Fashion Culture Project – The White House

The air was crisp and cool as I walked up the driveway to The White House in West London. Glancing up I noticed a beautiful arched gate post which was the entrance to the beautiful place and home to this years Fashion Culture Project.

Prior to the invitation to attend, I hadn't heard of Fashion Culture and was keen to learn more about this innovative brand and what to expect from the day. Upon entering, it soon became clear that The Fashion Culture Project is an exciting design competition which I'm sure will change the next generation of students methods of design and aspirations as they now know it. The idea behind the project is to establish and strengthen contacts between Poland and the UK, promoting young, promising talent providing them with a wider audience to view their work.

Due to its initial success, a bridge between international fashion colleges in both Poland and the UK has been firmly built and the project is now in its second season drawing in people from the world of culture, visual arts, fashion and photography. The magnificent palace I stood in had become the venue for an elite judging panel for selected outstanding students from London College of Fashion, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, MSKPU in Warsaw, ASP in Lodz and SAPU in Poland. Each of the students participating all had the dream of winning the title and the amazing prizes that where at stake.

Today however was a special behind the scenes shoot... capturing the work of the finalists and promoting their work to the world. It was an honor to be involved and interview some of the incredible people involved. With the honorary partners including the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in London, T-Mobile Fashion I can assure you it was jaw-dropping.

I was lucky enough on the day to interview the chairman of the jury, Polish aristocrat Jan Żyliński, in whose palace the event was held. Watch the exclusive footage below for an insight into his home and his own thoughts on why the project was so special.

The forefront of the Polish design industry took part in the final event for the FC project in London, including Marcin Paprocki, Mariusz Brzozowski, Gosia Baczyńska and Maciej Zień. The guests of the catwalk event held a month after the initial shoot included distinguished Polish designer Joanna Klimas, and British designer Zaid Ghanem.

The talented winner of the Second Edition of the FC was Anka Letycja Walicka, a graduate from Cracow School of Art and Design. She took home the first prize which was an internship at Meyer & Mortimer (a prominent Savile Row tailors), a weekend trip to Lisbon, plus a scholarship at her college to further her studies. James Castle, a graduate from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, to the second place and the third was taken by Aimee Matthew-John, a graduate from the same school.

For more information, please visit www.fashionculture.pl