Fashion Road Competition Info

The British Council is delighted to announce the launch of the Fashion Road: Dialogue across Borders project and invite Armenian fashion designers to submit their applications for participation in the project. This two year collaborative project is aimed at promoting intercultural dialogue and cross-border collaboration through which fashion designers from Armenia and Europe will look into the past for ideas and inspiration. They will study traditional costumes of Armenia, UK, Germany, Romania, Denmark and Czech Republic, explore the role of those costumes in contemporary society, how people associate memories with clothing and how they preserve these memories. They will also explore how tradition is embraced in a contemporary culture and how this can be done in new and innovative ways. Key to this project will be for the designers to view clothing in a cultural context and use modern technologies and approaches to present their interpretation of the countries’ culture and identity.

The project has been funded with support from the European Union.

For the first time members of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) – the British Council, Goethe-Institute, Institutul Cultural Român, the Danish Cultural Institute, and the Czech Centres will implement a joint project in Armenia. The partner in Armenia is the Armenian Fashion Council.

Programme structure and dates

The following activities will be organised through the project:

			Five fashion designers will be selected in Armenia and one from each participating European country.
			International seminar will be launched in May 2011 with the participation of fashion designers and experts from the European countries and Armenia. The seminar will be followed by the master classes organised for design students and young professionals.
			Residencies will be organised for the European designers in Armenia. Armenian designers will be paired with the designers from the European countries and visit corresponding European countries for their residencies.
			Each pair will work collaboratively to produce 4 pieces for the general collection of the project (overall 20 pieces) reflecting the cultural heritage of Armenia and the European countries in their art works.
			An exhibition will be developed to showcase the collection of the designers which will tour in Armenia and in 5 European countries.

Candidate Profile

The British Council wishes to recruit high-flying mid-career fashion designers who have creative mind and bright imagination, are interested in cultural heritage and incorporation of national traditions in fashion design, and are open to cross-cultural cooperation and collaborative work. The applicants should be eager to continue developing their career in fashion design.

The main selection criteria include:

			Mid-career professionals
			Degree in arts and/or fashion
			Participation in vocational training courses in or outside Armenia
			Minimum 2-3 years of work experience and MUST be in the fashion design field at the moment of application
			Established portfolio including ready made cloths as well as including some works incorporating cultural/ethnic elements (not necessarily Armenian)
			Intermediate level of English
			Clear understanding of the fashion design field, trends and developments
			Good team players with a desire to work with and learn from other participants
			Able to commit 2 years to the project

The following criteria are not required but will be an asset:

			Participation in collaborative projects/initiatives
			International experience
			Participation in fashion design contests, shows, festivals
			Good presentation skills and confidence in speaking and presenting themselves
			Basic IT skills and ability to communicate by e-mail and social networks

How to Apply

The deadline for submitting the application package is 28th December 2010 (by 17:00). Please check the British Council website for working days and hours if you would like to visit us. Please NOTE that late and incomplete applications will not be considered.

The application form (MS Word file) you can download from here.

The full application package should include:

			Application form completed in English only (please send the electronic copy to the British Council through fashion.road@britishcouncil.am and submit the hard copy with the original signature along with the supporting documents)
			Recent passport size photo attached to the application form
			Copies of diplomas/certificates/awards
			Evidence of participation in fashion events (if applicable)
			Three to five copies of samples from the portfolio, ideally demonstrating the use of ethnic and national elements in the design

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interview in English in mid-January.

Final selection of candidates will be concluded by the end of January 2011.

Please send all the enquiries to Hermine Grigoryan.