SEREN UNLU WINS THE EPSON DIGITAL TEXTILE PRINTING AWARD AT NEW DESIGNERS LONDON
“Awarding talent, offers the graduates vital encouragement and validates their hard work. This year Staffordshire university graduate Seren Unlu won the Epson Digital Textile Printing Award for her beautiful, vibrant, colourful collection that stunned all five of the judges Seren’s work is bright, bold and beautiful. She has used digital technologies to enhance her creativity and to manufacture a range of products that showcase her talents.”
New Designers, London is a permanent fixture in the fashion and decorative industry calendar. Held at the Business Design Centre in Islington, it showcases over 200 universities and more than 3000 surface pattern and textile design graduates from across the UK. With some 16,000 visitors in attendance, the event serves to celebrates and champion the next creative generation. It concludes, for many, the final chapter in their education and marks the first step towards a career in design.
Many industry, and academic alumni attend (myself included) and we all remember how we took that first step onto the creative ladder. The energy and excitement in the halls are palpable as students from across the country gather to display their final projects, support each other and importantly to meet with the industry to secure employment.
Awarding talent, offers the graduates vital encouragement and validates their hard work. This year Staffordshire university graduate Seren Unlu won the Epson Digital Textile Printing Award for her beautiful, vibrant, colourful collection that stunned all five of the judges. Seren’s work is bright, bold and beautiful. She has used digital technologies to enhance her creativity and to manufacture a range of products that showcase her talents. Her collection, is striking and offers a cohesive commercial range of saleable items, backed up by a considered range of promotional materials.
Seren has left no stone unturned, and the judges were unanimous in their decision to award her the prize - which also included an Epson SureColor F100 dye sublimation printer. We caught up with her to discover more about her work and her plans for the future.
What, who or why you chose a creative career?
I have loved being creative for as long as I can remember. In my infant years I was always so excited when we were doing something crafty, like making necklaces from pasta, or decorating cards for Mother’s Day or simply painting. It was the one thing I felt truly passionate about. I used to always do well in my art classes in high school, I would have my classmates complimenting me on how good something was. This was when I decided to study Art & Design in college. As it was a BTEC course, this allowed me to solely focus on being creative. And now, today, my time at university has come to an end, and I have loved every moment. From doing extensive research, to drawing, developing…this has given me a good taste of the future. I would like a career where I enjoy what I do. If I am enjoying myself, then I believe my design work would be more successful too.
How would you describe your creative style?
Words I would use to describe my creative style; Maximalism, Bold, Loud, Colourful, Detail, Energetic, Fun, Brave, Travel and Nature inspired.
Tell us about your final collection, inspiration, application and your research, practice, sustainability statement etc…
As a designer, I believe my biggest inspiration is through travel and cultures from all over the world. My latest project, Copacabana Passion, pays tribute to the wonders of South America. My design process begins with primary research, which usually involves a trip abroad, so I am able to capture and get real life experience. Unfortunately, I couldn’t visit South America this year, so instead... brought the vibrant continent to the UK. It is a lively, energetic, colourful, area of the planet and I wanted to highlight that. The dancing, the music, the lifestyle, the colours of the jungle. I wanted to celebrate this and put that same magic into vivid designs. I always aim to translate such energy and passion into my prints. I wanted to produce something that makes you feel like you are there, dancing on the streets of Rio, or getting lost in the Amazon! I feel my passion for travel stems from my own Turkish background. Ever since I have been fascinated with my own personal roots, I sit and wonder about the rest of the world.
I also took inspiration from companies such as Farm Rio. I looked at previous Spring/Summer collections from Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana from 2020, as tropical themes were trending that year. I went on day trips to botanical gardens and the zoo, to get some primary imagery.
Referring back to my research, I began to paint large scale florals, palm leaves, and tropical animals. And this was actually the first-time painting animals for me. I really surprised myself. You won’t know you can do something unless you try. Then the development stage began, my favourite part. It is always a challenge trying to put things together, but then it’s so exciting to see what you can come up with.
A huge part of my design process comes from mistakes…I take this as a learning opportunity. With mistakes I become better, and it gets me to where I need to be in the end, so I always embrace them.
Where I can, I try to be sustainable as I understand the importance of it. For some of my prints I have used recycled fabrics. I hope to be more sustainable in the future though as more resources become available to me.
Do you love Décor, Fashion or both?
I love both fashion and decor! I have a huge appreciation for colour and print. If there are any interior settings with these elements, then I’ll be getting excited. But from a designer perspective, I love to design for clothes and accessories. Your artwork becomes wearable and that’s just so thrilling. I feel when your work is on clothes, it reaches more public attention. Especially when you are wearing something so fun, bold and unique. It makes you feel confident and powerful, and that’s exactly how I would want customers to feel, wearing my designs.
How have digital technologies benefited your creativity?
Digital technologies have been so useful to me when I have been creating. Everything would be impossible without it. Computers and programs such as Photoshop are vital in this industry. There are so many tools that help create the perfect design, and I feel lucky to have the knowledge and skills of Adobe software, as designing revolves around this technology. The technicians at Staffordshire University have been a huge help with the Sublimation printers and the heat press. These machines are crucial to me. This process helps my design on the screen go onto the fabric of my choice, this part is always so fascinating, bringing designs to life. Another thing that I have been doing independently is photography and basic video editing. I have captured amazing content for this collection, bringing life to my Instagram news feed. I have used apps such as CapCut to edit my short films. I also created my own magazine of the collection, featuring research, paintings, content, visuals, this was all created on photoshop and sent off to a company called Doxzoo. The possibilities are endless. I feel very blessed to have access to such great technology.
A few words about winning the Epson Award, why do you think you won and how will the printer help you?
I feel very lucky to have won the Epson Award! Surprised is an understatement. I spoke to Debbie briefly about my work and was happy to hear such great feedback. A while later I go for a break around the back, eating away at my cinnamon bun, when I received a text from one of my peers to get back to the Staffs stand. The nerves came rushing in. Then the intercom went off and announced my name as the winner! I was in disbelief. A crowd formed, my peers cheering, lots and lots of photos…It was such a surreal moment, and to be selected as the winner, amongst such talented designers was unreal. I honestly don’t know why I won. Sometimes I underestimate how good I am. Maybe it was the vibrancy of my prints that captured the judges’ hearts. And I was worried that nobody would see my work as it was in the corner and people often missed that wall, but I was wrong, the work speaks for itself really. It’s loud and it’s bold.
“I will definitely be putting my sublimation printer to use. I will continue adding to my portfolio, maybe start creating small accessories. The people at Epson personally told me to just keep going, keep creating…so I might just do that…”
What’s next, where would you like to be in 5 year’s time?
It would be a dream to have my own company. Watching it thrive would make me so happy. I have had many people say that they would wear my designs already, so I need to do something about that. But firstly, I would like to gain as much experience in the industry as possible. This will hopefully prepare me for the beginning of UNLU designs.
