Leeds, United Kingdom, 2013-10-02 — /travelprnews.com/ — A gifted young designer from Leeds, Yorkshire is hoping to see her dreams take off thanks to a British Airways scheme to find the next generation of talent.
Mandy Hudson, who at the age of 26 has already started her own fashion label, has been awarded a bursary of three flights to New York under the British Airways Great Britons Programme, to allow her to study some of the top designers.
The Great Britons programme is a fund offering free flights every year to enable budding talent to realise their dreams. It is open to anyone aged over 16 years old who needs support to develop their talent in any field.
Mandy will be able to use her bursary to fly from Leeds Bradford Airport, over Heathrow, to New York, to network in the Big Apple and get inspiration for her next collection.
Born and bred in Wortley, West Leeds, where she still lives, Mandy attended Wortley High School before going on to study at Leeds College of Art where she gained a BA Degree in fashion design.
After graduating she worked in the retail and fashion industry as a fashion merchandiser before being appointed brand manager for Australian fashion accessories company Mimco, heading up their new boutique in the famous Victoria Quarter in Leeds.
While still working Mandy always had fashion projects on the side and made clothes for herself and her friends. She received so many favourable comments that she decided to start her own fashion label to see if people would buy her clothes. After securing a small grant to help with start up costs she launched her Mabel brand, aiming to create unique handmade fashion garments for women who love fashion and want to stand out from the crowd.
That was just under a year ago, and Mandy now stocks independent boutiques in Yorkshire and also provides a bespoke dress design service. She will be showing her Spring/Summer collection at the Dress Me Beautiful Leeds Fashion Show at Leeds Town Hall on October 18.
Says Mandy: “I am still in very early stages of my business plan but the next move is to stock more boutiques, expanding out of the Yorkshire area and expand my production.
“I applied for the British Airways bursary to help me gain experience in the design industry and make connections. New York has a massive fashion scene with lots of young independent designers who are starting their own brands and have opened stores and started new ventures to get their designs to the public. New York is the hub for new and exciting ways for people like me to get their fashion noticed, with such things as pop up shops, fashion shows, group studio exhibitions and fashion capsules.
“New York is also home to my favourite designers and I will be applying to do a short placement with one of them to learn more about the industry. I will also be using the trips to make connections with small boutique owners who look to stock designs from independent designers and I am already in talks with a few businesses who I intend to meet up with. I will also be using the city as inspiration for my next collection.”
Mandy currently works part time in the NHS to support her business growth but hopes very soon to work for her brand full time.
She added: “I was delighted to be awarded the British Airways flights. They will open up more doors for me, allowing me to access the New York fashion industry which I would have struggled to do on my own.”
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Mandy is pictured hard at work on one of her designs