Fashion Communication with Business Studies student Feiyi Huang has won a national award at Graduate Fashion Week. Feiyi received the Fashion Photography Award at a ceremony at the Truman Brewery in London – the culmination of Graduate Fashion Week – triumphing over students from universities across the country. The prize was presented to Feiyi by fashion commentator and activist Caryn Franklin. Feiyi’s winning project is based on the 24 Solar Terms, a series of points in East Asian lunisolar calendars that signify astronomical events or other natural phenomena. Feiyi said: “I’m so excited to have won the award. I’d never thought about it before, my brain was blank when I heard my name being called. “I’m really glad and appreciative of everyone who loved and recognised my work. Big thanks to the judges and to my tutor Eloise Calandre – she really helped me a lot.”
Professional photographer Joe Alvarez, one of the judges of the award, said: “Feiyi blew me away with her portfolio — it was utterly amazing. She knew technique, she knew lighting, and she styled it herself. Each picture had a story and the presentation was magnificent. It was unanimous.” Of the Solar Terms, the inspiration behind her photos, Feiyi said: “It is a traditional Chinese culture, but people know very little about this culture today – even though lots of them have heard of it. “The biggest reason for this is because the tradition has been gradually lost. Very few people promote it, people aren’t interested in it. I thought to use photography to present it in a different way, to make people interested in it and to understand it.”
