College News

Textile Student Wins National Design Competition

Former QE student, Charlotte Wildsmith, has won a national design competition which raises awareness of child labour in the textile industry and will see her work showcased to an international audience.

Charlotte, who studies Textile Design at De Montfort University,| competed against students across the country to win the annual GoodWeave Rug Design Competition and will now see her design knotted into a rug by Jacaranda Carpets.  This will then go on display at the prestigious interior design show Decorex International, at Kensington Palace 22-25 September.  The competition celebrates emerging young talent and encourages young designers to consider the importance of ethical manufacturing from the very start of their careers.

Working to a brief set by rug designer Roger Oates with the theme Interpreting Fashion, Charlotte took her inspiration from a collection by fashion designer Jonathan Saunders and used her research into colour blending to create her final design.  The 21-year-old will also receive £300 prize money which will be awarded to her at the London event.

Charlotte said:

“Winning the GoodWeave competition was a fantastic way to finish off the second year of my textiles degree, I was overwhelmed when I found out and it will be amazing to see my piece exhibited at the Decorex International Exhibition.

The competition has been an invaluable experience, showing me how easily my woven designs can be translated into other products, such as the hand knotted rug.  I also enjoyed learning all about the work GoodWeave do to stop child labour in the rug industry which is a very important issue in the textile industry.”