Field of dreams

If you go down to the Great Yorkshire Show next month, expect to see far more than impressive tractors and prize breeds of every farm animal known to (Yorkshire) man.

The Fashion Pavilion grows in reputation each and every year, hosting four packed-out shows a day, featuring the best of the county’s retailers and its young designers. Indeed, the Great Yorkshire Show is fast becoming recognised as an important springboard for new design talent.

“Every year they blow me away with their ideas,” says Annabel Smith, programme leader at Harrogate College’s School of Art & Design, which is sending the work of several of its graduates down the runway this year. Seen here is Demelsa Haughton’s collection, Oddity. Demelsa, from Harrogate, is mother of three children, and is currently working on her BA (Hons) Applied Creative Design collection. “She has done the most extraordinary work,” says Annabel. Demelsa’s collection is inspired by Art Nouveau patterns and feathers creating a feminine and classic silhouette.

“We have an eclectic mix of students studying at Harrogate. We cater for those who are outside the norm but have extraordinary talent.”

Also seen here is the work of 2012 graduate Kushvant Jutla, from Leeds, who won a first class honours degree in applied creative design at Harrogate, specialising in fashion. Her collection is called Seven Deadly Sins and features her own prints, embellishment and creative combinations of fabrics, constructed into complex designs.

The floral printed designs of this year’s Harrogate graduate Jess Teale will also make their way down the catwalk at the Fashion Pavilion, which will also see collections from menswear retailer  Brook Taverner, and womenswear collections from Hobbs and Harrogate based Pure Collection. Independent designers Mary Benson and Jack Wainswright will also feature.

Twitter: @yorkshirefashQ

The Great Yorkshire Show takes place July 9-11 at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.

The HE/FE Show at Harrogate  College School of Art & Design is open to the public until June 21 at the Harrogate College campus at Hornbeam Park. Daily (including Saturday), 10 am to 4 pm.