Warwick graduate brings Leamington in fashion to Shanghai catwalk

As we reported this summer, photographs of Leamington sights were incorporated into the original designs of 22-year-old fashion design student Sarah Moran, whose final year collection was selected for the 2013 Graduate Fashion Show in Leicester.

Following her graduation in July, Sarah was contacted by her former tutor at Leicester De Montfort University to be told these designs had been “hand-picked” to feature in Shanghai Fashion Week as part of a educational link between higher education institutions in the UK and China.

Sarah, who since graduating has been living with her parents in Warwick and working to save up some money, did not have to pay a penny to have her Leamington designs showcased on the catwalk in Shanghai - but unfortunately, she would have had to fund her own travel expenses to be there and was unable to do so.

Speaking after the fashion shows, which took place from October 16 to 25 and also included the designs of fashion students and graduates from Shanghai, Sarah said: “I really wish I could have gone, but I could not afford it.

“It’s fantastic for my portfolio and it’s another opportunity for the university to promote itself. It was a really fantastic opportunity for me.”

The former Trinity School pupil and Warwickshire College student took and printed the photographs herself and created the Baroque-style embroidery for the pieces, which she presented as her final year project earlier this year.

She had told the Courier in June that she chose the topic because Leamington was one of her favourite places and she wanted to express that through fashion.

Once she has saved up enough to move out of her parents’ home, Sarah plans to move back to Leicester and work in high street fashion.