Two Liverpool students showcase work at London Fashion Week thanks to Wild Thang

After an incredibly exciting competition journey, Wild Thang can proudly reflect on an incredible sponsorship collaboration with Fashions Finest and The City of Liverpool College.

The Wild Thang project culminated in a breathtaking finale at the Fashions Finest Catwalk Show as part of London Fashion week, which took place at St Johns Church, Hyde Park, London on Saturday 17^th February.

Amongst the highlights was fulfilling their promise to both incredibly talented 16-year-old winner Anna Gerrard-Longworth and runner up Freya Duncan who is also just 17 years old. It was a truly wonderful moment as Wild Thangs MD Andrew Dwerryhouse explained a little about the sustainable competition collaboration concept, Wild Thangs small beginning with the support of The Princes Trust and then had the privilege to introduce both Anna and Freya to the Catwalk to showcase their unique sustainable designs as the finale on the Fashions Finest runway. This truly captivated the audience and was welcomed with rapturous applause. Congratulations to Anna & Freya, on seizing this great opportunity, Wild Thang hope that this was a really special moment in your development journey but also for you personally and remember that you could be Fashions Finest in the future!

The background to get to the point was many months in the making, creating a competition with 10 amazing talented student designers shortlisted to participate, they were given the brief to create a sustainable fashion design from concept to completion in just two weeks and Wild Thang were blown away by the creative designs presented by the students at a showcase at The City Of Liverpool College, they then selected a winning design and runner up to accompany Wild Thang to the London Fashion Week catwalk show, so they could personally witness their design transition from concept to the prestigious catwalk.

Wild Thang’s commitment to ESG was mirrored in their decision to also provide special VIP sustainable goodie bags that align with their ethos of environmental responsibility by making sure all products had some sort of sustainability connection. It’s an initiative that reflects their broader commitment to sustainability, echoing the growing demand for eco-friendly practices in all aspects of business and production.

In conclusion from concept to creation, when they saw those designs on the catwalk this became one of the most rewarding collaborations in Wild Thang’s 28 years in business and will hopefully act as yet another shining example of their commitment to innovation, education, sustainability and all things ESG.

Andrew Dwerryhouse Wild Thang MD said:

‘It’s never one single person that makes these complex and wonderful fashion shows come to life, it involves a vast array of committed individuals, so firstly Wild Thang would like to say a heartfelt thanks to Deborah St. Louis, Fashions Finest, and City of Liverpool College for their partnership and for making this event an incredibly memorable one. Seeing Anna’s and Freya’s designs on the catwalk was one of the most rewarding moments of my own career and Wild Thangs smaller beginning with the support of The Princes Trust so I really hope this is a special moment in your life that you will always remember.”

Carrie Dwerryhouse Wild Thang ESG Manager commented:

“Special mention to the fantastic team at the college for making it happen, while we were already aware of the wonderful work the college does for its students across the Liverpool City Region and given the very short timescale the College were outstanding. The College were fully committed to making it happen from the word go and created a full brief to the students and quickly created collaborations with a number of other local businesses which included Abakhan Fabrics. The moment we stepped into the theatre room displaying all the amazing sustainable clothing creations we were absolutely wowed and knew straight away this had become a very special collaboration between both the private and public sectors who all want to make a difference in others’ lives.”

Jan Schofield Director of Faculty Culture & Visitor Economy Commented:

 “The City of Liverpool College would like to personally thank Wild Thang for providing a such a wonderful opportunity for our fashion students whilst also supporting the College strategic commitment to achieve and progress with the skills and expertise they need for that crucial career next step. We are very proud of our students Anna and Freya and the development of their confidence, technical and communication skills in showcasing their work on the London Fashion Week Stage in Hyde Park. Having this opportunity has raised the aspirations of the student cohort, their own careers goals and what they can achieve in the future.”  

Find more information about the event on the Wild Thang website.

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