their own studios and sell their own collections while taking part in trade events.

Ying Wu wearing a scarf of her design, with Shan Jiang at Scoop London, July 2016.
© Lucia Carpio 2016

One such designer is Ying Wu (in picture above wearing her own scarf), who was spotted at the Scoop London exhibition held in July 2016, who along with fellow designer Shan Jiang showcased their new  collection of scarfs under their label Pig, Chicken & Cow.  Explaining that each scarf from their new collection has a unique story to tell, the designers who now live and work in London, say they are strongly influenced by their home city of Shanghai; its architecture, as well as flourishing subcultures, Chinese meticulous art, contemporary and traditional superstitions.

All Photos: Lucia Carpio (C) My Fashion Connect Global.