DESIGN SPOTLIGHT: Designers of the Next Decade: Spotlighting the Best in Print at New Designers 2026

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4 Jul

**The Printed Textile Industry Does Not Sustain Itself.**

“Bringing this community together matters. It matters for the graduates, who leave with contacts, confidence, and in many cases, job offers.
It matters for the industry professionals who attend, who leave with a clearer sense of the talent pipeline feeding into their sector. And it matters for the broader culture of British design, which has always depended on the willingness of each generation to invest in the next…”
Image Credit: Grace Holden, Stories in Bloom – Textiles, Heriot-Watt University

WRITTEN BY DEBBIE McKEEGAN | CEO | Texintel

Every year, the printed textile industry quietly asks itself a defining question: where will the next wave of talent come from? The answer, with remarkable consistency, the renown universities, spread across the United Kingdom.

New Designers held at the Business Design Centre in London each July brings the academic cohort together as one community. For over 40 years, New Designers has served as the UK's most established platform for graduate design talent - and the 2026 edition was no exception.

This year's show brought together over 2,500 graduates from more than 100 courses across the country. Among them, a remarkable cohort of print-focused designers stood out - earning recognition from some of the industry's most respected sponsors and judges. These are the graduates who will shape the next chapter of printed textiles. They deserve to be seen.

Why Championing Emerging Print Talent Matters

The printed textile industry does not sustain itself. It is fed, season after season, by fresh eyes, new references, and the courage of designers who haven't yet been told what's impossible. Without a deliberate effort to find, support, and celebrate these graduates, the industry risks stagnation, drawing from the same wells, repeating the same conversations.

Events like New Designers exist precisely to prevent that. But so does the responsibility of those of us already working within the industry: to look, to engage, and to amplify what we find. With that in mind, here is our round-up of the print award winners from New Designers 2026.

Award Winners in Print: New Designers 2026

The Romo Award for Innovation in Design and Colour

Lauren Stokes, The Tale of Twynroy and the Tiger – Swansea College of Art, Surface Pattern & Textiles

Sponsored by Romo | Winner: Lauren Stokes, Swansea College of Art (Surface Pattern & Textiles)

Lauren Stokes took home the prestigious Romo Award - worth £500 in cash plus a paid internship of up to six months in the Romo, Villa Nova, or Black Edition design studio - for her collection inspired by one of England's most unusual historical footnotes: the story of Hannah Twynnoy, the first person in England to be killed by a tiger, in 1703 in Malmesbury.

Drawing further inspiration from the eccentricity of Mind the Gap and the high-contrast aesthetic of Fornasetti, Lauren produced a vibrant, original collection that married unique storytelling with confident hand-drawn artwork and bold colour choices. The judges praised her work for its "combination of unique inspiration, creative storytelling and beautiful hand-drawn artwork," noting her ability to blend traditional techniques with contemporary imagery to create a cohesive and visually engaging body of work.

Lauren's reaction on winning was as joyful as her designs: "I've wanted to do this since I was seven."

Twig Searle, Woven Textiles – Falmouth University, Textiles

The Sanderson Award

Sponsored by Sanderson Design Group | Winner: Twig Searle, Falmouth University (Woven Textiles)

The Sanderson Award - which carries a £1,000 prize and a two-week placement in the Sanderson studio - went to Twig Searle of Falmouth University, whose commitment to natural dyeing and sustainability left the judges genuinely moved.

Twig completed two interconnected projects, one rooted in a fairy tale about a dyer who loses access to all trade routes, with every dyeing tool foraged within a 5km radius of their home. The result was a body of work that the judges described as demonstrating "exceptional craftsmanship, thoughtful storytelling, and a genuine commitment to natural dyeing and sustainability," adding that it reflected values they "hold deeply at Sanderson." Every element of Twig's collection communicated a forward-thinking approach to textile design without sacrificing beauty.

Grace Holden, Stories in Bloom: A collection of prints & patterns exploring how the home evolves across childhood adolescence and adulthood – Heriot Watt University, Textile Design

The Laura Ashley Lifestyle Award

Sponsored by Laura Ashley | Winner: Grace Holden, Heriot-Watt University (Textile Design)

Celebrating what would have been Laura Ashley's 100th birthday, this award - which includes £1,000 in prize money and a one-month freelance internship at Laura Ashley's head office - was presented to Grace Holden for her collection Stories in Bloom.

Grace's project explored how the concept of home shifts and evolves across the stages of life, from childhood through to adulthood. Using a mix of digitally printed wallcoverings and fabric in velveteen and cotton, she drew on Victorian floriography and biophilic design principles, selecting botanicals as symbolic representations of nostalgia, discovery, and belonging. The judges found it to be "a strong commercial collection" with storytelling that carried clear potential to "transcend the Laura Ashley lifestyle." Grace called the win "a nice culmination of my time at uni."

