DESIGNER FEATURE - AMANDA HARRISSON

An impressive new talent, Amanda Harrisson has been shortlisted for the VOGUE Talents competition. She needs your votes to secure her place in the finals and hopefully go on to win. To vote for Amanda please go to http://www.muuse.com/#!vogue2013/483-amanda-harrisson . 

Amanda Harrisson Central Saint Martins recent fashion print graduate has a unique talent for incorporating illustration into fashion. Her stunning final collection of hand drawn black and white portraits which took over a staggering 300 hours to draw of contemporary icons. Amanda told us she "wanted to create a fully hand drawn collection, and my inspiration came from looking at Renaissance paintings and religious iconography of Northern European art. I was interested in the portrayal of cultural icons throughout art history" she went on to say "I decided to create a collection using my own contemporary fashion icons" and we think you'll agree she certainly has achieved this. Integrated textured prints, laser cut lace and jewels with Swarovski-sponsored crystals engineered within the print to create an illusionary effect. Challenging use of fabrics normally found in luxury jets and the backdrop on film-sets means her part-time Chemistry Degree via the Open University as well as her full time degree at Central Saint Martins has certainly paid off. Amanda wanted her final collection to acknowledge her love of nanotechnology within the collection and to use the basic concept of reshaping fabrics, manipulating fabrics and understanding the synthetic composure of fabric. Taking a smart fabric concept of adapting and changing this was utilised incorporating shimmering fabric which projected an electrotextile visual  without the weaving of computer components into the fabric.

British born Amanda Harrisson, 23 has racked up an impressive nine internships whilst studying Fashion Print during her studies at the prestigious Central Saint Martins. Internships include Balmain, Viktor & Rolf, John Galliano, Mary Katrantzou, Gareth Pugh, Alexander McQueen, Bruce Oldfield, Zandra Rhodes and Liberty of London. Amanda also successfully won Liberty of London Award and this resulted in her fabric print created for Liberty; this fabric was sold out within days and is still currently sold out online. 

Even before graduation, Amanda appeared in Vogue Italia and she has received offers from all over the world for commissions, requests to exhibit her final collection, requests to stock her final collection. Editorials are already booked into her diary and requests keep coming in. Amanda said, "the response to my collection from not only the fashion world but the art world, has been overwhelming." Amanda's determination, hard work and driven attitude has definitely paid off and she most certainly has a bright future ahead of her.

If you would like to take a further look at the collection, then go to www.amandaharrisson.com or follow Amanda @amandaharrisson.

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