A SPEZIAL connection: BA (Hons) Textiles Design students collaborate with record label on clothing collection

A group of students from the BA (Hons) Textiles Design course at Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) have collaborated with Das SPEZIAL, a record label and creative platform of activists, to create a unique collection of clothing now on sale in Bournemouth’s premier independent designer store, Richmond Classics.

The students were given a live brief as part of their studies and were asked to create a customised clothing collection utilising hand-crafting and technical textiles finishings of print and embroidery to go on sale in Richmond Classics in Bournemouth from Monday 21 October. All profits will go to the students.

“This isn’t just about music, we want to support and celebrate creative arts and local community engagement," says Das SPEZIAL founder Shahab Notghi, who's also an artist, producer and AUB graduate. "Das SPEZIAL is a growing platform of artists, activists and those who want to promote positive change by celebrating creativity. And as we’re based down here on the south coast, it made perfect sense for us to collaborate with the fantastic students at AUB on this project.

Das SPEZIAL, has previously worked with musicians and engineers from bands such as Massive Attack, The Chemical Brothers, Radiohead, Portishead and The Foals.

The brief for the students required the garments to be unique, to be impactful, and to feature the SPEZIAL branding. Anne-Marie Howat, BA (Hons) Textiles Design Course Leader, comments on the brief:

“In terms of the creative scope and direction, students were asked to design something that was inspired by nature, butterflies, birds of paradise, feathers, and aquatic life. And when it came to the practical skills involved, the final garments needed to feature an appliqued print, an embellishment, an embroidery, or a mix of those.

“From a business perspective, the students were effectively working as freelance designers during this project so needed to practice good time management and independent working. They worked to deadlines, had client meetings, and had to take into account financial, legal and ethical considerations.

“Crucially for them I think, this live brief saw the students following the design stage through to the final output, and into marketing and selling their designs. This is just as important as the creativity; to be a successful artist, you need to be able to sell your work and make a living.”

Keith McNicol, Managing Director at Richmond Classics, says of the project, “We’ve been in the business of high fashion for nearly 40 years, we’ve got a reputation for working with innovative and creative brands and bringing them to Bournemouth, and with this project we get to showcase the best of our local talent which we have nurtured for many years."

In 1989, when Keith had newly opened in the store’s first home and namesake on Richmond Hill, he invited students in from the previous iteration of AUB, the Bournemouth and Poole College of Art and Design as it was called from 1979 to 1998, before it gained university status.

“I gave the mezzanine floor to the fashion college students so they could display and sell their own unique designs from wardrobes that I’d reclaimed; they’d each have a wardrobe each to do what they wanted with."

Among those students included Stephanie Horan, who now works at AUB as Course Leader for MA Graphic Design (Online). Meanwhile, Shahab worked in the store.

“We’ve been nurturing talent for decades here," says Keith. "I have people in their 40s coming back here to say thank you for giving them their first break, these guys are big names now and it’s an honour to be a part of their story.

“To be able to support these Textiles Design students as they start their journeys into the fashion industry is really important to us. We wanted to give something back and encourage these future designers. We were more than happy to give up some floor space and window space for this impressive collection and every penny will go back to the students.

“Each piece is completely unique and will come with its own personalised tag telling the buyer about the artist that designed the garment. This is a rare opportunity to invest in these budding textile designers, and you never know, you might just walk away with something that becomes very valuable in the not-too-distant future!”

12 of our BA (Hons) Textiles Design students took part in the live brief. Find out a bit more about each of them below.