Runner-up: Jessica Parker, Norwich University of the Arts (Treasure the Thoughts Collection) — praised for bringing nostalgia to life in a way that would translate across a multitude of products.

Grace Holden, Stories in Bloom – Textiles, Heriot-Watt University

M&S Best Print & Pattern Award

Sponsored by Marks & Spencer | Winner: Grace Holden, Heriot-Watt University (Textiles)

Grace Holden earned a second major accolade at the show, also taking home the M&S Best Print & Pattern Award - which includes a two-week placement in the M&S studio - for the fuller version of her Stories in Bloom collection.

In this context, the project was presented as a luxury interior textile collection exploring belonging, memory, and identity. Drawing on Victorian floriography and biophilic design, the collection uses botanical motifs as symbolic representations of different emotional states, demonstrating both commercial range and conceptual depth. A double win at the country's leading graduate showcase is no small achievement.

Runners-up: Aurelian Adams (University of Dundee), Hallie Graham (Heriot-Watt University), Emily Hodgson (Nottingham Trent University), and Nell Burgess (Glasgow School of Art).

Jessica Parker, Treasure the Thoughts – Norwich University of the Arts

The Premier Digital Textiles Vibrancy in Print Award

Sponsored by Premier Digital Textiles | Winner: Jessica Parker, Norwich University of the Arts

Jessica Parker's collection Treasure the Thoughts won the Premier Digital Textiles Vibrancy in Print Award - worth £500 in cash, plus £500 in PrepRITE fabric and print time - for a body of work that the judges described as "passionate" and offering "something different."

The collection explores memory through print, drawing on the warmth and visual language of 1970s and 80s domestic interiors. Retro objects, hand screen-printed textiles, fine detailed drawing, and striking colour combinations combine to evoke a sense of nostalgia and emotional familiarity, designed for both fashion and interiors contexts. It is precisely the kind of work that reminds the industry why colour and hand-craft still matter in a digital age.

Eden Kingston, Queen of Swords, Dancing at Duvet, Repeat of Wands – Falmouth University

Wilcom Digital Embroidery Prize

Sponsored by Wilcom | Winner: Eden Kingston, Falmouth University

Eden Kingston's ambitious, multi-piece project earned the Wilcom Digital Embroidery Prize - which includes a copy of ES Designing software for the university and 12 months' individual access for the winner - with work that drew an unforgettable comparison from the judges: "A modern take on the Bayeux Tapestry with digital embroidery using Wilcom software."

The project spans three pieces - Queen of Swords, a digital embroidery and beadwork fashion piece inspired by tarot; Dancing at Duvet, a large-scale free party banner made with digital embroidery, print, and appliqué; and Repeat of Wands, digitally embroidered and beaded repeat trims. The judges noted something "quietly radical" about using needle and thread to document the culture of bass lines and smoke machines - and they were right.

Ultrafabrics' Sustainable Design Award

Sponsored by Ultrafabrics | Winner: Oliver Stiff, Royal College of Art

Oliver Stiff took home the Ultrafabrics Sustainable Design Award — a £1,000 grant — for furniture work that the judges called "everything the design world needs."

Oliver's practice transforms overlooked materials, including luxury deadstock textiles and production offcuts, into sculptural contemporary furniture that draws on fashion imagery and the provocative presence of cultural icons. His argument - that sustainable design need not be modest or restrained - was executed with complete conviction. The judges praised his "sharp finish style, characterful display, material choice and overall vision," calling the work "beautifully executed and crafted."

The Society of Dyers and Colourists Colour Award

Sponsored by the Society of Dyers and Colourists | Winner: Julie Schwarz, Morley College

Julie Schwarz's ceramic and textile project Traces won the SDC Colour Award - which includes a feature in The Colourist magazine, a fully funded invitation to the SDC celebration dinner, and one year's free SDC membership - for what the judges described as "outstanding use and understanding of raw pigment, process and materials."

Traces is a meditation on the past, present, and potential future of British ceramics in Stoke-on-Trent. Through a vase based on a 17th-century tulipière and a wall tile triptych following the route of the Trent Mersey Canal, Schwarz creates a layered narrative that connects industrial decline with creative renewal. Ghost kilns emerge in the detail. The future, it suggests, is already present - if you look carefully enough.

A Show Worth Supporting

New Designers 2026 demonstrated, once again, why bringing the graduate community together in one place matters so much. When emerging designers can stand alongside one another, engage directly with industry professionals, and receive recognition from sponsors who understand their work, something shifts. Confidence is built. Connections are made. Careers begin.

To every graduate who exhibited this year: the industry is watching, and what it saw was genuinely impressive. The work coming out of UK textile and print courses in 2026 is bold, considered, and deeply original. These are not designers in waiting - they are already making work that matters.

We look forward to seeing where they go next.

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