Creative talent shines as Northumbria celebrates 70 years of Fashion at Graduate Fashion Week

The creative skills of final year Fashion students from Northumbria University have once again been recognised at Graduate Fashion Week in London after an impressive 31 students were shortlisted for accolades.

Collections by soon-to-be graduates from Northumbria’s Fashion, Fashion Communication, and Fashion Design and Marketing programmes were showcased throughout the event, held at the Truman Brewery – including during a catwalk show that celebrated 70 years of Fashion education at Northumbria.

Organised by the Graduate Fashion Foundation, this year’s Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) was the 35^th annual event and featured the work of young designers from more than 30 UK and international universities, providing them with the visibility they need to develop networking skills and connect with representatives from the industry.

During a packed week of masterclasses, workshops, exhibitions and catwalk shows, Northumbria students picked up a series of awards and commendations across categories spanning illustration, textiles, business, marketing, sustainability, childrenswear and catwalk shows. This year’s winners and highly commended students include:

• Amber Lita. 2026 GFW Fashion Illustration Award – Winner
• Senuji de Silva. 2026 GFW Surface Textiles Award – Highly commended
• Senuji de Silva. 2026 GFW Northumbria University Catwalk Award - Winner
• Ruby West. 2026 GFW Northumbria University Catwalk Award – Highly commended
• Emilia Spark. 2026 GFW Fashion Marketing Award – Highly commended
• Georgia Hogg. 2026 GFW x Liberty of London Award Catwalk – Catwalk finalist
• Katie Rickett. 2026 Zalando x Graduate Fashion Foundation Circularity Masterclass – Finalist
• Ruby West. 2026 - F&F Catwalk – Catwalk finalist
• Emily Sutton. 2026 GFW New Fashion Business Award – Winner
• Anabel Gilgallon. 2026 GFW Childrenswear Award supported by Boden – Winner

Amber Lita, from the Fashion programme at Northumbria, described taking part in Graduate Fashion Week as an “incredible” experience. She took home the Fashion Illustration Award for her collection which explored the theme of anxiety and took inspiration from nature and Victorian silhouettes. Amber added: “I think Graduate Fashion Week will have a big impact on my future. I met some very interesting people who had good tips and were very encouraging. I now have a few possible opportunities lined up.”

For Senuji de Silva, winner of the Northumbria University Catwalk Award, the experience provided a boost in confidence. Senuji, who studied on the Fashion programme, said: “What stayed with me most was the experience of standing in the judging sessions and speaking about my work with real passion. That confidence is something I will carry forward. My collection is rooted in Sri Lankan cane craft and handloom weaving, in my family, and in a traditional industry that is quietly disappearing. Taking that to a stage as prestigious as Graduate Fashion Week, alongside some of the most talented young designers from across the UK and beyond, felt significant.”

Winner of the New Fashion Business Award, Emily Sutton, designed a collection inspired by her own experiences of water sports, as a keen paddleboarder, sailor, and cold-water swimmer. The project idea for a new business was developed around designing clothing that Emily feels is missing within the water sports apparel market, combining functionality with thoughtful design. Even the branding draws on her family heritage and takes inspiration from my family's former fishing business in the North East.

Emily, who studied Fashion Design and Marketing at Northumbria, explained: “Taking part in Graduate Fashion Week was an incredibly rewarding and valuable experience. It was inspiring to meet so many people from across the industry, hear about their career journeys, and gain advice from their experiences. Winning the New Business Award has given me confidence in the potential of my business plan, making me feel even more ambitious about starting it. Through the connections I made at Graduate Fashion Week, I now feel supported and encouraged to take the next steps.”

Winner of the Childrenswear Award, supported by Boden, was Anabel Gilgallon, also from the Fashion Design and Marketing programme. Her collection, ‘Let’s go camp!’ was developed for her Childrenswear brand, Jinx & Juno and combines references from vintage American Scouts and her grandmother’s time as a Girl Guide leader.

Anabel said: “Having the opportunity to present my work to industry professionals and receive feedback has been an invaluable experience, one I know will be hugely beneficial as I begin my career. To go on to win the Childrenswear Award was truly a dream come true. Presenting to the team at Boden, a brand I have long admired and one that has been a huge source of inspiration throughout my design process, made the achievement even more special.”

Students from the Northumbria Fashion class of 2026 were given the opportunity to work with award-winning commercial photographer Christopher Owens. The result is a zine showcasing their final projects and collections.

Sarah Walton, Assistant Professor and Programme Leader for Fashion at Northumbria, said: “We had a full house of over 400 guests in London for our catwalk event; the front rows were full of industry and our wonderful alumni. We did a retrospective opening to celebrate 70 years of Fashion at Northumbria, showcased our Digital Fashion Catwalk and celebrated our 2026 graduates in a catwalk that was the finale to the week of graduate shows.

“The amount of industry engagement, businesses and brands present throughout the week and available in the Careers Quarter for students to meet this year was wonderful to see, reflecting a positive outlook in employment opportunities for our soon-to-be graduates. All were proactive in meeting with industry, having portfolio reviews, presenting live to judges and the public, as well as being interviewed for active job roles. I’m thrilled to say many have already been offered follow-up interviews and started on the journey to exciting employment opportunities, while all have started to build professional networks.”

The London catwalk show was recreated back in Newcastle as part of the University’s annual REVEAL degree shows. Assistant Professor Emma Jane Goldsmith worked closely with Fashion alumni to coordinate a showcase of graduate, award-winning, alumni collections. These were presented at Graduate Fashion Week and brought back to Northumbria’s Newcastle City Campus for current students, families, industry and invited guests to celebrate the development of Fashion education at Northumbria and the prestigious careers that have been launched since it was established 70 years ago. As part of REVEAL, the alumni collections are on display alongside work from the class of 2026 in an exhibition at the University’s City Campus East 2 building, which will be available to view until Friday 17 July.

Among the collections included in the show was work by Laura Jane Bailey, a 2011 Fashion graduate from Northumbria and now Senior Womenswear Designer at Next. She said: “My years at Northumbria were some of my most memorable. From the fantastic facilities in the design department to the incredible live projects and industry placements, the experience was truly transformative. I was surrounded by a wonderful community of like-minded students and guided by incredible tutors who constantly pushed me to believe in my potential.

“Northumbria taught me how to push my creativity whilst blending it with commercial reality, giving me the confidence to step out of its doors and straight into a thriving career. Fast forward 15 years, and I am living that dream – travelling the globe and designing for some of the UK's biggest fashion retailers. I will always be incredibly proud to be a Northumbria graduate.”

At Northumbria, learning goes beyond lectures. Graduate Fashion Week is just one example of the opportunities available to apply new skills and knowledge in real-world scenarios. Visit northumbria.ac.uk to discover more about studying Fashion at Northumbria.