Skimpy dress designed by kids gets fashion industry approval

Skimpy black dress created by kids wins award

FIVE schoolgirls from Redbridge are re-inventing the staple of every
woman's wardrobe the little black dress after winning through to the
final 15 of a dress designing competition.

And tonight the five teenagers will see their designs walking down the
catwalk at the Zandra Rhodes Museum of Textile and Design and they have
the chance of seeing their creation going from the catwalk to the
shopfloor of ASDA.

The competition is run by Fashion Awareness Direct known rather
appropriately as FAD in association with the supermarket chain, and the
top prize is the production of the winning dress design and seeing it
sold in shops across east London.

After having to come up with an idea based on a piece of London
architecture to win through to the second round, the four 17-year-olds
and one 18-year-old found themselves in a design studio in central
London for one week in July, with swathes of black fabric, a tailor's
dummy and their own imagination.

Yvonne Archibald, 17, from Trinity High School, Woodford Green, who is
in the final 15 along with two other girls from the school, said: "I'm
really excited about seeing my dress. I feel really lucky to have got
through to this stage. If I don't get picked I feel glad I've got this
far."

And proving the fashion world isn't all fierce competition and
back-biting, the girls in the week-long dress- making workshop all
became good friends. As Yvonne explained: "We became friends with
people from other schools as well, we all had a really great week."

Also relishing the whole experience was Yvonne's schoolmate, Grace
Cotton, 17, who said: "It was really amazing, we've never done anything
like this at school. The design week was really good and was
professional. I can't believe it's all really happening."