Student designs for McCalls competition are down to a T

Students in Aberdeen are getting expert lessons in business acumen through a design contest to showcase Scottish pride.

Highlandwear specialists McCalls wanted a T-shirt that would appeal to a younger audience and complement its Pride of Scotland range of contemporary tartans. The latest Pride design, Royal Pride, was created to celebrate the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The Aberdeen-based business offered Textiles & Surface Design students at Robert Gordon University’s Gray’s School of Art the opportunity to create a winning brand – and learn about all the commercial aspects of delivering a new product in the process.

The competition resulted in 150 entries which have been now been whittled down to a final six. The overall winner will be announced in the spring and go into production later this year.

McCalls managing director Iain Hawthorne said: “The brief was to design a T-shirt that embodies the pride felt with an association with Scotland and which incorporates a Pride of Scotland tartan or the icon of that pride, the Lion Rampant.

“The idea was that the students would see the whole process involved in producing the clothing, from concept to design, to sourcing and manufacture, packaging and merchandising – everything that makes it a commercially viable proposition.

Rachel Singer, Course Leader in Textiles at Robert Gordon University’s Gray’s School of Art said: “The McCalls competition has been a great opportunity for our students to work on a live project for an industry client, giving them more of an understanding of what is expected in the real world of fashion and textiles when they graduate.”

Four designs from one entrant, third-year student Iain Macdonald, 24, of Glasgow, and two from Leah Stewart, 25, of Aberdeen, have been shortlisted. Both are now vying for the £250 prize and the kudos of seeing their design go on sale.

The shortlisted T-shirts feature tartan sleeves, a wraparound thistle detailing 11 of the Pride of Scotland tartans and a combination of Saltire and lion.