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Salford designers make final cut in Levis’s International Denim competition


Two fashion designers from the University of Salford have been shortlisted for the final in an international contest to create the 501 jeans of the future.

Final year fashion students Karin Human and Emma Lewin have made it into the final eight in the global competition run by denim giants Levi’s.

Nearly 600 fashion students from 105 design schools in 27 countries entered the contest, in which they were invited to send their designs for how Levi’s 501 jeans will look in the year 2020.

The prize is a rare opportunity to visit the Levi’s archive and spend the summer designing at the company’s creative studios in San Francisco working with some of the best denim experts in the world.

Karin from South Africa and Emma from Salford are now down to the final two per cent of entries having competed with students from prestigious institutes including the likes of Royal college in London, Parsons and FIT in New York.

University of Salford fashion design programme leader Bashir Aswat is no stranger to success, winning a series of awards for the programme including the British Fashion Council Best Portfolio Award three times and the council’s Digital Award in 2009, 2014 and 2015.

At the end of last year the universities BA (hons) fashion degree was also accredited with the Creative Skillset Tick, awarded by industry professionals for courses that provide excellent preparation for a career in the creative industries.

Bashir said: “This is a fantastic achievement by our fashion design students, as Levi’s is an international household name.

“Given the fact that our students are competing with fashion students across the globe and from some of the most prestigious schools, we are extremely proud of Karin and Emma as we are with all our students who consistently demonstrate their design skills, awareness and contemporary understanding of the fashion industry to a high level.”

Jonathan Cheung, Levi’s SVP of global design together with a team of experts interviewed the finalists for 1hr and will announce the winners next week.

Photo: Fashion designers Emma Lewis, left, and Karin Human, right


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Editor at large, SalfordOnline.com