Smythson Partners with the London College of Fashion

A special project to support emerging design talent.

This year, Smythson have partnered with the London College of Fashion to support emerging design talent.

LCF students were presented with a creative project, which asked them to design a Smythson product that aligned with one of two themes: travel and movement or home and games.

From gathering inspiration to product sketches, students recorded every step in a Smythson sketchbook, which would later be judged the Smythson design team. The end of the project was marked by an event at Smythson’s New Bond Street store, where winning students were given the opportunity to detail how they brought their designs to life.

Handbag design winner, Bertha Ko, was inspired by ancient love letters. Her design was crafted to fold out into a piece of silk artwork, nodding to Smythson’s long history of paper craftsmanship. ‘The silk lining is printed with illustrations of London architecture, giving a nostalgic notion whilst the owner travels from place to place,’

Alina Wang brought her winning correspondence card design to life with geometric heart prints and multi-coloured borders, an ancient Chinese jigsaw puzzle known as a tangram. ‘I was inspired by Memphis-style furniture, graphic design, unsystematic shapes and a bold use of colour.’

Runja Li was awarded for her expansive use of her Smythson sketchbook for planning her designs, including initial sketches, three-dimensional paper mock-ups and photos of her paper samples. 'The inspiration for this project came from old photographs and letters in my home that hold memories of my family,' Li explained. 'Many things in the world need to be stored, and memories are one of them. How do we preserve memories?'

Smythson would like to thank the London College of Fashion and all of the talented design students who took part in this project.