Students are nominated for the awards by course leaders and tutors on the university's array of highly regarded fashion, design and communication courses. Categories are judged by fashion industry experts, and awards mix high-profile mentoring with cash prizes of up to £5000. Winners will be announced in a live streamed ceremony as part of Graduate Fashion Week 2021 on 17 June.
Ruby Kiwinda – studying Fashion Communication with Business Studies - has been shortlisted in three different categories: Culture & Heritage Award; Fashion Styling & Creative Direction Award and Black Excellence Prize in association with FACE. Ruby's achievements include successfully crowdfunding and creating a short film Vumilia to highlight the relationships, beauty, pain and skill found within Black hair salons.
Ciara Knight is a finalist for the Fashion Digital Portfolio Award Supported by ASOS. As part of her course, she made a YouTube video Cabinet Of Curiosity. Ciara said: “Brighton has been the best years of my life so far. I’ve tried to grab every opportunity I can to make the most of both my course and other interests. While some parts have been challenging Fashion Design with Business Studies has provided me with the design skills I had hoped to gain and pushed me to achieve my potential which I am really grateful for.”