Photo credit - @davebenett on Instagram

After finishing her final year studying a degree in BA Fashion Design, fashion designer Olivia Creighton has not only won best digital portfolio at Graduate Fashion Week but one of her designs was personally selected by International Music Star Ellie Goulding to wear at the Cartier Queen’s Cup Final.

‘This was a massive honour as it was three head designers at ASOS who chose me for the award. My collection had to fit certain criteria and be professionally presented in a digital fashion portfolio which demonstrated individuality and creativity from concept through to my final designs.’

Olivia’s graduate collection was inspired by 1950’s housewives and the roles that they played during this era.

‘For this particular dress the silhouette was inspired by a pregnant woman. It symbolised the role a woman takes on as a mother, giving it it’s volume, gathers and asymmetric hem. The print, which I hand-drew myself, was inspired by vintage textiles and the sleeves and neckline were taken from vintage silhouettes.’

Olivia was away in Cornwall when she received an email asking if she could send over the dress to a Ellie Goulding’s stylist who was gathering looks for an event.

‘I never really thought much more about it as I know she’d have had tonnes of options, most of them being from high-end designers and I thought it didn’t stand much of a chance of being worn.’

‘I regularly checked Ellie’s Instagram and paparazzi photos to try see what she was wearing on the day of the event. When I saw her sat in a taxi wearing my dress I screamed!’

‘As an aspiring designer it is everything you dream of, but I never thought in a million years it would reach somebody like Ellie Goulding, let alone that she would choose to wear it!’

Olivia started college still not knowing what she wanted to do until she heard through a family friend that their daughter studied fashion.

‘The minute I knew such a thing existed; I knew it’s what I wanted to do as there has never been anything else I’ve been so passionate about. I quit my A Levels straight away and deferred a year until I could re-enrol to study Fashion.’

Olivia is now in the process of setting up her own home studio so she can begin her own fashion line.

‘It was never really something I had considered or thought I could do, but since the success of my graduate collection I’m going to try and make a go of it because it’s really made me believe anything could happen now!’