NTU alumni Michaella Knight won the Graduate Fashion Week 2019 TU scholarship in 2019 and created a new children’s clothing range for Sainsbury’s.
The seaside-inspired range consists of 17 items for children aged 1-6 and has been designed to be gender-neutral.
Michaella, a previous Knitted Textiles and Fashion knitwear design student at Nottingham Trent University, spoke to us about her new collection.
Michaella told us: “I started [the collection] last August and got going straight away, it’s a very fast process.
“It was mainly inspired by the fisherman from the busy quayside at Poole Harbour. It stems from the brightly coloured eroded buoys found dangling from the fishing boats.”
She was able to work for TU after receiving a scholarship in 2019.
“The scholarship was through Graduate Fashion Week, I was shortlisted to go for an assessment day at Tu which involved presentations from designers and an interview with the manager of Childrenswear,” she told us.
“Last year was the first year they opened the scholarship up to Childrenswear. I had to show my collection work and they see if it would work as a commercial range for them.
“The scholarship was for a years placement, a working trip to India and to assist a department on main range clothing where I helped on Essentials, which is nightwear, accessories, underwear & hosiery.”
Speaking to Hello Magazine, Emma Benjafield, Head of Product for Tu, said: ‘‘We are very excited to launch this unique childrenswear collection and support emerging graduate talent.
“Michaella has created a wonderful range that will delight parents and children with its bold use of colour and seaside iconography. We are very proud of her hard work and ongoing contribution to the wider Tu team.”
Now, Michaella has been offered a full time position with Sainsbury’s on the children’s clothing team.
You can view the full collection here.
By Faith Pring
Feature image credit: Hello magazine