Published
Jun 15, 2020
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Graduate Fashion Foundation launches student competition with TikTok

Published
Jun 15, 2020

Graduate Fashion Foundation and social media app TikTok have joined forces to create opportunities for up-and-coming fashion designers hit by the Covid-19 crisis.


Graduate Fashion Foundation


The partnership takes the form of a student competition for fashion designers from Graduate Fashion Foundation’s 38 partner universities in the UK.

Students will be invited to design TikTok’s first-ever range of merchandise, creating a collection that is “fashionable, ethical and distinctly TikTok”. All entries are set to be judged by an expert panel of judges including Graduate Fashion Foundation Ambassador Henry Holland, Director of Fashion Enter Caroline Ash and TikTok’s Cassandra Russell, Fashion and Retail Brand Partnerships for EU.

Submissions for designs and moodboards open this week and two students will be selected from each university to participate in a 5-day creative TikTok residency, held within a professional factory environment in London.

The experience will provide entrants with an opportunity to learn about design for manufacturing, grading and realising designs into commercial patterns, production lines, and quality control.

Hilary Alexander, president of Graduate Fashion Foundation, commented: “TikTok are making a hugely positive contribution not only to our graduating students but to our charity that supports the creative talent of tomorrow. As a brand that understands the importance of the creative journey, we are delighted that they will be allowing our students to experience manufacturing in this way and we know that they will walk away with experience that will not only be fun, but also put them in a stronger position as they enter the competitive job market.”

All participating graduates will be mentored by GFF patrons and TikTok Creators and receive a competition prize of £500 each. And while each designer will produce four garments, the final commercial capsule collection will be created from selected student designs, which will be manufactured by TikTok for gifting to staff, partners and consumers across Europe. 

Cassandra Russell, who works on Brand Partnerships, Fashion & Retail at TikTok said: “TikTok is a platform with creativity at its heart, so working with the Graduate Fashion Foundation to provide financial and educational opportunities for final year fashion students was a no-brainer. The need to overhaul brand merchandise is long overdue and we are excited to see what the most talented fashion students in the country can bring to TikTok’s first collection.” 

Submissions close on Wednesday 24 June and winners will be announced two days later on 26 June.

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