School fashion designers chosen to have their creations showcased at Aintree Ladies Day

Two young fashion designers will have their outfits showcased at Aintree Ladies Day after they were chosen from thousands of entries.

The KD Club, an initiative run by Liverpool designer Kirsty Doyle, teamed up again with Aintree Racecourse to discover and encourage fashion talent of the future.

Kirsty went into primary and secondary schools across the region to lead workshops, challenging children as young as six to come up with style ideas for the world’s most famous Aintree Ladies Day.

After going through all the entries with tailors to see which designs could best become reality, two were chosen to have their sketches transformed.

Now year 5 pupil Tavia Mishiva, who’s aged nine and goes to Northcote Primary in L9, and Laila-Grace Eaton, a 12-year-old student at Bank View High School, will have their winning designs unveiled on a mannequin on Ladies Day and included in the racecard.

They’ll also receive races tickets for them and their families as well as a gift voucher from official style partner River Island. And, because the Randox Grand National Festival doesn’t fall in the half term holidays this year, they’ll get the bonus of a day off school!

Kirsty says the very high standard made it a tough job picking just two winners in different age categories for The KD Club x Randox Grand National Young Designer of the Future 2025 competition.

“For this year’s competition I went into to each school and then to every class within that day so everyone had the length of one lesson, around 45 minutes to an hour, to get their ideas on paper,” she explains.

“Each child had the same time limit, so nobody was given longer or had any advantage, and it just pushed them to be super-creative. They had to think fast and they just went for it.

“We had a STEM and sustainability factor to the contest this year because we wanted to really get children to think beyond the outfit about where clothes are made and the impact on the environment.

“Our young designers were encouraged to explore innovative ways to reuse, re-wear, and recycle materials, transforming them into unique and eye-catching fashion pieces.

“They all just loved having a go and they were so creative which was wonderful to see.

“Creativity is the backbone of everything because it’s problem solving, it’s thinking outside the box and it’s resilience. Getting them involved in a really short workshop makes them think fast, they have to make decisions and be independent.

“They need to use their imagination too so when I run the workshops, I have children saying to me ‘should I do this?’ but I tell them they should decide because they’re the designer. That’s why we end up with completely unique fashion concepts.

“Laila’s design was a hand-painted watercolour on organic cotton which was such a lovely idea, and Tavia’s was a silk dress with puff sleeves which used recycled patched pieces. 

“There was a real maturity in how they approached their designs, and just like last year’s winners, we felt they could both definitely be worn for the races.”

Kirsty launched The KD Club to champion a body-positive message via fashion, design, wellness, and business through school sessions and online classes. www.thekirstydoyleclub.com 

Read our Ultimate Guide to Aintree Ladies Day HERE.