River Island NCAD Fashion Bursary
Molly Walters was chosen to receive the €3,500 bursary and three month paid internship at River Island's London based head office design studio. She will commence her internship in September.
Molly’s winning entry is called “Waste not, Want not”. The loungewear collections were inspired by her late grandmother’s philosophy of treasuring and taking care of her possessions and garments. Molly’s designs use techniques like embroidery and print to materialise memories.
The highly sought-after bursary provides winning graduates with an invaluable first step into the commercial fashion world, with past winners having their designs sold in River Island stores and online. The bursary, which was first launched in 2004, has proved to be extremely successful for aspiring Irish designers. Many past winners have gone on to become full time members of River Island’s 100 strong in-house design.
This year, River Island asked the NCAD students to create a capsule collection for the spring summer season. The students then submitted designs which were judged by River Island’s design team. Naomi New, head of womenswear design said “We are proud to be among the first to champion some of Ireland’s brightest new design talent. Our industry thrives on fresh ideas and it’s fantastic to give NCAD graduates the chance to come to our London design studio to develop their careers.”
