We are thrilled to announce the winners of our Graduate Fashion Week International Residency Award: Rosella May and Billie Jacobina. This year, the two winning graduates will produce capsule collections to show at Jakarta Fashion Week.

The Award, now in its third year, plays a key role in internationalising the Graduate Fashion Week schedule and celebrates the importance of emerging talent in the fashion industry. It gives outstanding graduates from UK universities a chance to take part in a residency where they will work with local designers, universities and craftspeople in a country with an emerging fashion industry.

The location of the residency changes every year, and this year the winners will travel to Indonesia to produce capsule collections to be showcased at Jakarta Fashion Week 2017, the leading fashion event in Indonesia. While in Indonesia, the winners will collaborate with Indonesian brands who are working to ethically reinvent traditional textiles and cultural heritage.

About the winners

• Rosella May, a unisex designer who studied Fashion Knitwear and Knitted Textiles at Nottingham Trent, will collaborate with designer SOE Jakarta. May’s final collection was selected to represent Nottingham Trent at Graduate Fashion Week; and comprised six androgynous knitted denim outfits which incorporated male styles of the 1950s alongside contemporary fashion shapes. The collection aimed to raise awareness of how denim can be produced in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way, while still maintaining the fabric’s characteristic properties.

• University of Creative Arts graduate Billie Jacobina will work closely with designer LEKAT. A Textiles Print designer whose work focuses on print designing for both fashion and the accessories market, Billie’s current body of work, ‘C-LYF’, draws inspiration from international travel to contrasting influences of Moroccan patterns and architecture with a mystical underwater world. Following collaborations with shoe-makers and a silversmith, her designs often incorporate faux fur and foil printing.

Immersing themselves in the rich visual and craft heritage of Indonesia, both winners will have the chance to experience the benefits of international collaboration; to work with a design house first hand and to learn more about the Indonesia fashion industry – one of the fastest growing in the world. They will also learn about how their brands work with communities to create a positive change through fashion, and how sustainability and ethics can form a solid foundation for a successful brand; and benefit from speaking opportunities at local universities and at Jakarta Fashion Week.  

The 2016 Graduate Fashion Week Residencies are part of the British Council’s Indonesian Fashion Forward Programme, which launched in 2012. The programme is a partnership with Jakarta Fashion Week, which includes the hugely successful designer mentorship programme run by the Centre for Fashion Enterprise. 

SOE Jakarta said, “SOE Jakarta is thrilled to be chosen as one of the labels for The British Council's residency program. We constantly seek fresh ideas and inspirations as part of our commitment to working with Indonesian textiles and by collaborating with a textile-focused fashion graduate from the UK, we hope to be able to learn and grow from an intercultural exchange of ideas and perspectives. We sincerely hope that this residency program will foster a strong relation between our countries as well as supporting a flourishing industry.”

About the designers

LEKAT

LEKAT likes to move across time - as an expression of belief that design should look both pre-modern and post-modern, high-tech through surprises in shapes and colors of the future and patterns of the past, and Amanda Indah Lestari has committed to what she confirmed. As the Creative Director of LEKAT, she landmark every collection as an invention that triumph skills and stories. Embodying the meaning of LEKAT in Bahasa Indonesia: lastingly memorable, she has been creating, inventing and innovating with her distinctive fashion style which draws upon the various aspects of Indonesia's rich and diverse culture. 

Amanda believes that the best way to create value in twenty-first century is to connect the creativity with our culture. LEKAT defines clothing as a cultural tool in which social relations between people are constructed, experienced, and understood -- a conscious collection of creativity that transforms passions into one strong personality a design can convey. 

As the creativity continues, emphasis is placed on the time devoted to creation and attention to detail. Whilst never losing sight at the importance of the tradition, Amanda aims to nevertheless introduce the essence of traditional textiles of Baduy tribe, through a set of modern clothes that she innovatively designs as to present stimulating interpretations - inspired by the wearers.  

SOE Jakarta

SOE Jakarta is born out of a love affair with hand woven textile and an ode to classic timeless style. Monique Soeriaatmadja’s vexation of not being able to find the perfect fabric when creating her designs led her to search for Indonesian textile artisans with the same thirst for innovation and the same curiosity and hunger for unique creations. Most of the pieces in her debut collection are cut using fabrics developed after hours of discussion with weavers from different parts of the country who create beautiful fabrics on traditional looms, including the labour intensive back-strap loom. Her creations are inspired by those patterns and textures and her fascination with sportswear and contemporary arts. 

With SOE Jakarta, she aims to create clothes with a story, everyday wear that is easy to wear and easily fits into today’s modern woman’s well curated wardrobe. By juxtaposing these beautiful labour intensive fabrics with modern and technical fabric, she reimagines classic silhouettes and gives it her own quirky touch. A perfect fit for women who want to wear a piece of tradition without losing her modern flair.

Billie Jacobina

Billie Jacobina is a Textiles Print designer whose work focuses on print designing for both fashion and the accessories market.  Billie attended the University for the Creative Arts Rochester, and received a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Textiles:Print. Billie has been working on some very exciting collaborations for future projects while studying.

‘C-LYF’, is Billie’s current body of work, combining the contrasting influences of Moroccan patterns and architecture with the mystical underwater world.  Billie enjoys traveling to new places, and as a designer she finds her inspiration through these trips. The vibrant and intricate patterns found throughout Morocco inspired her most recent work, the eye-catching designs and exotic charm. The addition of the mystical dreamworld was introduced through her interest in mythical creatures and make believe.  As part of her work she has collaborated with a shoe company and a silversmithing student. Combining the following influences, Billie has created a unique world that is executed through the use of sequins, fur, and foil printing through the collections. ‘C-LYF’ is bold, vibrant, and full of enchantment.

Rosella May

Rosella May is a unisex designer who focusses mainly on timeless style with an urban edge.  She was born in Carlisle, Cumbria and studied there until she finished her foundation in art and design.  She moved to Nottingham in 2011 to pursue a career in costume design.   After changing her degree to focus more on creating textiles and interesting fabrics, Rosella studied Fashion Knitwear and Knitted Textiles.  During her degree, she spent a year working with designer Stuart Peters in London. 

Her final collection was selected to represent Nottingham Trent at Graduate Fashion Week. The collection comprised of 6 androgynous knitted denim outfits which incorporated the male wear style of the 1950s alongside the contemporary fashion shapes of today.  The collection aimed to make people aware of how denim fabrics can be produced in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way and still hold the same strong properties of a true woven denim twill. Rosella is never afraid to push boundaries, even with a staple like denim. 

The Rosella and Billie will be in Indonesia working with LEKAT and SOE Jakarta from 4 August - 1 November 2016, presenting their collections at Jakarta Fashion Week 22- 18 October 2016.